10 Signs of a Teething Baby (and how to help your baby through them)

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Teething is something that every baby has to go through. Looking at it as an adult and remembering what it is like when we got out adult teeth, it doesn't seem as if it should cause babies as much discomfort as what it does. Instead of remembering it like you were a child, remember instead what it was like as an adult getting your wisdom teeth. It was painful. Then put that pain in the head of a baby and you can see why babies get as upset as what they do.

It can be hard sometimes to know if your baby is teething or not which I why I put together this list of symptoms to help.

1. Drooling

If you thought that your baby drooled before teeth, then you're about to get a shock. Babies begin to pick up in the drool department around 3-4 months or around the earliest time you can start introducing solids. Drool is a way the body helps to break down food and prevent tooth decay and it can also coincide with when teeth begin to move their way upwards.

The theory behind drooling during teething is that the muscle movement during teething stimulates the saliva glands, just as they would if the baby was chewing. As a result, a lot more saliva is produced and it spills out of the mouth as a result. There isn't a real lot you can do to prevent this as its just a natural thing that can happen. To help prevent yourself and others from getting covered in drool, bibs and burping cloths are always good to have on hand to help mop everything up. With the drool, however, does come the next symptom.

2. Teething Rash

With extra drool, a teething rash can also appear. It usually occurs around the mouth but it spread going down to the neck and chest. It develops like lip licker dermatitis but it can also be extremely bumpy and sometimes it can smell bad. On the neck, it can look a lot like a yeast infection or intertrigo while on the chest it can look like eczema.

This rash can be treated easily at home by helping to keep the areas dry and by putting moisture back into the skin with paw-paw ointment or something similar. Most pharmacists will be able to help you find something to help with the rash. However, if you are at all worried about how bad it is, then don't feel as if it's silly to make a doctors appointment. Sometimes you need a little extra help and a doctor can help point you in the right direction.

3. Biting and Chewing

Is your baby suddenly turning everything into a chew toy? Their hands, toys, your fingers? That's a pretty good sign that things are moving under or through those gums. Many babies chew to help elevate the pain they are feeling, similar to how applying pressure to a spot when you have chronic pain can help.

If you find that your baby is doing a lot of chewing their hands, try and replace fingers with something else. I've found toothbrushes like Baby Training ToothBrush Set and Cactus Infant Teether and Baby Toothbrush are great for baby to chew on directly on the source. Teethers like the Silicone Baby Teether Mitten Gloves are great to protect the hand and you can't go past a Green Sprouts Cooling Teether which gives bub either a room temp or a frozen teether to chew on.

However, if you can't get your hands on any of these things you can always go old school and wet a clean face washer and freeze it. Once frozen, your baby can then chew on it to their heart's content.

4. Decreased Appetite

If you've ever had a toothache then you know the last thing you want to do is put something in your mouth that might aggravate it. A teething baby feels very much the same so for some babies, you will see that they won't eat as much while the tooth is pushing through. This is not a sign that your baby is going through a fussy stage, only that they have no interest in adding extra things to their mouth at that time. Once the teething has stopped, appetite will pick back up again, however, if you notice a severe drop in their weight or anything like that, please go and see your doctor.

5. Fussiness and/or Irritability 

As I said earlier, teething for babies is often like adults getting their wisdom teeth. There is a bit of discomfort and pain involved. As a result, you'll find that your baby is not their normal self and they often seem to be fussy or just plain uncomfortable.

Sometimes, you can help this by giving them things to chew on (like mentioned above) and through some cuddles. But if your baby seems as if that is not working then it's not a bad thing to give them some pain relief medication (like Panadol or Nurofen). Teething gels like Bonjela Teething Gel are really good to use as well to help combat the pain as it is placed directly on the gums. However, if you are having some trouble applying it try Nuby All Natural Teething Gel as it also comes with a teething dummy that has been designed for baby to chew on while applying the teething gel.

6. Fever

Many babies will have a rise in temperature during the time that they are teething while some don't. Through studies that have been done, it has been found that babies will get a mild fever while teething. Because babies normal temperatures vary from 36.5°C to 38°C a mild fever is categorised as between 38°C and 39°C. You can help manage this by stripping your baby down to a light onesie or, if it's a hot day, down to their nappy. Lukewarm baths are also helpful to help manage mild fevers as well.

However, if your baby's temperature rises above 39°C, then that is an indication that there is something else besides just teething is going on and you should go and see a doctor.

7. Disturbances in Sleep

With teething can come sleepless nights. Now, not all babies go through this but for some, the pressure and pain that comes with teething brings with it trouble settling, restlessness, and disturbances in their sleep. If this is the case you can try the teething gels and pain medication to help manage that pain. The good news is that things will go back to normal once the teething has stopped, so don't feel as if you need to change their routine, just manage their pain just as you would if they were awake.

8. Pulling at Ears

If you see your baby pulling at their ears during teething, it's normal. Because our gums and our ears share the same nerve pathways, often babies feel as if the pain they are feeling is coming from their ears. It's known as referred pain. It's similar to the pain you may feel if you have an infection or abscess in your teeth and the pain feels as if it's coming from your ears. You can help with this by managing their pain through medicine or teething gels but like I've said before if you're at all concerned about it go and see your doctor.

9. Bumps Under Gums

When teeth start moving upwards, you can usually feel the telltale bumps of those toothy pegs before they break through. It's why when I suspect teething, I always run my finger along their gums to see if I can feel anything. If you don't feel anything, that doesn't mean that your baby's teeth aren't moving, only that they haven't moved up enough to be felt yet. If you do feel something, it means that hopefully soon the tooth will break through and your baby will be feeling a lot better over the next week or so.

Manage this like you would the chewing and the irritability, using teethers and pain relief to help. If you feel bumps, things have just become easier for you as you now have a definitive spot to place the teething gel on instead of spreading the gel along the whole gum and hoping that you hit the tooth-jackpot.

10. Misc Symptoms

So sometimes your baby will get symptoms of teething that are specifically related to them and not the list of general symptoms that I have up above. I've had kids become extremely congested while teething, with no other symptoms of a cold and a doctor finding nothing else other than the teething the explain why it is happening. The tenth sign is essentially: watch your child during teething times and make notes regarding what happens. Patterns will emerge and you'll be able to pinpoint exactly when your baby is teething and help them through it a lot quicker.

Before I finish off, I'd like to say that not all babies get these symptoms. These are the most common ones that you can keep an eye out for. Some babies get all of them. Some pick a choose a few. While others get none and you wake up one morning to find that your baby has a tooth that has broken through. If you do have a baby that is of the last variety, don't feel guilty that you have missed them being in pain or anything like that. If they have shown no signs that they're in pain or haven't been chewing up a storm, then it just means that they weren't bothered by it.

Finally if you at all concerned by anything from the amount of teething rash to how high your baby's fever is, go and see your doctor. A trip to the doctor isn't going to hurt them and if for some reason the rash is really bad or the fever is too high, you're going to get the help you need. If you're not sure, or just need to have a chat regarding what pain relief to give your baby, call your local nurses hotline. In Australia it's known as Health Direct and you can call the nurses there in 1800 022 222. They are amazing, they keep a record in case you need to call again and they're all registered nurses.

What did you find helped your baby through teething?