My 10 1/2 month old is just getting his first teeth. I'm wondering if it is normal for him to not want to eat or take a bottle. As soon as we sit him down to eat he starts to cry and put his hand in his mouth. I'm guess this is normal and his gums hurt. We are lucky to get a few bites in at each meal. He is on the small side so I'm worried he isn't getting enough to eat. Any suggestions on helping him with the pain would be great.
When my son teethed we went back to baby foods. We did the Gerber jars - size 1 or 2 depending on how much I thought he'd eat. It felt like a waste of money, but that's all he would eat. Otherwise I would cut up a popsicle and he loved that.
My kids never liked cold things, even when they were teething, so try a teether that isn't cold.
My daughter likes chewing on those Flav-or-Ice or other brand squeeze pops. I don't open the sleeve, I just let her chew on the outside of the pop.
My best luck was with Hyland's Teething Tablets. They're homeopathic and available at Lakewinds and several other places.
Oral-B makes these neat sticks with orajel inside them that make it easy to apply to gums. A q-tip and any teething gel works too.
I read in one of my parenting magazines that pressing down strongly on the gums will relieve the pain short-term. That seemed to work occasionally with my kids, especially if the tooth was very close to the surface.
A nurse told me to use ibuprofen instead of tylenol because the ibuprofen helps with the swelling, which is causing part of the pain. That was a good last-ditch effort thing for my kids.
And the strangest one - teach him to blow raspberries. My daughter figured that one out on her own. I think it makes her mouth vibrate and that helps (there's also a vibrating teether, but it never seems to hit the right spot). Plus, it's funny!
My son did the same thing when he was getting teeth. Lots of sleep and not much eating. Kids won't starve themselves. He'll eat when he needs to. I wouldn't worry about it.
The not eating is normal. If you are concerned try to get him to drink something like Ensure but for babies or toddlers. My boys and grandson were real willing to eat soft foods like pureed veggies or applesauce etc. As for the pain try anbesol - it works wonders or just try letting him chew on a cold teether or cold, damp washcloth. I also had luck, at times, with gently rubbing the gums. Good luck!
C. W
Definately try Hylands teething tablets, they work great! Wal Mart pharmacy or natural foods departments have them. Frozen Crinkle cut french fries worked with Alyssa's back teeth, but if he doesn't have many teeth yet I thin that net one of the other moms suggested is a good idea, and I also agree that he won't starve himself He will eat when he needs to.
Try frozen fruits/vegetables. Your baby will get nutrients as well as something to numb the pain in his gums.
Definitely don't worry, totally normal :) Those teeth are just not fun for little kids. What worked for us between my 3 girls was a cold frozen washcloth, a teething toy that vibrated, and the natural teething tablets (you dissolve them under their tounge). Tylenol was alright but I didn't like to use that very often.
My son just got his first teeth around 10 1/2 months as well. He also had a short spurt where he did not want to eat very much. The only thing I did was to try and give him a small amount of the baby orajel before mealtimes and that seemed to help a little bit. We also just gave him mostly baby food with few soft foods like bananas for those few days so he didn't have to chew much. Hope this helps a little. Good luck.
Have you tried those little mesh things for feeding babies frozen food? I bought mine at Target. They are like big baby rattles with mesh bags on the end. You can cut up any kind of frozen fruit or vegetable and they can suck and mash on what ever is inside without it being a choking hazzard. This way you can get some nutrients into him AND the frozen food should help ease his pain at the same time.
K. H
That is completely normal for kids. Try to make sure you give him the very softest foods possible.
I tried the Hyland Teething Tablets but did not notice any benefit from them. Our doctor told us to be careful with Orajel because the numbing agent used can cause changes in the heart rate. Our guy did not like cold and frozen things AT ALL, but some kids love it. I let him chew on these rubber tipped tooth brushes-but not when he was walking or crawling. The most help seemed to be Tylenol and Ibuprofen...and distraction!
Good luck. We are going through eye teeth right now and these are by far the worst yet. Ouch!
