Looking for Experience in the Teething Realm!!

I'd keep an eye on her. But I bet it's because of the tooth. And soon she may get another. I remember DD got her first 4 teeth pretty much one after the other! My DD didn't always have a fever, but sometimes she would have loss of appetite. It may be like this for you the next couple of years. My daughter is just now getting in her last set of molars...and I hear those the extreme painful ones! :) Best Wishes to you!

I don't remember about the first tooth coming in but my 20 month old has 4 teeth working their way through right now. For him he gets really clingy and wants to be held all the time. He won't stay asleep unless I'm right there with him for 3 or 4 days. I also use the Hyland's teething tablets(I get mine at Wal-Mart over by the Childrens Vitamins). Only when those don't seem to be working do I go for the Motrin or Tylenol. My sister would give her kids a washcloth that she wet a corner and stuck in the freezer to chew on. My boys never would keep a hold of it, they prefer fingers :D .. Good luck!!!

I have two kiddos and I too noticed a loss of appetite that gum is tender and may hurt her to even take a bottle. My secret weapon that I used for my kids was a all natural tablet called hylands teething tablets. I found them at the health food store they are the best. Now I know that there are others made by other companies and I tried those but they didn't work like the hylands did. I'm not sure if any of the drug stores carry that brand but I do know that the health food store does and you will notice a change in her.

Each child is different. My daughter would chew on her fingers, pop a low-grade temp, and be very fussy with her teeth. My son drooled like a bulldog and chewed on everything he could find.

The loss of appetite absolutely could be a tooth, or it could be a growth spurt - she's right about the age where you should be seeing one of those.

Teething symptoms are definitely widely varied from child to child. With my oldest we had fever, fussiness and lack of appetitie with her first few teeth. With the later teeth we only had mild fussiness. Hyland's teething tablets work very well and they are a natural remedy. You can also freeze slices of cucumber and let your baby "teeth on them" for comfort - cucumber has soothing properties. You may want to put the cucumber slice in a mesh baby feeder if you're worried about your little one biting off chunks and swallowing them.

How exciting, the first tooth. I know with my 2 1/2 year old son he lost his appetite with each tooth he cut. His doctor always told me that if he's still eating and drinking something not to worry, it's just his teeth. So I would assume the same thing with your little girl. I wouldn't start to worry unless she completely stops eating and drinking!
~S.

It can be teething, or also a developmental milestone. If she's starting to do new things, sometimes this happens. If you don't already have it, you might want to get "What to expect the first year" by the same people that did "What to expect when you're expecting". My little guy is 11 mos old and has almost 8 teeth (4 top/bottom). Wow!

My son is 6 months old today and just 2 weeks ago he finally cut his first tooth. We had to go through alot of fussiness. Alot of not sleeping. He wasnt eating as much as he normally would. But he never did get feverish. The baby tylenol didnt seem to help so I looked here on Mamasource and found everyone suggesting "Hylands Teething Tablets". I got those and the Hylands gel. (at CVS and Walmart) It really calmed him down and he ended up sleeping again!! Whats funny is he really likes taking the tabs. They are real small but I guess he likes it because it has some consistancy. So the tooth came out and he is back to eating, sleeping etc. But I have noticed him chewing on his fingers again so I am sure another tooth is on the way! He just chews alot and drools a whole heck of a lot! But he hasnt ever liked "chilled" washcloths or teething rings. From what I hear it gets easier and easier because they get used to it. Thats until the molars come in! Good luck.

Younger teethers (like yours) usually have fever and loss of appetite. My daughter was her age when she first got one. However, my son was 14 months old before getting one and he never flinched. No fussines, eating changes, etc. So I would say it's the teeth--the fever would be low grade--if any at all. And some even get a clear runny nose. But some don't. Hope this helps. :) C.

My grandson had a terrible time with teething. He ran fever, spit up a lot and had a loss of appetite. He too only drank 2-3 ounces of formula at each feeding. Needless to say, we got thru it and all is well. He now has 8 teeth and is 9 months old.

I have found that every time my kids teeth, they don't eat well. It hurts, even to suck so they don't want to. I have an almost 3 year old and an 11 month old. Once te tooth breaks the surface she should be back to normal.

Teeth can make them sick as if they are dying from the flu, or have no affect at all, and all of the things in between, this is how your child deals with it. I never knew with either of mine that they had a new tooth, until I stuck my fingers in to look, they were both asymptomatic?!

Like the others have said, teething varies from child to child. Since you see a tooth, I would say the lack of appetite is from teething. If she has a temp higher than 101, then she has a bug. Otherwise, even a low grade temp can be caused by teething.

I did want to add information about giving tylenol. Giving baby tylenol every 4 hours for more than a day can cause overdose. This can be very harmful to a baby. That being said, I am not telling you not to give your baby tylenol, just to be wary. It is best if your little one is having pain to alternate between tylenol and motrin or the hyland's tablets.

My daughter, 9 months and still teething, likes to chew on a wet rag which cleans her teeth and allows her some relief. She also loves to chew on a soft toothbrush before bed. GL!

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i gave my daughter cold carrots to chew on, plus i breastfed till she was eight months old. i gave my granddaughter those popsicles that are in the plastic(not bag type). i also startd feeding solid foods on a regular basis from about a week old. it did not hurt them. my granddaughter will be three in october, i had her up to the doctors charts by the time she was six months old.she was born two months early, weighed four pounds nine ounces when we brought her home. she was only sixteen inches long. now she weighs twenty-eight pounds.

Hi - I feel your pain. Its hard to tell when they are teething cause it happens at different ages. Anyway its never bad to take them to the DR just to be safe - you know better safe than sorry. As for the teething my pedi has always told me no oragel especially at that young age it can numb the back of their throat and make it hard for them to swallow and can cause them to choke on their saliva - There are some teething tablets that I buy that were highly recommended to me they are called Humphreys Teething Tablets I swear they are magic they dissolve in matter of a seconds they will not hurt her and they are all natrual. I didn't know about them with my first child only with my second she is almost 2yrs and I still give them to her to this day on those hurtful teething days, and I gave them to her as early as 6months. They can be hard to find I usually find them at United Supermarkets, they may be also be sold at CVS or Walgreens. Well good luck.

My little guy has terrible symtpoms when he is teething. He is fussy, won't eat, won't sleep. Its normal for them to have a loss of appetite. But if it doesn't come back once her tooth is in, I'd call her doctor. If it seems like she is in pain, you can give her infant tylenol, baby ora-gel and these little tablets called Hylands Teething Tablets. They really seemed to help Zach. He also enjoys chewing on a Gerber baby spoon. The spoon part is coated. I guess it feels good on his gums. If you aren't feeding her solid food yet, it will be a good way for her to get used to a spoon. My guy has been on solid food since he was 4 months old. He loves to chew on baby Mum-Mums when he's teething . They just need stuff to chew on to help the tooth break through. Cold drinks help too. You might try cold water in a bottle. I guess you aren't supposed to introduce juice until they're 6 months but once you do, ice cold juice in a bottle really helps teething pain too. Good Luck ! I feel your pain ! lol

I know, it is very confusing. I had always heard that a fever was normal; however, my ped told me a fever means they have something. So if she does get a fever, it's probably a bug so keep an eye out. Regarding her lack of hunger, it could be a teething thing; however, again, it could be a bug too. I know my son found his sippy painful when his front teeth were coming in so maybe this is similar. We found that Hylands teething tablets (they're homeopathic) were a good thing. If things got bad, baby Motrin and/or baby Tylenol were invaluable. I was really hesitant to give my son medicine; however, if it's bad they are in pain and really nothing else will do. Just be sure to give the right dosage and keep track of what you gave and when and you should be fine.

Not to rub it in.... but I am so glad my son has all his teeth now. I will say that the first tooth, eye teeth and molars were the hardest for him. I hear that's pretty common too.

My daughter started teething at 3 months. Her teeth went up and down until they finally came through. She didn't like teething rings, but she loved frozed waffels. I think she liked the mess she could make after they thawed. Also, she enjoyed the keys (those big, plastic ones the kids can play with). She always stopped eating during those times...but she would drink more. There are also some really hard teething crackers you can get.

Every child is different... some get fevers, some not at all. Some get cranky, some not at all. My 2 were night and day. My daughter was cranky, feverish, had a runny nose and drooled like crazy. My son-- seemed one morning he woke up with a mouth full of teeth! As far as not eating as much, my daughter is like this. Some days she hardly eats at all, and others she eats like a horse. I do remember that her appetite did drop off when something else was going on... (teeth, sitting up, etc.)