L.A.
@ 18 months my son fell and put his front teeth almost all the was through his tongue!! We were in the same boat - he had never had a popsicle or anything - I did italian ice - it was a little easier - or you could look for a homemade slush recipe if you wanted something all natural. Like you, I felt terrible for the amount of pain he was in, but they are so resilient that by the time we were finally seen @ the emergency room he was running around playing with the other kids as if nothing happened. He is now 2.5 and still seems to be prone to those facial injuries - not fun :0)