You start to see the signs, the never ending strand of drool, the gnawing everything he/she can wrestle into the mouth, the fussiness; it’s the dreaded teething stage. All moms have experienced it, and most would say that teething is definitely not on their top 5 favorite stages of child rearing. When heading out to the store most of us crunchy kind of moms are a little turned off by the offerings: mostly plastic, made in China, some say BPA free, others don’t mention that concern, what’s a granola gal to do? No worries, I have a few tips to share with you from both back in your grandma’s day as well as some great products that are on the market that you can use guilt free.
Non Toxic Teethers
1. Go “Old School”
Back in our grandmother’s day they would often just tie a knot in a cloth then soak the whole cloth in water and squeeze out the excess before providing it to baby. The updated version of this would be to tie an ice cube up in a washcloth and hand it off to baby. Those who don’t mind sugar would love to hear that often times a sugar cube would be tied up in that rag too, apparently babies really go for that!
2. Wooden Teethers are Fantastic
There are a number of them out there, make sure you are ordering them made without any sealants on them; raw naked wood is what you want.
3. Silicone Toys Can Be a Good Alternative to Plastic
With all the hype around plastics inundating us with concerns about even more chemicals we need to avoid, what about Silicone? Most reputable sources will claim that Silicone produced in the US is a safe alternative; by the way there is a super cute teether to check out here too.
- Mombella soft silicone teething toy (pictured below)
- Honest company silicone teether
4. Don’t forget the Amber!
If you haven’t already read up on Amber’s amazing benefits for teething littles, go do some homework, if you have then don’t forget about necklaces for mom and baby.
- Amber Teething necklaces
5. Natural Rubber Teethers are Natural and Safe
- Vulli Sophie la Girafe
- Calmies – Natural Teether (pictured below)
Best of luck and enjoy knowing that you are helping your little one deal with teething pain as well as avoiding unnecessary contaminants!
I didn’t try the amber, but I did try a frozen washcloth and teethers galore. Anything helps!
These are great ideas. I cringe when I think of some of the things we gave our kids when they were babies.
My nieces are teething so these are some great ideas for when they visit. I have to admit I am relearning what it is like to have a baby in the house.
Oh goodness – this is comprehensive! We went old school with our first baby but tried out products with our second. We have a lot of Sophies!
My two sisters have young babies who will teeth soon – I will send them this link.
It has been quite awhile for me since I have had to use teethers with my kids. I am glad there are these great non-toxic solutions to make the little ones more comfortable.
I remember those days! I wish I had known about these when mine were little!