Surviving Ava’s Teething

My 15-month old daughter, Ava had her first tooth pop up at 11 months and didn’t really seem to make a difference in her baby world. We barely experienced any crying and no fevers, she just had a harder time falling asleep. So, after getting her first two bottom teeth I thought, “Hey, this is not so bad!”.

Well, come two weeks ago my little one started sprouting her two upper teeth and lets just say I learned what “surviving” your baby’s teething meant.  My happy little munchkin turned into a completely different baby.  She became uninterested, cranky and learned how to use her vocal cords in a whole new way.

Her teething got so bad that she got a fever of 103 degrees.  Eating and playing became a chore and she was happiest when she could somehow fall asleep through the horrible pain.

So, how are we surviving?

1.  I try to make sure we have enough of Ava’s favorite thing in the house. She absolutely loves fruits – grapes, oranges and bananas top the list.  Even when she refuses to eat her meals because of the teething she will always eat these things.

2.  I try to take her out if the teething is not to bad.  She loves people, so seeing others helps get her mind off of the pain. Although, I prefer to keep her in if the pain is REALLY bad.  I had to attend a family event while she was teething really bad and she was too out of it.  No matter what we did she just wanted to stick to her parents and take a nap in our arms.

3.  Ava loves to cuddle and during teething she loves to even more.  I try to give her extra affection, so she understands I know what she is going through and it will get better eventually.

4. We let her sleep as much as she wants when teething. It really helps get past the worst part of the teething. I find taking naps during the day is easier for her rather than the night.  At night, she stays up to 11:30pm and sometimes later when she is teething.

5. I make sure to look at the teeth coming in. I know a teething baby hates this, but it in important to make sure the teeth are coming in right. Last week, I looked in her mouth and there was a dark red mark / bump on her gum of where her tooth was coming in. It looked like a possible infection, so I called the dentist to make an appointment just make sure all was okay. It turned out  she had irregular tearing, but in the end everything was okay.

6.  I  give Ava baby Tylenol when her teething gets really really bad or she has a fever.  It helps calm her a little and reduce the pain.

7. Be patient. I know this sounds obvious, but many parents start to get aggravated after a couple of days of dealing with an unruly baby.  Just remember this stage will pass and your little one is only acting out because of the pain. If your nerves get to short grandma is usually available to babysit for a couple of hours 😉

Do you have suggestions when it comes to a teething baby?