One of the most annoying things babies encounter during their infancy stage is teething problems. Most babies who are developing their teeth exude irritable and fussy attitude towards their mouth. When teeth are developing and slowly bursting out from the gums, babies tend to be fussier and drool. This article will teach you what is a teething toy and helps you understand why this product is important. Read on.
What is Teething?
The emerging of the baby’s tooth is called teething. It’s a normal process baby encounters during the early stages of their lives, and teething erupts by slowly ripping or cutting through their gums. This results in the baby being more irritable and fussy on time.
Usually, teething begins during the 3rd to 6th month of the baby. By the time they turn to 3 years old, they should have a healthy 20 set of teeth. Also, teething is a monumental event your baby encounter. Having teeth only means that they can now be introduced to solid foods for babies and not heavily rely on milk.
However, the process of teething might be troublesome for babies. That’s why teething products are made. That’s why you must know what a teething toy is and how does it work.
Signs and Symptoms of a Teething Baby
Each baby has unique symptoms when associated with teething. Two of the common signs and symptoms of a teething baby are loss of appetite and mild irritability.
Some babies also do not exude teething symptoms, and some only exhibit few symptoms. However, there are several ways to conclude that your baby is going through teething. These are some of the common symptoms of a teething baby.
- Drooling
- Fussiness and Crankiness
- Irritability
- Appetite loss
- Sore and Tender gums
- Swollen and Reddish gums
How to Relieve Your Baby’s Teething Problems?
While teething is a normal process baby encounter, some tried and tested methods will help alleviate your baby’s teething problems. One of the known choices for relieving pain other than medicine is a teething toy. These baby products will help your baby get through teething as they can chew as long as they want on these products.
Teething toys are specially made for babies to munch on once their teeth start erupting. They can chew them to relieve some of the discomfort they are feeling. When Using teething toys, the baby’s constant drooling may induce irritated skin because of their saliva pouring through. That’s why you need to have an in-depth understanding of what is a teething toy to avoid having irritated skin, always use a bib.
Why Should My Baby Need Teething Toys?
As mentioned earlier about what is a teething toy and how it works for your baby, well basically, these are specifically designed baby products to let your babies munch on them to ease off some of the discomforts they are having. Not only does teething toys serve as beneficial products to alleviate discomfort, but they can also help enhance a baby’s cognitive development as well.
Cognitive is enhanced by seeing the toy, grabbing them, and chewing on them afterward. As it is repeatedly done throughout the day, they get the idea that these baby products seem to get the job done for alleviating their problems.
These chewing and munching actions may seem simple to you, but it serves its purpose because it requires complex development for the baby to get the motion down when chewing. A baby may initially grab and hold onto teething toys, but once they have known that these teething toys are more than just toys, they also develop dexterity.
What Is a Teething Toy and How It Works?
Almost all teething toys come with instructions and safety precautions before using them. Because almost all teether requires storing in the freezer, you may need additional directions on how long they should be stored. Once you’ve purchased the teething toy, it would be wise to sterilize them first before directly putting them immediately inside your baby’s mouth. Storing the teether inside the freezer is an ideal choice not only for relieving pain but also for inducing soothing feeling around the gums.
However, please do note that storing the teether in the fridge for a long period may break the teether as it hardens. It is not ideal if you keep it in the fridge and let it freeze to cold. This might agitate your baby more due to the coldness.
If you are planning to freeze the teether, then it should be around 10 to 15 minutes. This will induce a soothing cool teether rather than extensively cold.
One good tip is to store the toy in the fridge, not in the freezer. This will chill your baby’s teether without getting overwhelmed with the cold temperature inside the freezer. It will also allow the teether to be stored for a longer period without fear that it will break. If you have a bunch of teething toys at your disposal, keeping them lined up will give you readily available teething toys for your baby to munch on any time of the day.
Baby teething works by simply allowing the cooling sensation to run through the baby’s mouth. This cooling sensation alleviates the discomfort felt from erupting teeth. The teething toy’s cold temperature also helps mitigate the gums’ swelling, and the overall pain felt. A teething toy has tons of benefits to show for your younger one. Find out more about teething.
Conclusion
Teething toys work wonders for your babies. They are tested and proven products to alleviate pain and soothe their aching gums. For parents, it should be ideal for you to know what is a teething toy, how it works, and all the positive benefits they could offer for your baby. You probably think that teething may be a bump in the road during their infant life, but remember that these are milestones that we should also focus on.