I am writing this blog as I am experiencing the terror of teething with Thomas, he is now almost 7 months and just starting to become uncomfortable with his gums through teething. He has had the usual symptoms of teething for a couple of months now: fingers in mouth, excess saliva, wanting to suck hard on anything that goes anywhere near his mouth! (Including my arm at bathtime). Although last night his teething seemed to get much worse! He screamed with tears of pain as he placed his fingers in his mouth! I felt so helpless it reminded me of his colic days, something I seriously don’t want to return to. I gave him the old favourite Calpol – Which is an infant paracetamol, it seemed to calm him slightly so I put him to bed for the night.

After 4 hours of soundless sleeping he began to get a little restless in his cot, tossing and turning making noises around that time I was ready for bed myself – I like to enjoy a few hours to myself when Thomas goes to bed, just to chill out and collect my thoughts from the day. As I climbed into bed, my head hit the pillow and….Aaaaarrrggghhh Thomas started to cry out, I went into his bedroom and gently rubbed his head and put his dummy back in. I quietly crept back out of his room, pressing play on his cd player on my way out to begin playing his bedtime lullaby music. As soon as I was on the landing he cried out again! The next few hours were spent with me rocking him, soothing him winding him…You get the gist!

It got to 3am Thomas was still very unsettled so I reluctantly wrapped him up warm, put him in his car seat and took him out for a drive. I didn’t want to have to do it but it was my last option, and sure enough he fell asleep – There is something to be said about a car journey sending a baby to sleep. 4am I get back in the house, carry Thomas upstairs in his car seat and place him at the side of me as I crawl into bed. I just knew if I had taken him out of the car seat he would have woken, he was so comfy and asleep! Just 4 hours later he was awake wanting his breakfast, I was a zombie – All I can say is thank you to Nathan for convincing me we needed a coffee perculator fresh ground coffee beans did the trick I was myself again in a matter of minutes!

I just wanted to point out a few other teething remedies I have used incase your reading this blog with a baby who is going through teething! I know how hard to know what to buy there are so many teething pain relief remedies out there. I’ve already mentioned Calpol which is an infant paracetamol I have used a herbal teething granual which is a small pouch with a white powder inside, you put the powder in the baby’s mouth and it helps to relieve the pain from teething – As its herbal it doesn’t contain any medicine unlike Calpol. I have also tried Infacol which is very similar to teething gels, although Infacol is a liquid you rub over the baby’s gums which knumb the pain – Teething gels can come off the gums but a liquid is more inclined to stay on the gum. I have used all these methods up to now, they all appear to work for the moment but then wear off. I have also tried frozen teething rings, Bickiepegs, carrots, hard metal objects such as spoons…Anything really that Thomas can have a good chomp on to help those little peggies come through! No signs of any teeth yet, I will keep you all posted.

Please tell me your teething experiences, I would love to read about what teething pain relief methods you have tried – What works and what doesn’t.  

I started giving Thomas a small amount of solid food at 4.5 months, I felt he was ready for a little bit more he had good head control and was intently watching me eat, making the mouth movements with me. I feel like I always have to explain exactly why I started Thomas on solids early, personally I feel like I was frowned upon by the health care providers for starting solids before 6 months – I have read all the justification for waiting until your baby is 6 months, and felt that by giving Thomas a very small amount of homemade fruit/vegetables he would appreciate and enjoy the flavors and it would help him progress with eating a variety of foods.

The first food I gave Thomas was puree sweet potato, sweet potato is a fantastic first food as its naturally sweet and a great texture for baby. I pricked several holes into a sweet potato and placed on a baking in the hot oven for around an hour. When the potato is soft allow it to cool and scoop out the inside placing them in a blender, add a little cool boiled fresh water as required to thin the puree allow to cool then serve. To begin with I did blend the sweet potato with cool boiled water to create a nice consistency, although now I have progressed onto using just the scooped potato without any further blending. Thomas loved it!

A great tip I learned is to place the puree into individual segments within an ice cube tray, preferably an ice cube tray with a lid to prevent freezer burn. Once the puree is frozen, pop them out of the individual ice cube segments and place into a freezer bag, label the bag and place back in the freezer. This will then free up the ice cube tray for you to freeze other purees and repeat the process. Its a good idea to spend one afternoon cooking a variety of puree foods and freezing them for the week so you not cooking every day.

I started Thomas on an ice cube amount of sweet potato around tea time every day, we progressed onto two ice cube amounts as his appetite increased. He loves the flavours in foods, and I love making them for him, I make my own vegetables and fruits  – I really enjoy making them, it makes me feel good I know exactly what Thomas is eating and it tastes really nice. I get a buzz watching him enjoy his food and I know he is getting the best! I think part of me is still upset and gutted that I couldn’t breastfeed Thomas, so I am making up for it by giving him the best in what I can control.