Teething is a part of your child’s lifetime. The most common problem while teething that causes irritation and pain in babies is swelling of gums and itchiness in them. This is caused by the teeth that push the gums from beneath, causing them to bulge. Sometimes, the pain in jaws becomes so severe that it gets shifted to ear canal too. Babies cry inconsolably bringing the helpless parents at a loss about what to do to soothe their little angels.

Here are some tips for soothing babies with soreness in gums while teething:

* Cool off the pain: Use fake Popsicles or teething pacifiers that have bumps on them by keeping them in the refrigerator and giving them to the baby to bite, chew or suck and cool the pain off, when he/she is hurting. Remember that teething rings or teethers are not to be kept in the freezer as they can harm the tender skin of the infant.
* Distraction: Teething pain can be chronic and cause great discomfort to the baby making him/her irritable. You can cuddle the baby more often, talk to him or offer her a new toy as a way of distraction to soothe her so that she forgets her ache for sometime as she gets attracted to you or the toy.
* Massage: A tooth deep in the gum may be painful and yet not have bruised the gum. In such cases, counter pressure created by chewing can help to soothe the baby and plastic toys, teething rings and other soft plastic toys for teething babies may help her to satisfy her urge to chomp. If the babies’ gums are too tender, then you can lightly massage them with a clean finger or a finger wrapped in washcloth to soothe the baby.
* Medications: Many parents trust over-the-counter local anesthetics like Anbesol or Orajel for their babies but do remember to follow the directions carefully or the baby may fall sick. They should never be given to a baby more than four doses a day or for more than two weeks. Acetaminophen drops may also help the baby to fall asleep but they must be used only at the time of nap or in nighttime. Do not use them to soothe the baby when he should be awake.

All these might help you as you go on with your child care responsibility in teething stage.

According to researches and studies, music can help in child development- both cognitive and behavioral. Music therapy is increasingly becoming popular among kids and therapists believe that certain tones, rhythms and vibrations can actually help treat various medical and behavioral problems in babies and adults alike. It has been seen that lullabies in parents’ voice indeed make babies feel more secure and loved and can help them thrive. It has been seen that relaxing music and 20 minutes of vocal lullaby twice daily helped premature babies and preemies to thrive better, slowed their heart rates and increased the amounts of formula and oxygen they took in.

Similarly, colicky babies or teething babies that hurt and cry a lot are easier to soothe with songs that have soothing melody and steady rhythm. However, if parents love the lullabies, then it works much better than instrumental music, even if they are unable to carry a tune and have to make up the lyrics because they simply can’t remember the words. Another study showed that the brain waves of kids with attention-deficit or hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) that listened to three 40-minute recordings of classical music per week for about six months, moved to higher levels and that they could focus or concentrate better on the tasks assigned to them while they were listening the music.

Listening to regular music sessions periodically throughout the day and classical rhythmic music such as that of Mozart or Haydn can help calm a kid, when he is restless or very tired such as after school. Some kids can learn better or show improvement in their efficiency levels when they do their homework while playing music. However, some kids are just the opposite and cannot just concentrate on studies or work while the music is on, so it basically varies from individual to individual. Kids who face difficulty in following directions may show better results and pay more attention to you if they are given directions in playful, rhythmic, singsong tunes. So, music does help health and stimulate development of a kid.

When you are blessed with a small bundle of joy, you get filled with nurturing and child care instincts automatically. You become more caring as well as sensitive. A little whimper of your child is enough to put you in a sad mood, not to talk about the whole throated cry. But what if your otherwise happy baby starts fussing and crying all the time and the reason is nothing, but teething. Although teething pain largely depends on heredity factors (say if the mother, father, or both had an early and painful teething, there are chances that the baby also will suffer from it), you can still use some methods you can use to reduce the pain, if not actually remove it. Read on to know how reduce the teething pain of your little one.

Tips To Ease Teething Pain

Chewing Toys
One thing that you can do to reduce your baby’s teething pain is provide him something to chew on, as it helps alleviate the discomfort. Give him liquid filled rings or rubber toys. You can also get a number of products from the market, for this purpose. To reduce the pain further, freeze the toys and give them to your baby. The chill soothes the gums and helps reduce the pain, at least temporarily.

Nursing
For some babies, nursing often reduces the teething pain. This will not only provide food to the baby, but also comfort him. You can even freeze the breast milk for the purpose. If your child eats food other than your breast milk as well, providing him with chilled foods, like chilled yogurt, pulp of peaches or even a banana, will do the trick.

Hard Cookies/ Biscuits
You can give your child hard cookies or biscuits to chew on. They are nutritious as well, thus being much better than the chewing toys available in the market. You would easily find cookies specially made for teething purposes. Buy them in flavors that your baby enjoys and give them for chewing.

Cold Water
You can also give your baby cold water for drinking. It will numb the gum and reduce the pain. But do so, only when the weather is warm and your child is able to drink it. Otherwise, he may catch cold or even flu.

Massaging
Another thing what you can do is to freeze a clean cloth and wrap it around your finger. Now, gently massage your baby’s gum with it. He will feel an instant relief. You can also give him the cloth to chew upon. If he is too small to eat chilled fruits, freeze them, wrap them around a very cold cloth and give them for chewing on.

Teething Gels
Teething gels are also available in the market, which can help reduce the pain and discomfort experienced by your baby. However, if the pain persists for long, you can need to consult your doctor and ask him to give your child some medication.

Some might think that cleaning the gums should only happen when the baby starts showing his first tooth. But conventional wisdom suggests that it’s always a good habit to wipe the gums regularly even earlier into the teething timetable.

This procedure is much helpful in ushering a hassle-free child development phase for your child’s teeth because bacteria may make it hard for the teeth to emerge.

After a while, the first teeth will emerge and you should need to buy a reliable baby toothbrush. It should come at around the fifteen to eighteen month mark.

As long as you’re cleaning your child’s teeth regularly, you don’t need to use any toothpaste yet. Just brush the teeth gently on both the outside and inside surfaces twice a day. Brush his tongue as well A little fluoride is a good thing for your baby’s teeth, but too much of it can lead to a condition called fluorosis, which in mild cases causes white spots to show up on your child’s adult teeth.

Sometimes it can be a mystery how the process of teething follows a schedule in babies and like a foolproof system it can’t be stopped thus causing occassional discomfort in your baby - and eventually in you because of the additional time and care you must give your child. So it is best to be informed about how teething goes for the best infant care you can deliver.

Expect your baby’s teething problems to start appearing as early as three months. This can continue until your baby hits three years old.

Teething can begin as early as 3 months and continue until your child’s third birthday.Usually, the first set which will appear would be the front teeth in the lower half of the mouth.Around four to eight weeks later, the upper front teeth start making their appearances. In a month’s time the lower lateral incisors will appear to give support to the two bottom front teeth. When the front line of defense have started to find their place in the mouth of your baby, the molars would then start to make their presence felt.

Most of the problems parents will encounter with teething would be some bouts of irritability from your child caused by swollen gums, a high temperature and some instances of diarrhea.However, a fever is not a direct symptom of teething and it is best to consult your doctor just to be sure about the source of the fever.

The first set of teeth, or milk-teeth as they are called, are twenty in number; they usually appear in pairs, and those of the lower jaw generally precede the corresponding ones of the upper. The first of the milk-teeth is generally cut about the sixth or seventh month, and the last of the set at various periods from the twentieth to the thirtieth months. Thus the whole period occupied by the first dentition may be estimated at from a year and a half to two years. The process varies, however, in different individuals, both as to its whole duration, and as to the periods and order in which the teeth make their appearance. It is unnecessary, however, to add more upon this point.

Their development is a natural process. It is too frequently, however, rendered a painful and difficult one, by errors in the management of the regimen and health of the infant, previously to the coming of the teeth, and during the process itself.

Thus, chiefly in consequence of injudicious management, it is made the most critical period of childhood. Not that I believe the extent of mortality fairly traceable to it, is by any means so great as has been stated; for it is rated as high as one sixth of all the children who undergo it. Still, no one doubts that first dentition is frequently a period of great danger to the infant. It therefore becomes a very important question to an anxious and affectionate mother, how the dangers and difficulties of teething can in any degree be diminished, or, if possible, altogether prevented. A few hints upon this subject, then, may be useful. I shall consider, first, the management of the infant, when teething is accomplished without difficulty; and, secondly, the management of the infant when it is attended with difficulty.

Management of the infant when teething is without difficulty. ————————————————————

In the child of a healthy constitution, which has been properly, that is, naturally, fed, upon the milk of its mother alone, the symptoms attending teething will be of the mildest kind, and the management of the infant most simple and easy.

Symptoms:- The symptoms of natural dentition (which this may be fairly called) are, an increased flow of saliva, with swelling and heat of the gums, and occasionally flushing of the cheeks. The child frequently thrusts its fingers, or any thing within its grasp, into its mouth. Its thirst is increased, and it takes the breast more frequently, though, from the tender state of the gums, for shorter periods than usual. It is fretful and restless; and sudden fits of crying and occasional starting from sleep, with a slight tendency to vomiting, and even looseness of the bowels, are not uncommon. Many of these symptoms often precede the appearance of the tooth by several weeks, and indicate that what is called “breeding the teeth” is going on. In such cases, the symptoms disappear in a few days, to recur again when the tooth approaches the surface of the gum.

Treatment:- The management of the infant in this case is very simple, and seldom calls for the interference of the medical attendant. The child ought to be much in the open air, and well exercised: the bowels should be kept freely open with castor oil; and be always gently relaxed at this time. Cold sponging employed daily, and the surface of the body rubbed dry with as rough a flannel as the delicate skin of the child will bear; friction being very useful. The breast should be given often, but not for long at a time; the thirst will thus be allayed, the gums kept moist and relaxed, and their irritation soothed, without the stomach being overloaded. The mother must also carefully attend, at this time, to her own health and diet, and avoid all stimulant food or drinks.

From the moment dentition begins, pressure on the gums will be found to be agreeable to the child, by numbing the sensibility and dulling the pain. For this purpose coral is usually employed, or a piece of orris-root, or scraped liquorice root; a flat ivory ring, however, is far safer and better, for there is no danger of its being thrust into the eyes or nose. Gentle friction of the gums, also, by the finger of the nurse, is pleasing to the infant; and, as it seems to have some effect in allaying irritation, may be frequently resorted to. In France, it is very much the practice to dip the liquorice-root, and other substances, into honey, or powdered sugar-candy; and in Germany, a small bag, containing a mixture of sugar and spices, is given to the infant to suck, whenever it is fretful and uneasy during teething. The constant use, however, of sweet and stimulating ingredients must do injury to the stomach, and renders their employment very objectionable.