Seeing your baby’s first tooth come in is an exciting milestone. However, this joy and cuteness can be quickly replaced with sleepless nights whilst you care for a cranky, teething baby. It can be hard to see your baby uncomfortable during this time, but luckily, there are many remedies you can try to ease their sore gums! Keep reading to learn more about teething and what you can do to help your little one through it.

What is teething?

Teething is when your baby’s first teeth start to come through their gums. As you can probably imagine, this can be a frustrating and painful stage of development for your baby. Most little ones will start to get their first few teeth around 9 months of age, but since every baby is different, don’t be surprised if you notice teeth coming through as early as 3 months or as late as 12 months.

How do I know if my child is teething?

Even before you see a first tooth erupt, there are some pretty specific signs that you may notice that can indicate your baby is teething. These include:

Excessive drooling

Parents are no stranger to drool. When your baby starts teething, you’ll notice an increase in their drooling, as the teething process stimulates saliva production.

Chewing on objects

If your baby is constantly putting their hands, toys, or objects in their mouth, this could be a sign that they are teething. The pressure on their gums from chewing on objects helps to allieve their pain.

Increased fussiness

One of the tell-tale signs that your baby is teething is if you notice an increase in fussiness around the age that they should be getting their first teeth. Teething is an uncomfortable process, so it can lead to a very cranky baby.

Eating less

If your baby is eating less, it’s important to check with your GP, and they’ll tell you if it’s due to teething or not. As a baby’s gums are sore during this time, it’s normal for them to be more fussy about eating.

Restlessness

A sudden increase in sleepless nights around the age your baby should be getting their first teeth is a possible indicator they’re teething. Sometimes, your baby’s gums can be so sore that it wakes them in the middle of the night.

What can I do to help my teething baby?

If you’re looking for something to do to help your teething baby, you’re in luck! While you can’t stop or speed up the teething process, there are tons of home remedies that can soothe your little one’s gums. These include:

Wiping the drool

The first thing to make sure you do for your baby during this time is to constantly wipe the drool. As mentioned above, your baby may have an increase in drool when they’re teething, which could lead to uncomfortable drool rashes.

Offering chilled fruit

If your baby has started solids, you can offer them some chilled fruit to munch on. Watermelon is a common fruit that can help with teething, because it’s cold and soft to eat, and its hard rind is perfect for biting the pain away.

Chilling a teething ring, metal spoon, or face washer

Chilling a teething ring, metal spoon, or a dampened face washer and letting your baby gnaw on it can provide some pain relief. Just be sure not to completely freeze the face washer solid, as it’ll be too hard for your baby’s teeth and gums.

Giving a gum massage

A gum massage can help soothe your little one’s teething pain. All you have to do is gently rub a clean finger along their gums for a few minutes throughout the day.

What’s next?

Once your baby’s first pearly white breaks through, it’s time to start caring for their new teeth! Be sure to book them in for their first dentist appointment. Every day, you’ll want to run a face washer dipped in water over your baby’s new teeth and gums to keep up with their dental health. At 18 months, you can start using a tiny amount of low-fluoride toothpaste and a baby toothbrush to clean your little one’s teeth.

We hope this guide to teething helps you understand more about what’s going on during this time period and what you can do to help your little one!