Teething and a little "Hippy Magic"

WARNING: If you already feel I have lost my mind... gone a little too "crunchy"... or have gone off the deep end, it's probably best you skip this post and come back another day when the post is filled with pretty pictures of Olivia. :)  You've been warned!

Teething is one of those things that we all have to endure as parents.  You hear all these stories about all the things that could happen.  Rough nights, crabby days, and frazzled moms are often caused by teething.  At least this was my impression.  I braced myself.  I made sure to have a variety of teethers.  I stocked the bathroom cabinet with tylenol, teething tablets and orajel.  I also collected those bibs that are meant to be water resistant.  (Apparently those makers have not met my daughter!)

Olivia started drooling at 3 months.  I knew that it was possible to start getting a tooth as early as 4 months, but I didn't think she was teething.  Around the same time, she also started gnawing on anything she could get her hands on.  One of the "your baby is this old" emails said that extra saliva was normal at that age, hence the drooling.  (I've since decided that her tongue is just too big for her mouth.  It has to be.  She is the only baby in her Little Gym class that has to wear a bib-and sometimes change it mid class!!  Seriously.  13 kids and she's the only one with a bib!)

So on we went.  Drooling. Chewing. Running my fingers across her gums and nothing.  Drooling. Chewing. Checking. Drooling. Drooling. Chewing.  Since she is constantly in a bib, people would ask "Is she teething?" I would say, "Um... I guess?!"  How do I know?!  She didn't seem in pain.  Nothing was ever poking through.  Sometimes people would tell me she was teething.  Like at Thanksgiving when people were insisting her cheeks were red and that it had to be teeth coming in.  Pause that thought.

On to the "hippy magic"... You may have noticed in the pictures that Olivia has a necklace on.  It's not for looks.  It's to help with teething pain.  I had heard about baltic amber teething necklaces online.  The first time I heard about it I rolled my eyes.  (As I'm sure you are doing right now.)  I shrugged it off and went about my business.  It kept popping up though.  People online were raving about it.  I met a few bumpies for lunch and there were some that were "believers".  Sometime shortly after Thanksgiving, the site babysteals had them on sale for 50% off.  I thought, "What the heck, it's worth a try".  I ordered Olivia one and she has been wearing it ever since.  Someone claimed that it was suppose to help with the drool too.  It did not.  I was a little disappointed about that and was wondering if it even worked.

A few days before Christmas, I noticed that her neck was a little red.  This has happened on and off--not from the necklace.  It gets irritated.  I took the necklace off and didn't put it back on after her bath.  Christmas Eve she was miserable.  We had plans to go look at Christmas lights and didn't even leave the house because she was being a beast.  I noticed that her gums were white and swollen.  We tried teethers.  I froze a wet spot on a burp cloth for her to chew on.  I put orajel on her gums.  Nothing was helping.  I was convinced she was going to wake up on Christmas morning with teeth.  Christmas day was much of the same and we were actually nervous to go to our friends house.  She was a mess.  It wasn't really like her.  After giving her a dose of tylenol and trying all the teethers we could, I remembered that I had taken the necklace off.  We put it back on.  We haven't had an issue since.  She didn't get teeth then, but her gums were swollen so I think she was still in pain.

Her first tooth popped through sometime in the night on her 7 month birthday.  I wouldn't even have known had I not looked in her mouth during a diaper change.  She had NO reaction.  She wasn't fussy prior to it cutting.  She didn't have a fever or runny nose.  She didn't lose any sleep.  Her mood never changed.  These are all things you hear about with teething.  She did drool and gnaw on things, but she has been doing that for 4 months!  Her second tooth popped through a few days ago.  Again, I wouldn't even have known except I noticed it when she was eating.  I am a serious believer in the baltic amber now!  Someone on the bump jokingly referred to it as "hippy magic".  Call it what you will, but once again, I'd rather have my daughter wear a necklace than drug her repeatedly with tylenol and orajel.

What is a baltic amber necklace?  Well, I could try to explain it.  I could also copy and paste, but this post is getting too long as it is.  You can check out the site where I got it.  It's not just for teething either.  They make them in youth and adult sizes and it is suppose to help with a variety of ailments such as arthritis, joint pains, headaches, reflux and more.

In order for it to work, it needs to be on the skin closest to the place of pain.  It is also suppose to be worn 24 hours a day.  Yes, Olivia sleeps in hers.  Don't have a heart attack!  I am normally a rule follower and am captain of the safety patrol.  I would obviously not do anything to put my daughter in harms way.  They are meant to break under pressure (without the beads coming off) and there is nothing in her crib that it could get caught on.  It gets tucked under her pajamas and we have never had an issue.  It's not really worth it to me to have her wear it if it's only while she's awake (8 hours a day) because it wouldn't really work.

So there you have it.... 2 teeth... no drama... and a little hippy magic! :)  I tried to get pictures, but she doesn't let me see the teeth too often.  She just sticks her tongue out and covers them.  I'm working on it though!  Oh, and they are her two bottom teeth.