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There is no fixed time when the teething will begin babies or even one way to how those pure white milk teeth will appear. Some children may start teething as early as three months and the process may continue up to the age of three years but it is usually before four to seven months that the first tooth of the baby makes its appearance. The process differs too and it can be very hurtful for some babies and easy, worry and pain free for others. In some kids, you won’t even known how that tooth came into being suddenly while in others, we can see symptoms weeks before the actual emergence of the tooth in the form of sore and swollen gums. Sometimes the swelling recedes but there is no tooth at all. Here, we are mentioning some of the teething blues that mostly indicate that your tiny tot is getting ready for his first bite:
- Instinct to chew and gnaw: An emerging tooth pushes beneath the gums to come out and may feel itchy or funny to the baby who uses his chewing instinct to get over this worrying sensation. Chomping and biting things also create a counter pressure on the area, which gives certain relief to the gums. Thus, children often chew and bite on anything that they can lay their hands on including mom’s breasts while breastfeeding and that really hurts.
- Swollen gums: With the eruption of a new tooth pushing the gum from beneath incessantly in a struggle to gum, makes the gums look red, swollen, puffy and bruised before it actually emerges. As soon as the tooth appears, the gums will be back to normal.
- Increased irritability and fussiness, especially at night: The maximum discomfort related to teething occurs because the tooth moves through the bone and gum that occurs in stages and is more active at night, making the baby more irritable and fussy than daytime.
- Baby pulling his/her ears: Just like ear infections, sometimes pain in jaw during teething gets transferred to ear canal and the baby starts pulling his/her ears in an attempt to get rid of it.
- Drooling: Drooling is normal in infancy but if a baby suddenly starts drooling heavily, it may be a first sign of teething. However, you can be skeptical about this because all drooling newborns may not start teething. In case of older babies, saliva formation and drooling can be so heavy that baby may gag on it or rashes may form on baby’s chin, chest or neck due to constant contact with wet clothes. You can prevent these rashes by trying to keep the skin dry with the help of a bib or a layer of petroleum jelly or both.
- Change in Feeding Habits: While teething, some babies may want to be breast or bottle-fed once again as their gums are swollen and inflamed and spoon hurts them. Others start nursing eagerly but pull back and cry as sucking may cause pressure on their gums and ear canals that irritates or causes pain to them. Still others may like to eat solids (sometimes more than usual) because chewing on food items creates the counter-pressure that feels good and helps relieve pain in gums.