Natural Teething Pain Remedies For Babies

When your baby starts teething, it can be an exciting time. Your little boy or girl is growing up! It's not all a bunch of roses, though. Many babies suffer pain during the teething process, which involves their primary teeth breaking through the gums. Do you remember when your wisdom teeth first started coming in? Teething pain and discomfort can be a lot like it, except that entire sections of teeth are popping up at once. That, coupled with the fact that babies are very sensitive to pain, makes for a fussy baby. Here are some of the signs to look out for:

• Irritability
• Drooling
• Swollen gums
• Attempting to chew everything
• Rubbing of face
• Difficulty sleeping
• Pulling at the ears
• Turning away food

These symptoms may begin in the days prior to your baby's teeth actually being visible. For babies at the appropriate teething age (between 3 and 12 months of age), a doctor's visit is not usually required. You don't want to give your baby over-the-counter painkillers, especially since the teething process isn't completed until the age of 3. That's a long time for anyone to be on painkillers – particularly babies, as there's much debate on whether or not grown adults should even be taking them. So what can you do to comfort your baby through the teething process? Let's take a look at a few options.

Natural Remedies For Teething Pain

1. Yogurt

Yogurt contains several bacterial strains that can reduce pain and inflammation. Cold yogurt can also be a great way to get your teething baby to eat something; they'll love the cold, numbing sensation provided by the yogurt. Make sure you buy probiotic yogurt. If you're vegan, no problem – just feed your baby probiotic soy yogurt.

2. Chamomile Rag

Parents of teething babies will know that they love to chew on everything they see in an attempt to soothe their irritated gums. One popular remedy to combat this is to give the baby a frozen cloth to chew on. You can take that trick one step further and soak a corner of that cloth in chamomile tea before freezing it. Chamomile is a natural pain soother, which your baby will appreciate.

3. Cold Grapes

Grapes contain resveratrol, a natural anti-inflammatory compound that will help soothe your baby's inflamed gums. Here's another trick to help your baby eat something that can give relief from teething pain at the same time. Place chilled grapes in a mesh feeder such as this one that will let your baby safely chew at the grapes for relief.

4. Baking Soda Bath

Baking soda in bathwater makes for a very soothing, relaxing experience. It will work wonders for helping distract your baby from teething pain, and can be incredibly useful close to bedtime. Fill a warm bath with half a cup of baking soda and let your baby play in it for a few minutes. Baking soda is also believed to help combat pain, so feel free to take some of the water on your finger and allow your baby to chew on it.

Do you have any natural teething remedies you'd like to share? Let us know in the comments!

Sources: DrSircus.com Med-Health.com EverydayHealth.com RyanCarahan.com ABC News BabyCenter.com