9 Month Old Chewing on Wooden Crib

Oh wow. I don't know what to tell you, but both my sister and I did the same thing. I never needed braces, but sister did. But she also had her wisdom teeth removed, and I didn't. Her mouth is a lot smaller than mine. But I would ask the dentist. There's something about the wood, the way it feels and tastes that makes it so attractive.

I have a 2 yr old and he did the same. He stopped it pretty quick so we never found any prevention. But a few days ago at Babiesrus I saw a guard to put aroung the edges much like the one you put on table edges. We got my son to stop by explaining how dirty it was and taking him away from it. But he was older than nine months

My 14 month old started chewing on her white painted crib when she was about 9 months old too - there is a plastic railing protector on the front of the crib, but she decided that she wanted to chew on the paint and wood on the SIDES of the crib. Its like they know that the plastic protector is for them, and they completely ignore it. LOL.
So now, I crib has little teeth marks all over it. Its just something you have to live with, because there is no stopping them. I just ignore the gouges: she no longer chews on the crib but the marks are still there. Oh well. Paint no longer has lead in it, so I just hope that the paint tasted bad enough to keep her from eating too much of it. LOL.
Good luck.

Haha. This is great. Hi M.. I don't know what they other mothers are saying, but I almost guarntee you that this is ok. My son, who is 17 months now, just got this little foam football. The first thing he did was took a huge chunk out of it! He is constantly biting objects.
I think its funny, the weird things that kids do. My son carries things in his mouth like a dog!!! Hahaha. He scoots around the living room on his forehead! Man, it is FUNNY!
Maybe you could give her a teething toy when you put her in the crib. Find one that she likes to munch on, and let her see it every time you put it in there. That might save the crib. Find her something hard or soft, that has no worries of popping, leaking, or things breaking off and going into her mouth. Ok? Good luck with this! Oh, do NOT be worried, ok? This is nothing new with kids. Enjoy your baby's weird stuff.
Best Wishes, T.

I dont think you can stop her from it... both my kids did it. My daughter is 18 months and has ruined the crib but she does it before i ever even know she is awake. I dont think its toxic so I am not worried.

You could check toys r us or babies r us for plastic crib rail covers. They should have them there or you could check online. My son started doing that on his wooden crib once he started teething. With the plastic guard she can stiil teeth on the rail without eating wood! Hope you can find one!
L.

Your daughter is teething, get her a chewing ring that can be refridgerated and give it to her when she is in the crib. They also make teething rings that are flavored, my daughter loved them. Your daughter might also prefer the taste of the wood , sounds werid, but wood does have a flavor that is attractive to teething infants, my niece loved to chew on her crib and wanted nothing to do with the rings. My brother broke down and gave her a wooden dowel to teeth on instead of the crib, just make sure it is very smooth to avoid splinters,etc. It is perfectly normal behavior so do not inhibit your daughter for the sake of the apperance of the crib, each child has thier own preference for teething.

They have rubber barriers at Babies -R- Us and thru OneStepAhead.com specificaly (sp) for that. It's a teething thing. I did it, my sister and my son. It's no big deal, you just want to protect them from splinters. Shen

My son did the same thing! You can purchase plastic rail covers at any children's store (Babies R Us). They are either formed or you can purchase the kind that you form to the shape of the rail. And of course they are not toxic to the child, it gives them something to chew on and does not ruin the crib. Good luck!
T.

My daughter started chewing her crib at around 10 months. Apparantly it is very common. We bought plastic crib rail guards to protect the crib and our little one. She stopped almost as soon as we installed them. Try that and good luck.
tam

There are bite guards for the crib rails available at Babie's r us. My sisters and I all did this. We even did it to our bunkbed after we were a little bit older. I'm not too sure why, it just felt good I guess.

My son, who was about 9 months at the time this began, did (and still does) the same thing. Our doctor suggested a rail cover, but said that it really wasn't anything to worry about. Frankly, the only thing that worries me, aside from the crib being very nice and VERY expensive, is that he's getting little scrapings in his mouth when he chews on the rail. But again, our doctor says it's normal, so try not to worry too much. I know that Target and Babies R Us sell some version of a crib rail "bumper" or cover of some type. We tried it, and he just pulled it off. You might have a different type of crib (ours has pretty thick wooden rails on it) and it might work better. Good luck!

It actually is very common, and that's why they made protectors for them. You should be able to just go to Baby Depot or Babies R Us to get them. They are just plastic covers that go over the crib rails. So no worries, it's perfectly normal. Just get yourself some crib rail protectors! =)

If the plastic coverings don't work, put something she doesn't like the taste of on there! :-)

You should see my daughter's crib! It's covered in teeth marks. It's pretty common. They sell crib guards which are plastic guards that fit over the rails of the crib. Those didn't work for me since we have a curvy wood crib. At Babies R Us they sell this flexible plastic that is sticky on one side (but not damaging to the crib) that you can adhere to tops of all your crib rails. It's pretty expensive. I think it was $24 per box, and i needed 3 boxes. Her crib is still pretty much destroyed, but probably because I didn't catch it soon enough. Hope this helps!

It is normal, my son did it too. It isn't totally necessary, but if you want them, they sell crib rail guards. They are long plastic strips that cap the top of the rails.

I am not sure how safe it is for babies but they have the clear anti nail biting stuff you can put on little kids nails. I would check with pedi first though. Some things that are safe in older kids are toxic in babies. Like honey!

You can add a crib rail protector to your baby's bed. Here is a good example:

http://www.onestepahead.com/jump.jsp?lGen=detail&item...

Congrats on starting the nursing program. That is what I plan to do next year. What school are you going to? Was it hard to get into the program? I am thinking of going to Ohlone if I get picked in their lottery system.

Good luck with the bed rail!!

D.

I know that there are some plastic things that you can put over the wood to keep them from chewing into the wood or You could always put something on the railing that doesn't taste good, that wouldn't harm your baby. They sell this spray called bitter apple, used for dogs to keep from chewing. I would imagine if it is safe for dogs that it would be safe for babies too, but I would double check to make sure.

Also, be careful when picking her up out of the crib if she's got her mouth on the crib railing. My friend's mom picked him up out of the playpin when he was biting on the railing and pulled his two front teeth out.

...Most children's boutiques and Babie R us have crib railings - plastic. They help a lot! Also, call the crib manufacturer and see if they have crib rails for teethers!

My son also began chewing on his crib around the same time, partially due to teething. "Babies 'R' Us" sells crib rail guards, but they only work on the newer style cribs (we have an older one). Make sure your daughter has other teething toys in her crib and take heart that our dentist said this was normal and there was no damage to the teeth. My son eventually grew out of the chewing on everything stage and moved onto other bigger things (emptying out his dresser, climbing, etc.)

Don't worry there's no lead in any of the paint anymore, so she will be fine. My last 2 boys did the same thing. They are both very healthy. I know that's not hopefull but the truth is, it probly feels good on her teeth. She'll be o.k.

My daughter did the exact same thing at her age! Honestly, I never did figure out a good solution. I would get several different types of teether toys, and see what she likes best. Put it in her crib, and hopefully she will use it. Don't worry, baby teeth aren't strong enough to actually chew pieces off. Look at it this way, when baby #2 comes along, you will have a funny memory of Hannah and her chewing habit every time you use the crib!

Hi M.,
They have something called a teething rail that goes on the part of the crib that your daughter is biting. All you have to do is call a wood working specialty store and they should sell them there. Hope this helps.

All my boys used to do that. I'm thinking she's teething so getting her something else to chew or bite on might help.

Hi! M.:
I just got an e-mail newsletter from WhatToExpect.com and biting is the subject. Go to their website and read the article. It's under 10 month olds. My son is almost 11 months old and he has bitten me and he bites on our coffee table(which I don't care about because it's old). He hasn't chewed on his crib(yet) but the rails also have plastic covers on them. Maybe you can get some of those.
Good luck to you!

They have a plastic cover to go over the crib rails for when babies teeth.

Hi my oldest daughter used to bite the crib and when i saw i just started to put teethers, toys in the crib but she still woulden't play with it and kept bitting the crib. There's no much you can do for that, when u see her doing it just tell her don't bite the crib and give her something that she likes.

My son did the exact same thing. I tried coating the railings with plastic guards (they sell them at Babies R Us), but he just picked a different spot. I then tried spraying it with bitter apple (get it at Petsmart...it's usually used to stop puppies from chewing), and that seemed to deter him a bit.

It is just a stage... she's probably teething. You can also try diverting her with a teething ring, but obviously you can't leave it in the crib with her, so there will probably be times when she will chew.

As long as your crib isn't painted, she'll probably be OK. If it is, try the bitter apple or cover the rails with some type of protection, either plastic or fabric. Just be sure it's something she can't remove or hurt herself on.

Hi, my now four year old daughter did this when she was the same age. There is plastics you can buy to put on the railing to prevent this. If I recall the are relatively cheap and slide ride on top of the railing.