Building Your Registry - Teethers

Congrats! Your baby is putting everything and anything in their mouth! And they've become a certified drool factory! What on earth do you do now?

This usually starts around the 3-4 month age range and confuses parents into thinking their baby is teething or about to get teeth. Likely not, first teeth don't usually erupt until closer to 6-10 months, but this is a developmentally normal stage. Your baby is learning! And they're doing that with their mouth. At this age, it's good to introduce toys that are meant for their mouths, ie teethers. When looking at the plethora of teethers available to buy, there are a few different things to consider.

Texture

A huge part of your baby's development at this stage is learning about different feelings and textures, and that includes in their mouths! When buying an assortment of teethers, look for ones with different textures. One of my favourite toys for this reason are teething rings with different textured bobbles. But it can also be good to have something harder like this Dr. Browns giraffe or larger and more flexible like this elephant.

Hand-Mouth Coordination

If your baby is on the younger end they are probably still only just learning how to get a toy into their hand, then bring that to their mouth. That's okay! The best toys for this stage are easy to grab because they have lots of different grab points and lots of surface area to chew (think Oball). Many teethers have handles specifically for this stage, such as this one. You can also try a teether mitten to help your baby out in introducing things to their mouths.

Oral Mapping

Oral mapping refers to your baby learning the inside of their mouth. This is a critical skill in the pathway to starting solids and learning how to manage real food. If your baby has a good sense of the inside of their mouth, they'll trigger their gag reflex less and be more confident moving food around their mouth with their tongue, a skill that can prevent choking. The best teethers for oral mapping are long and thin, so your baby can work them into different parts of their mouth and explore. These long tubes are great, and so are UFO shaped toys.

Gum Pain

When your babies teeth do actually start coming in, it's certainly not going to be comfortable for them! To help manage the pain and inflammation in their gums some babies like water filled teethers that you keep in the fridge. Just be careful when offering cold teethers that they aren't frozen solid, something that is ice hard can damage your babies gums.

Molars

Molars come much later, usually after your babies first birthday, but they are dreaded. This is a great time to bring back out the tube teethers or something like this Nuby carrot. You want long, skinny teethers so that your baby can reach back and chew where their gums are sore.

Teeth Brushing

It's recommended to start brushing your babies teeth as soon as they have one, but actually it will help if you get them used to the routine before the tooth ever erupts. The easiest way to do this is to have them teethe on a toy that's toothbrush-like (I've yet to meet a baby that doesn't love this banana), and to brush their teeth or gums yourself with a finger mitt. Once they're a little older you can then introduce a baby sized toothbrush and toothpaste.

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