Wednesday, July 19, 2006

WFMW: Teething Pain Relief



As I have recently mentioned, Abigial is teething. If you have a baby/toddler like mine, you understand the daily trauma we endure - bite marks on everything (and everyone, but we're working on that), disrupted sleep, and sudden, intense crying followed by a swirl of activity in an attempt to remedy the situation. I used to find myself holding Abigail and attempting to console her while trying to encourage her to chew on a teething ring until the tylenol kicked in. I often felt that my attempts were futile, as nothing seemed to really kick the pain while it was peaking. But now, after some trial and error, I have found our "Holy Grail" of teething pain relief.

FROZEN GRAPES and FROZEN BANANAS

Oh, what joy I had the first time Abigail started gnawing on a chunk on frozen banana, and her face went from grimacing in pain to not-quite-smiling but really enjoying this yummy, soothing treat. The taste keeps her interested, and the cold helps soothe her gums. (Also a great thing if your child has trouble eating because of the pain - the coldness really helps.)
Now that Abigail has somewhat advanced eating skills, I just cut up the grapes or bananas into small pieces most of the time. But thanks to this awesome invention, I don't even have to do that. We always keep a "food feeder" in the freezer with a couple grapes or a chunk of nanner inside. (Click on the photo for more info. I usually buy mine at Baby Depot, but they can be found at many stored that sell baby supplies.) The mesh holder makes it safe for her to eat without fear of choking. She started using this as soon as she was able to hold it and chew solid foods. (The picture at the top is an old one, taken when she was about 6 months old.)

That works for me! Go see Shannon over at Rocks in my Dryer for the all-new and improved Works For Me Wednesday.

11 comments:

  1. I'll be passing this idea along to my sister. Great help, thanks. :)

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  2. Sarah,

    Another great "teether" is a frozen waffle. Just take it out of the freezer for a minute to "knock the chill off". My daughter loved that, and the bananas!

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  3. Ooooooh, Melissa that sounds like a good one. I was just feeding Abigail waffles this morning, but never thought to try it frozen. I'm going to give that one a try.

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  4. I wish these were around when my kids were little. Great invention!

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  5. Thanks! I am in this stage and I have seen these, but haven't tried them. My daughter is currently getting 3 teeth at once and has been super crabby, which isn't like her at all. I feel bad for her.

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  6. Thanks! I am in this stage and I have seen these, but haven't tried them. My daughter is currently getting 3 teeth at once and has been super crabby, which isn't like her at all. I feel bad for her.

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  7. You know, I bought a couple of these when my 18 month old son was younger and they didn't work for me. He wanted nothing to do with them, other than to bang them on his tray like a toy. I'm glad to hear that they work for someone! ;) I'll probably still try them again for the next child.

    I've posted a WFMW tip as well. Stop by and take a peek. :)

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  8. Overwhelmed - When I started giving the mesh feeder to Abigail, she wasn't sure what to do with it at first. She didn't realize there was food inside. So, now I bite on it a couple times before I give it to her, so the flavor of the fruit inside is starting to seep out. (She also sees me chewing on it, and that helped her get the idea) That seems to do the trick for me.

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  9. Yes, yes, YES!!! My son loved the feeder when he was a bit younger, but now can eat grapes and nanners cut up ... but FROZEN -- I soooooo love this idea, and I'm going to do it TONIGHT!! Front teeth coming in!

    Thanks!

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  10. Hi, my son is 7 mths and no teeth yet but I'm sure they'll be coming soon. I've never seen one of those teethers. I think its a great idea and will have to try and find one. Thanks for sharing! I went back and read your Walmart post and cracked up laughing. I can totally relate!

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  11. I have to save the idea for the mesh food holder! I've used tiny foods-frozen blueberries and peas or cut up grapes like you. I need to make some banana pops! Thanks for the idea. My toddler LOVES homemade popsicles for teething. I freeze juice in tupperware molds, but you can get some at a Dollar store or use small paper cups with a pop stick.

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