When a baby start teething? What are the signs of it? How to help your crying baby to get through it.

2020 updated!

A lot of mamas have gone through babies’ teething stage and most of them are saying it is an absolute nightmare, especially when the baby wakes up several times through the night crying and feeling really uncomfortable.

If you are a new mum or mum-to-be, this is what you need to read in order to help your crying baby to get through the teething pain, because it is coming sooner than you expect!

When does a baby start teething?

According to NHS: “Some babies are born with their first teeth. Others start teething before they are 4 months old, and some after 12 months. But most babies start teething at around 6 months.”

How long it will last?

Back teeth are the last that will come through, and It would usually happen about the age of 2 or 2.5 years.

How do I know when my baby is teething and what are the signs of it?

It is very easy to detect when your baby is teething, the very first sign is:

When your baby starting to put everything into their mouth.

The following other symptoms are:

Red swollen gum (Bottom front teeth are usually coming through first, so you can just pay attention to that part to start with)
Flushed cheeks
Dribbling more than usual
Grumpy and crying a lot (It is more than loud..)
Low fever

As long as your baby has any of the above symptoms, then this is teething!

So here, what I need to draw your attention to is that when your baby is dribbling A LOT, it is likely to cause a teething rash. But it is also easy to solve, as you just need to simply wipe your baby’s saliva away from their cheeks and neck, by keeping the area dry can prevent teething rash.

See, it is easy enough mama, but as we mentioned, you just need to pay attention to it.

So how to help your baby to relieve the teething pain and stop the aggressive crying?

1, Teething toys

This is usually going to work out before the baby has the big back teeth coming through. And it is the most recommend way to help before any medical use.

When the baby will have back teeth come through?

About the age of 2 and 2.5 years.

The problem with babies putting every random thing into their mouth, it is highly likely they just grab harmful objects like plastic, metal, or something that is not clean.

Giving your baby an adorable teething toy which they love, is going to:

Prevent your baby from chewing on harmful objects and causing some unnecessary accidents.
Help soothe their teething pain by chewing on the teether and massaging their gums.

Of course, you can also use your fingers to gently massage their gum, but you can’t do it 24/7, so let your baby to do the work by themselves by using a teething toy, is going to save your time and energy, which I’m sure you will have plenty of other things to use it on.

You can find some super cute ones from YB London.

2, Ice

You can make some ice lollies with water or smoothie for your little one to chew on. It can calm the swollen gum down. But do pay attention to your baby whenever they are chewing on it. As the ice lolly’s size goes smaller, it might cause a choking hazard towards the end.

3, Chamomile

We can use some Roman chamomile to make drinks for your little one It is a natural remedy instead of baby paracetamol. As we know chamomile is good to calm your emotions.

4, Teething Gel

This might calm the swollen gums down a bit if your little one’s gums are really red and swollen. But according to NHS: “There’s a lack of evidence that teething gels are effective. It’s recommended that parents try non-medical options for teething first, such as a teething ring. If you do decide to use a gel, make sure you use a teething gel that’s specially designed for young children. General oral pain relief gels are not suitable for children.” You can read more detail by following the link.

If your baby is crying aggressively and cannot even hold anything in his/her hands, most likely also combined with a bit of low fever, then further medication action is required:

1, Baby paracetamol or Calpol

When my daughter had her back teething coming through, and a teething toy couldn’t really help anymore, because that pain was quite serious, and she couldn’t stop crying aggressively, and when she was so grumpy, she actually dropped everything in her hands and she was not chewing on anything anymore. At this stage, you can give your baby some baby paracetamol or Calpol. So for these babies who feel really uncomfortable and can’t even sleep, you can try to use Calpol before sleeping.

The effect is almost instant, but as it is a medication, so I wouldn’t recommend using it too often on your baby.

2, Teething pain relief powder

Same as baby paracetamol. I have tried Ashton & Parsons teething pain relief powder through a mum friend’s recommendation. The effect is also instant, but again, as this is also medicine and bits of it goes into your baby’s stomach, I wouldn’t use it too often, unless I have to!

You can easily find it through Amazon or Boots.

3, Cuddle

When your baby is really uncalm, it is always going to help a little bit by cuddling them or putting one hand on your baby’s chest gently and saying: Don’t worry, mummy is here.”

This can help your baby to feel more secure by knowing that mummy is here to help, so it will be fine.

I do it all the time when my daughter is crying, it usually makes her happy.

And finally, once your baby has their first teeth out, please also don’t forget to start to brush them twice a day to keep their teeth nice and healthy!

Have you found this article helpful? If you have any further questions about teething or parenting tips, please also leave a comment below to let us know. We will try our best to help you out.