Today I decided to take a sneak peek into Kitana’s mouth and I counted 15 teeth! They are popping up extremely fast. She has lost her appetite and doesn’t want me to brush her teeth. Poor baby, I am sure she is in lots of pain. I have tried a few products for pain and nothing works better than dabbing brandy on the gums for her. Many parents think I’m insane for doing that but it does help numb the gums and no it does not make her drunk. I do not give her to drink it, I wash my hand, pour a little in a cup then soak my finger in and dab it on her gums. I have done this since she was 6 months old and she’s perfectly fine.
My teething tips:
Dabbing brandy on the gums
Ashton & Parsons teething powder
This is the second best for me.
Calpol syrup
If she doesn’t allow me to put my fingers in her mouth, I use Calpol.
Cold teething ring
Let baby chew on this, it will help numb the gums. Even frozen blueberries ( for a Toddler) will work.
Your clean fingers to chew on
That is the best, let them go to town with chewing on your finger.
Take your finger and rub the gum.
Plenty of bibs
With teething comes lots of drool, make sure you always have enough bibs with you.
Mina Moo baby has a great selection of bibs, they look lovely and come in various colors.
Teething is a dramatizing experience for your little one as they not sure what is going on. The best way to help is be there and show them love! You have to be patient as each baby reacts to teething differently.
Here’s a teething timeline:
Here is a picture that shows what exactly happens in your baby’s mouth:
Here is the skull of a baby before the milk teeth fell out, very scary. Not for a sensitive person.
I know most parents don’t give second thought to over the counter medication for their kids and even doctors suggest this but I am a little concerned about suggesting Calpol for these reasons:
Apart from paracetamol, Calpol also contains a few other ingredients.
These include:
strawberry ‘flavouring’ & carmoisine to produce its pink colour. (Chemical compound E122- suspected carcinogen, banned in Austria, Japan, Norway, Sweden and the US and not recommended for consumption by children)
the paraben preservatives methyl parahydroxybenzoate (E218 – suspected hormone disruptor and allergen. Banned in France and Australia)
and E122. Note that both these substances have been linked to hyperactivity, and the Hyperactive Children’s Support Group identifies them as likely causes of mysterious and sudden cases of ADHD-like hyperactivity. They too say these substances are not recommended to be consumed by children.
Maltitol (a mild laxative)
Glycerol (E422 – large quantities can cause headaches, thirst and nausea)
Sorbitol (E420 – There are no limits to the intake of E420; however, its use is actually prohibited for infants younger than 1 year of age, as it may cause severe diarrhoea)
Propyl parahydroxybenzoate (E216 – suspected hormone disruptor and allergen. Not recommended for consumption by children . Possible contact allergen. Not permitted for use in France or Australia)
Ethyl parahydroxybenzoate (E214 – suspected hormone disruptor, banned in France and Australia. Not recommended for consumption by children)
A thickener – xanthan gum (E415- no known adverse effects)
Parents must be vigilant and read all labels and educate themselves on ALL contents since many ingredients that are permitted in South Africa are banned elsewhere in the world.
In 2008 a paper (http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(08)61445-2/fulltext) published in the medical journal The Lancet challenged many parent’s perceptions of the harmlessness of Calpol. Researchers who analysed data on more than 200,000 children found strong links between their exposure to paracetamol as infants and the development of asthma, eczema and other allergies at age 6-7.
In fact using the drug in the first year of life increased the risk of hay fever and eczema at the age of 6 and 7 by 48 per cent and 35 per cent respectively.
The more paracetamol a child had in the early years of life, the higher the risk. Thus children under 12 months who were given a paracetamol-based medicine at least once a month more than tripled the chances of suffering wheezing attacks by the age of 6 or 7. The researchers noted that increased use of paracetamol – because of earlier fears about giving children aspirin – could be a factor in worrying rise in rates of asthma in many countries.
Thank you for the feedback, its great to learn new things. Will definitely think twice about it from now on.