Natural Teething Solutions

So Mr. Happy is in full blown teething turmoil these days. He started putting his whole hand in his mouth and pulling on his lower jaw, and sometimes pulls on his ears (I think there is pressure on his ears). In an effort to relieve some of his pain, we pulled together a bunch of things to help him out. Here's what's worked so far:

1. Hyland's Teething Tablets. I found these at Whole Foods and they'd been recommended to my husband by several people at work. They are all natural, made primarily of chamomile. Last night Mr. Happy couldn't get to sleep so we gave him two of these, I nursed him and he was out. He woke up at 5:00 am, clearly because of his teeth; he was still tired so I gave him two more and he slept til 8:15. I'm going to avoid giving them to him during the day (unless the pain is preventing him from napping and he's tired) and use some of the other methods that follow.

2. A bottle of chamomile tea. I gave him one of these this evening to help him relax. He liked it (it was a little warm) and drank quite a bit.

3. A washcloth soaked in chamomile tea, then frozen. I dipped the corners in the tea, then twisted the corners and stuck them in a plastic bag in the freezer. Its nice for him since the part that didn't get wet isn't icy cold on his fingers.

4. Frozen fruit in his sucky. A while back I noticed a friend of mine giving her son this little thing that's like a pacifier but instead of a nipple at the end, its a mesh bag. She put fruit in it and he could suck on it. We got one for Mr. Happy; today I put some organic frozen mango in it. He loved it! I was nice and cold, but he didn't have to hold the cold part and super sweet and yummy. I also tried blueberries which he liked but made a big mess (didn't think that one through). Other - better - options would be banana, grapes, etc.

5. Cut up veggies and fruit. I give him big pieces and watch him VERY closely. Cucumber worked well; carrots too but I have to hold it so he doesn't choke. This option just requires you help and supervise. A lot of times I'll let him suck on a cold apple or pear that I'm eating and he loves it.

6. Traditional teething toys. I don't like the idea of him sucking on plastic but he seems to like some of them because they have little ridges that probably feel good on his gums. The round rings are the worst because his fingers get cold; ones with hard plastic handles he seems to like more but all of them warm up pretty quickly. I keep a stash of four or five in the fridge and switch them out.

7. Nursing. The old standby. I think this helps relieve some of the pressure on his ears too and he just likes the comfort of it.

8. Massage. Sometimes I'll massage his gums, but he doesn't really let me do it for long unless my fingers are cold.

Hope that helps. Would love to hear other thoughts or suggestions!