Teething

My daughter has been teething on and off again since she was two months old.  She was drooling all the time, which I've now found out that at about 2 months is when babies' salivary glands develop (according to my daughter's pediatrician) so that may have been it instead.  But I still think it was teething because she was fussy and chewing on things, more than she usual.  Who knows really though because its hard to look back 7 months ago and remember all the deciphering details of exactly how it happened.  The reason I mention this is now I think she is truly teething.  The last two weeks she has been irritable and drooling excessively, where there was quite a period of time where she didn't even need bibs because she wasn hardly drooling.  I think it depends on when she was teething.  Teeth can move up and down in the gums before actually surfacing (which you may have heard as "cutting teeth", when the teeth emerge breaking through the gums).  She still doesn't have any teeth, yet, so either she will be cutting teeth soon or the teeth are just closer to the surface irritating her and will be moving back down again. 

Part of when babies develop teeth is genetics and my husband and I and our siblings all developed teeth later on.  My mother said she thought about 10-12 months old and my mother in law thought about the same.  I'm not anxious though for two reasons: 1) the later baby teeth develop the better for their adult teeth (more stable) and 2) I'm still breastfeeding as her main source of food.  You can still breastfeed after your baby gets teeth, and I plan on it, but the teaching process of no biting can be a bit painful.

Here are some products that I have found helpful:
-Hyland's homeopathic teething gel-- can be given every 15 minutes as needed, uses herbs instead of drugs to calm and soothe, no minimum age requirement (for ones like Oragel the baby has to be at least 4 months old, plus its not recommended by Dr.s).   Used to work beautifully for my daughter when she was younger, but lately she's not a fan of having a finger crammed in her mouth to rub her gums.

-Sofie the Giraffe-- AMAZING!  My sister in law bought this for my daughter and she instantly loved it!  Sofie is made out of all natural rubber and is the perfect size for little hands (pretty much exactly what the manufacturer says but it's the best way to describe Sofie because it's so true!).  My daughter loves chewing on Sofie's legs and head.  Sofie has two squeakers, one in the head and one in the body, and the natural rubber gives her a great texture.  Also, the paint or dye or whatever that is used for Sofie's design is totally food grade.

-RaZbaby RaZ-Berry silicone teether-- a cute lil raspberry teether that is just like a binky except the nipple part is a bit bigger and bumpy like a berry.  Great for baby to chew on!  My daughter loves it!