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Wednesday, September 28, 2011

I vote YES

Teething sucks.

It’s that simple.

It sucks.

It takes your normal, happy go lucky baby and turns her into a cranky, clingy, grouchy, refuses to eat monster.

I became well seasoned to the crappiness of teething pretty quickly. Eva cut her first two teeth at 6.5 months. And they were bad, but not that bad, as I quickly found out. About a month later she decided to bust out four teeth within two weeks. And it was torture. Absolute torture. For all of us.

She was cranky. She did not sleep. And she refused to eat.

That meant I was cranky. I did not sleep. And, well, I probably ate way more than I should have.

After that bout of four teeth, she took a month off and then tooth number 7 showed up on our first night of vacation in July. And let me tell you … that tooth was from the devil. She had such a difficult time with it. It was as if her teething issues were getting worse and worse and worse with each subsequent tooth.

During these bouts of teething related discomfort, I have to admit, I gave her more doses of Tylenol than I was comfortable with. More than I ever expected I would give her. It’s just not like me to give my child medicine flippantly. But I had to. There was no other choice. It was unbearable without it. And, I’m not against medication. Not in the least. I just felt like I was giving it to her too much. There had to be another way.

After tooth #7, I remembered some of my friend’s talking about amber teething necklaces. So I started asking around. A few twitter gals told me that they had them and thought they were great. After some encouragement from Erin I went ahead and checked out Hazel Aid and ordered one. It was under $20 so I figured it was definitely worth a shot. Even if it didn’t work, it was pretty cute.

Let me point out that before those torturous days I thought the idea of a necklace that emitted some kind of resin to help relieve pain was kind of hokey. It seemed like witchcraft to me. But I was desperate. And, in desperation, Mamas will do crazy things.

A few days after ordering, the necklace arrived and Eva started wearing it 24/7, except while in the bath. Since she started wearing it, I’ve had to answer a lot of questions. Mostly: Why is your baby wearing a necklace? and Does it work?

I could always answer the first one but I had trouble answering the second one. I had no idea if it worked because she took a long break from teething and didn’t seem to be working on any new teeth over the next few months. I figured when it was time to teeth again, I’d start seeing the signs and at that point, I’d use my judgement to see if I felt like the necklace was easing her pain at all – compared to the struggles she had with teething before the necklace.

Well, folks, I vote yes. The necklace does help. It is working.

How do I know?

I was feeling around in Eva’s mouth last week, a few days before her first birthday, just to see if there was any sign of anything happening, and know what I found?

Tooth #8. There it was. All sharp and pointy. And I had no clue it was coming. My baby had slept 12 hours the night before. Why hadn’t she been up every half hour for the past three nights if she was teething? I can only assume it’s because she wasn’t uncomfortable. And I can only assume that her lack of discomfort was because of the necklace.

So, I’ll say it again. I vote yes. Best darn twenty bucks I’ve ever spent.

11 comments:

Shannon Dew said...

I have heard other bloggers talk about the necklaces and I am intrigued! Thankfully KP has done really well with teething so I haven't had to get one but you bet your ass I would in a minute if it were torture!

Cheryl said...

Teething does suck!

Do they have necklaces for boys?! lol

Erin said...

I'm SO glad it worked for Eva! I totally thought they were snake oil, too. Like New Age healing crystals or something :)

And boys wear them, too, Cheryl! I have friends who just get the dark brown, unpolished ones...they look like adorable little surfer dudes.

Laura @ My Thoughts-Uninterrupted said...

I'm glad to hear your review. I have to admit I was skeptical. E hasn't been too terribly awful with teething, but if the next one has issues I think I'll definitely have to try it.

Liz said...

I've been thinking about this since you mentioned it on twitter, but I'm feeling sort of weird about putting a necklace on my little BOY. Esp. if he's going to wear it all the time... hmm... Decisions.

Jillian said...

I can't wait to get mine!!!

Katie @ Loves of Life said...

Eme loves necklaces, so she wears regular ones ALL THE TIME and doesn't pull at them, or anything. So she would do awesome with an amber teething necklace. I should probably look into one. I want the exact details of THE ONE Eva has, because hers is cute :)

Erin said...

AH! I'm so glad you posted about this today!! Baby J is teething like no other and it has been hell. And? He hasn't even cut a tooth yet! I remembered Erin talking about these necklaces too, I may just have to get one!

Also, do you let Eva sleep in the necklace?

Tricia Walker said...

I must know details of this wonderful necklace. I may just get one for Zach to wear...boys can wear them eh!?!?!?! I am dreading when teething starts as I have NO idea how to handle it or how Zach will react...definitely worth the 20 bucks to try it!! :)

Brittany Ann said...

Our midwives carry them in their office. I plan on buying one next month. they swear by them and tons of my friends do, too:)

Anonymous said...

Ive honestly never heard of these necklaces! I know we have gone through a lot of teething and it sucked but I know Morgan still has a few teeth left to get in. I might have to go try to find one because teething is rough!