Approved by the What’s Up Moms Medical Advisory Board
As your baby approaches six months, she may start teething – this tends to be the average age. While for some babies teething is an uncomfortable, disruptive process spanning several months, for others it comes and goes unnoticed.
You can figure baby is probably teething if she’s drooling, irritable, showing less interest in food, rubbing her face, or trying to suck, bite or chew on everything – her own fingers included. There may be some sleep disruptions. You’ll also be able to see some swelling and redness in the gums, and maybe even the faint glimmer of two little white chompers inside the bottom gum.
The good news is that once a tooth breaks through the gum, symptoms subside. And more good news: if you thought your baby was cute before, wait until those chompers appear. The crazy jack-o-lantern look is AHmazing. To keep baby comfortable, offer her cold washcloths or teething toys to suck on and give infant Tylenol as needed – just avoid those topical pain relievers. And if your baby is still all gums, fret not. Some babies don’t get teeth til closer to a year. As they say: #gummyisyummy (No one says that. But it’s true.)
BTW, by now you should be cleaning baby’s gums daily. Those silicone sleeves you wear on your finger are super easy and do a good job gently massaging the gums and cleaning away any debris that can harm teeth as they come in. Bonus: babe gets used to the habit of oral care and it becomes part of the routine.
Now, everybody say cheese.
