Teething- It bites for us all

First, I want to start and say that for some children teething is nothing.  For one of my friends, one day her son just woke up and had teeth.  No signs, no cries, no anything.  I wish this for you all.  However, for the rest of us, teething is a very painful process for everyone.  Babies can start to develop teeth as early as two months and some not for a couple of years.  This is not concerning as teething is hereditary.  Whenever you or your husband got teeth, is typically when your child will too.  Our daughter was a late bloomer and got her first chomp at the age of 10 months.  I had read all of the books and studied up on the signs, we bought all of the latest and greatest teething rings, gels, etc.  Just to find out that we were not prepared at all.  It was three am the first night and she woke up crying, still laying on her belly, but crying.  This lasted 15 min.  The next night it happened again, for longer.  It happened three nights in a row and finally the last night for an hour.  She did not have a temp, but was warm, snotty, and we had no idea what to do.  Finally we called the doctor and they said it was teething.  I had not heard of these "teething cries" before.  But apparently it is a very common reaction to teeth coming in.  

Now that we knew we were in the full throttle of teething., we broke out the teethers ... didn't work.  Tylenol, she refused to take it.  And finally broke down and tried the "herbal" teething pills, that kind of helped.  And of course for each of these steps, someone scared us on why we should not be using them.  Below find a recap of different methods and a con that of course was offered to us.  We ended up using almost all of them anyway, but just as helpful advice.  Enjoy and hang in there if your little one is teething!

Teething rings - Some people do not want to use these because if they were to burst, your child would swallow saline water.  Many opt for a damp washcloth that you put in the freezer for a couple of minutes and then they can take it to the crib with them at night.  We did both.

Teething Gel - A caution for this.  Many warn not to use this at night, only during the day with supervision.  The reason is that if you do not get all of it on the teeth directly, you can numb the tongue and cause your child to have trouble swallowing.  We used it during the day.

Tylenol vs. Motrin - As your child gets older, Motrin is much more effective for pain. However, some pediatricians do not want you to use Motrin until your child has turned one.  Speak with your doctor on their thoughts.

Herbal Teething Tablets - Many people swear by these, but our pediatrician specifically said not to use them.  Because he was unaware of the effects and how this product was tested prior to being released to the market.  Since it is a "natural" drug, it does not have to go through the testing process that other drugs do.  Again, I would talk to your doctor and then do what you feel comfortable with.

If anyone has more helpful advice, please post as I know this is a long and trying process for us all!