teething: what works for us

We love Hyland's Teething Tablets in our house! They really help ease the discomfort and crankiness. We used them for Em and we are going through them like crazy for the boys. I do not recommend using their teething gel as it contains parabens.

Rescue Remedy is an awesome trick that my midwife taught me. You can get the regular one or the sleep one (preferably with the spray top). Normally you would spray some of this in your mouth to calm yourself down but for a small child or infant you can spray some on their feet or wrists. You can also use it while you are pregnant if you are having trouble sleeping at night. This stuff is great for any kind of fussiness not just teething.

Baltic amber teething necklaces may be one of the more "far out" things on this list. Personally I was a little skeptical until I read Emma's review where she tried it out herself. I have actually been surprised at how well they have worked for us.
The way baltic amber works is that when it is warmed against the skin it releases oils containing succinic acid. Those oils are absorbed into the skin and work to relieve inflammation
While the dark amber is very beautiful the lighter colored amber is known to work better.  Ours is actually lighter but the way the photo above is edited it looks darker.

There are plenty of reputable amber teething necklace dealers. However if you are like me and need multiple this can get kind of pricey. We ordered ours for $3 a piece off of ebay. Beware that there are lots of people selling plastic imitations on there so if you risk it be sure to test your amber to make sure that it's real.

Babywearing is a great option for teething (or when your baby is extra fussy for any reason). I would not be surviving my twins as well without my Ergo. Ergo is not the only option however I would strongly advise against using something like a Baby Bjorn style carrier. Here are two great articles and reasons why to avoid that style. You should know this stuff anyway...

Hip Health in baby carriers, car seats, swings, walkers, and other equipment

and 

Nine Reasons Not to Carry Your Baby Facing Out

and

here is my favorite ergo baby carrier review


Unfortunately some days none of this may fully cut it. You will have to resort to the drugs. I know on occasion we do. Sometimes teething sucks so much that even the drugs don't fully cut it.
I never recommend baby orajel or anything containing benzocaine. It's rare but it can cause SIDS like symptoms according to the FDA.

Whatever your drug of choice I always recommend buying dye free. Dye is just one more thing that you don't want to be putting into your kids. Especially when you are given a choice.


And of course there are always things like sophie the giraffe, raz-berry teethers, frozen carrots, frozen breastmilk popscicles, frozen waffles (supposedly great for catching drool), & frozen bagels.
And when they are quite a bit older frozen peas are an excellent snack while teething too.
 
And last but not least....
I highly recommend checking out the wonder weeks. If teething is really bad it's possible that your baby is teething through a developmental leap (an already fussy, sleepless time) or it's even possible to mistake a developmental leap for teething. On the website you can even sign up for an email reminder right before your baby goes through the leap so you can prepare yourself.

Update: Check out my post "Developmental Leaps & Sleep Regressions"

I'm linking up with "The Mommy Club: Share Your Resources and Solutions"