Switching to Table Food and Teething at the Same Time!!

Take the dr. advise on the teething. On the food she should be able to eat anything. Mine loves grilled chs,let it cool and cut into small bites.Mac n chs, sweet potates-mashed,chicken cut fine,peas,greenbeans the list gones on. Try to stay away from spag sauce for now-too gassy and can cause diaper rash.

I would use Motrin instead of Tylenol, because it's an anti-inflammatory which works on the swelling of the gumns too- I have a 4 month old now who seems to be having the same thing. Her fist is constantly in her mouth or chewing on her fingers, I have a feeling she is cutting all her teeth at once and maybe thats why she's getting up 2-3x a night for the past couple weeks! She has little white spots all-over her gums.

Hi J.,
I have 3 kids and each one of them was very different in their reactions to teething and switching to milk. If you daughter is getting up at the same time every night I'd say that this is more to get you to get your attention for cuddles or a bottle than teething. My 10 month old has never been a good sleeper (6 hours total including naps(at 2 hour increments) so I know all about how being up at night! and you definitely need your sleep if your getting ready for #2! Is she crying and fussy or does she go back to sleep after you pick her up? If she is crying alot, I'd give Tylenol. But if she is just wanting company, you need to decide if you want to let her a cry a bit to see if she can work it out herself and put her self back to sleep. It's a hard decision.
Also, I feed my little one cut up cheese cubes and canned fruit cut up because it's soft and sweet and doesn't give him gas like veggies do.
Now he eats whatever we are eating for dinner, but I still give him baby food for lunch and breakfast to make sure that he is getting enough to eat. Good Luck!

J.,
I went through the same thing with my daughter - it seemed like for an entire month when she was about 9 or 10 months old (she's now 20 months), she cut every tooth in her mouth at the same time and didn't sleep at all. Thankfully, it was a phase. I would recommend using Infant Motrin when she's teething - it's an anti-inflamatory, unlike Tylenol, and will soothe your baby better than Tylenol during teething. I understand your concern about not wanting her to become reliant upon it (I have the same worries) but I think it's perfectly fine to use while she's teething. It'll help both of you get some sleep. Good Luck!

As for switching to milk, I did it little by little. I started by mixing each bottle with 1/3 milk and 2/3 formula for a couple weeks. Then I moved to half milk and half formula for a couple more. And then I moved to 2/3 milk and 1/3 formula for a couple more. My daughter had problems with gas when she was younger so this is why I did it slower..

Have you tried teething tablets? I can't think of the company that makes them(maybe highland or something very close to that) but I picked them up at walmart in the Rx area. Ask at the counter, I'm sure they will know what they are. They really helped my youngest when she was teething. They are all natural if I remember correctly.
Good luck,
Rachelle

I've used the Hyland Homeopathic Teething Tablets with my daughter and they work wonders. As for table food that is easy on the stomach, not sure what you've fed her up until now, but my daughter loves avocado & banana and both are great finger foods, travel well, and I've read they are so easy on the digestive system that you can feed them to a baby as young as 4 months.

Don't sweat the small stuff :)

Chole can eat anything that's not super hard (like peanuts) that you eat with the exception on raw honey, of course which they don't reccommend for children under two. Just cut the pieces small and thin - they will be easier to gum. She may even enjoy gnawing on things like frozen waffles. The cold helps numb the gums while giving the teeth something hard to work against so they can get through the gums AND when she chews off a chunk, there's not much to worry about as waffles get mushy quickly. :)

As far as the tylenol goes - give it to her. She won't depend on it - though she may go through a period after this teething bout where she is waking up out of habit and is simply having trouble falling back asleep. Just think how you would feel if you were sick and the pain kept waking you up! :) You'd want it too. And if she does continue to wake after the teething, just give her a hug, kiss her "goodnight" again and tell her you'll see her in the morning. Her body will break the habit when it finds there's nothing to wake up for.

Hang in there. Your little person will handle both transitions just fine. :)

I wouldnt switch cold turkey on the milk, our Dr recommended slowly at 11 months give her milk in her sippy cup like every other time switch from formula to milk that way their tummy will get familiar with the new milk.
On the food they sell a noodle called ditalini and its basically an elbow noodle cut in half perfect for children learning to eat table food,another thing try soups and cooked carrot,sweet potatoes and green beans diced up.
Also give her tylenol or motrin, teething is painful and just think of the pain.. your baby wont get "hooked" on it. Hope this helps.

For the table food, try some of these: boiled carrots, hardboiled eggs, peas, grapes, mashed potatoes, green beans. Cut them up into very tiny pieces, be sure that the vegetables are very soft. You can also try yogurt.

For the teething, try a baby washcloth that is left in the refridgerator. That way she can chew on it and feel relief with the cold sensation. For relief at night, try Hilans Teething Tablets. They are a holistic teething medicine that I used for my son. Good luck and congratulations!

Do you have a health food store nearby? I used homeopathic teething tablets with my daugther, I had great success and I didn't have to worry about feeling I was giving her too much medication. Sleeping is hard to do when you are in pain..

As for food with her tummy... she should be fine. Is she already on solids?

L.

www.HealthyFamilyHome.com

Unfotrunatly babies have a really hard time sleeping at night when they are teething. It will pass...the hardest part will not creating bad habits when she wakes up at night. If she wasn't eating at night before this I wouldn't start now. She probably just needs a bit of comfort and a little tylenol.
K.

I have not had this problem, but i will try to give you a little advice. I would definitely continue to give the Tylenol she will not depend on it, you will only need it for maybe a week. I would also give her milk and a snack before bed. Like graham crackers, something that would stick with her over night. I have 4 children, 7,5,3,and 10 weeks. They all had teething problems and I used meds on all of them...they were fine!
I know my advice is not "magical" but I thought another opinion might help.
Good luck and good luck with your new pregnancy.

In my experience with my two kids, the transition to table food is slow. Try soft noodles (mac & cheese), oatmeal, cooked sweet potatoes anything soft and see how she does.
I would continue to feed her baby food (meats) until she is comfortable with chuncky food--that way you know she's had enough to eat. If she's teething, you may want to keep her on her normal eating schedule since her mouth is sore.

I don't have great advice on sleeping, when my kids (ages 3 and 2) wake up at night (which someone will almost everynight), we just bring them in to our bed or we lay with them in their bed. This gets my kids right back to sleep.

for the teething try hylands teething tablets and teething gel unlike any numbing againt this has no taste and no side effects they work wonders. anything like oragel that numbs the mouth has a known side effect to eat the enamal off of the teeth. hyland does not and they are all natural wich is realy nice i dont know about the table food thing my son is only six months old and not quite to that stage but he has cut two teeth and the tething tablets saved my life. if you cant find them go to hylands.com

Hi J.,

For the teething, I would use the teething tablets (sold at drugstores and Kroger). I swear they work better for my son than tylenol. Our ped. also said to use Motrin for teething pain rather than tylenol, so you may want to try that whe she is having a really bad night. Good luck!

When we eat dinner my 11 month old is with us and has basically what we have minus the spice and salt. He loves chicken, beef, scrambled eggs(some days), diced cheese, tiny diced green beans, apples, and bananas. Baked sweet potatoes, and squash are great, also brown rice and whole wheat pasta. Last night he ate a couple of raw spinach leaves with the rest of his food. If you eat healthy so will your baby. He also eats raw mushed avacado (messy but great), and black beans (introduce beans slowly because they may cause gas).

Hi J.,

She will not become dependant on the tylenol. They say if an adult had to go through teething, we would not be able to tolerate it.

Do you feed her cereal before she goes to bed? This seems to work for some. Make simple finger food for your daughter that goes with what you and your husband are eating. Just make sure they are small bites. I fed my daughter chicken, mashed potatoes, mac&cheese, etc.

Congrats on both your marriage and your daughter.

How about some jello (sugar free)or maybe oatmeal or some kind of hot cereal? I'm not up on the new childrearing - mine are 33 and 29. I am interested due to having young grandchildren and my daughter-in-law forwarded this site to me. I hope you get some input from mothers going through same problem - I know it can be awfully frustrating and, with a lack of sleep, really mind-numbing sometimes. I wish I had more patience when I was a young mother so that is the best advice I can offer you.

Congratulations J. on Baby #2!!!
A couple of questions...has Chole been on baby food at all? What and how long?
There are some tricks to getting little ones onto table food and not create allergies of food sensitivities. Especially with milk. Milk is one of the top allergy causing foods. It also creates extra mucus which can lead to sinus and ear infections. If you chose to ease Chole onto milk I encourage you to not give it to her in a bottle that she lays down with. That seems to help the milk cause congestion in the ears.

If you want to make your own toddler food I would be glad to send you easy suggestions.

It's hard to tell if Chole is waking becasue she is hungry or teething or both. How much is she eating and when? Any other changes in her life?

Warmly,
M. G

My son was teething and had an ear infection which caused a high fever at the same time. My Ped told me it was okay to medicate him around the clock for a few days. He never became dependant on anything, although he now smacks his lips when we bring out the tylenol...he loves it! (I'm not proud of that) But Motrin aka Ibuprofen may work better for you...it also lasts longer 6-8 hours as opposed to tylenol's 4-6. I also learned that the medication takes about 2 hours to peak in pain reliefe....our Ped said it was okay to do Tylenol and then 2 hours later Motrin....that kept him out of pain and kept his fever at bay as well. I wouldn't do any of that without asking the Ped first though. Good luck!