Knowing exactly when your child will start teething is hard to tell. The age when most babies start to teeth is around five to seven months, however, some children can teeth early or late. Teething will continue for approximately the first year of your child’s life. When teething, all babies get their teeth in the same order.
First, you will see two tiny teeth on the bottom front. Next are the upper front teeth, then the side teeth on the upper part and finally, the lower side teeth. As your child gets ready to teeth, you will have the experience of your life. Your once calm, content child will take on a new demeanor. Unfortunately, before long, you will want your old child back. Some of the signs of teething include:
Drooling
Face/chin rash
Biting
Pain
No interested in eating
Diarrhea
Disrupted sleep
Low-grade fever
Pulling on ears
Bleeding gums
These symptoms can last as long as three months before the first tooth pops through and can vary from child to child. This is not a very fun time for your child. Teething hurts and more than likely, you will have a cranky child. You will need to provide a lot of cuddling and love. Provide a teething ring or toy for your child to chew on. The pressure helps relieve some of the pain. Give your child something cold to chew on. Not only will the pressure help with this too, but also the cold will numb the gums and reduce the pain. You might use a special teething toy that can be frozen, an ice cube rolled in a cloth, or even frozen fruit like a banana.
Check with the pharmacy. Many safe gels on the market have a numbing agency. Cold drinks in a bottle are another great way to ease the pain of teething. If cuddling with your child, use a clean finger and just rub the gums. This will calm the child down and help the gums from hurting so much. If any of these recommendations still do not provide some level of relief, contact your family physician or pediatrician. They might be able to prescribe something to help.
Like all children, your child will get through this tough time and before you know it, they will be teenagers, sitting around the dinner table chomping down on steak and corn on the cob. When children are hurting, they need to know that mom and dad will do whatever it takes to make them feel better. This provides the child with security, thus giving them security. A secure child is usually a confident child.