Do any of you know of any leather toys for babies? My daughter is teething something vicious and the only thing she REALLY LOVES to chew on is her PediPeds or my belts. I can't imagine that this is something she should be chewing on, given the notion that heavy metals are used in tanning most leathers. Any ideas?

I haven't been posting here much or participating in any of the photo competitions, because my boys are keeping me very busy these days. But I've been enjoying everybody else's posts, and hoping this current storm of activity will soon pass and give me a little more time to myself!

Paul Nathan turned eight months old yesterday, and he's really grown stronger and more active in the past four or five weeks. It seems like only yesterday I was having to hover around him and prop him up with pillows to make sure he didn't topple over when he sat up -- and now he's not just sitting, he's crawling at top speed! I have to hurry to keep ahead of him and make sure he stays out of trouble.

He's also becoming quite the climber. Yesterday he took one look at the six (carpeted) stairs from our basement up to the front door, crawled over to them, and went straight up the whole flight with barely a wobble. I had my hands ready to catch him the whole time, but he just kept going until he'd made it all the way to the top -- on the first attempt! My other two boys would never have done that at his age.

Unfortunately, eight months has also brought a whole crop of new teeth. I've never had such a drooler as this baby -- it's been a non-stop, bib-soaking stream of drool coming out of his mouth since he was four or five months old, and now it's twice as bad. I could change his bib six times a day and still not keep him dry, and he has a constant teething rash. He's also crabby a lot of the time -- even with the homeopathic teething treatments and the occasional dose of Tempra. He used to be content in his jumper or exersaucer for ten or twenty minutes at a time, or willing to play with toys by my feet as I worked in the kitchen or cleaned house -- but now he's miserable after two or three minutes and wants to be held and carried almost constantly, which is really tiring and difficult when I have other kids to care for, meals to make and chores to do.

Nights haven't been very good lately either. Paul has never slept through the night since he was born, but we did get into a cycle around five or six months where he was only waking up once or at most twice, and I felt I could cope with that. These last couple of weeks, though, he started waking every 2-3 hours all night, as though he was a newborn... and I ended up being so exhausted I simply couldn't function during the day, so we decided to stop nursing every time he cried and try encouraging him to get himself back to sleep instead. It seemed to work really well at first, but now he's regressed a bit, especially since he's just learned to pull up to a stand in his crib but hasn't figured out how to get back down again! I know this phase will pass, and that he'll probably end up being a sound sleeper like his two older brothers (who were also terrible sleepers during the first year of their lives), but right now it's a real challenge.

Anyway, now that I've talked your collective ear off, ( a couple of recent picturesCollapse ).

And if anyone else is going through the same thing(s) with their babies right now -- general crabbiness and need for constant attention, teething pain, poor naps/nights -- tell me about it in the comments. Especially if you've found a solution I haven't tried yet!

anyone else's babies who are teething rubbing their cheeks NON STOP? tristan's cheeks are like bright red because of his constant cheek rubbing. just wondering if my baby is the only one who is doing this. i'll be posting pics later, i put him in his playpen for the first time yesterday and he was having soo much fun in it. i also put him in his crib for the first time yesterday. when i put him in he started laughing and kicking his feet. it was so cute

okay here is my dilemma.

my babe started teething at 12wks and just this past week he has started cutting teeth (to say the least he is not a happy camper), he will be 5 months on the 10th. before he started teething he was waking about 2 times a night, however now he wakes about 5 times as night, he wakes up every 2-3hrs. when he wakes at night i try to go to him as quickly as i can before he wakes up competely . at first i try to lay my hands on him and pat him back to sleep, that rarely works so i ended up rocking/nursing him back to sleep. i also run a humidifier in his room and have put up dark curtains to keep out light.

i've read Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child and it had some good points and the through research about sleeping behaviorswas helpful. he use to have a 7pm bedtime but i think that was to early so i changed it to 8pm. he goes to bed about 8pm (sometimes earlier) and wakes up around 6:30-7:00a. we have bed time routine (bath, music, massage, rocking and nursing). he doesn't wake so much because he is hungry, i think he is just restless because of the pain. before i put him to bed he gets tylenol and a few hylands' teething tablets. he takes 3-4 naps a day, at least one is 1.5hrs to 2hrs and the others are 45min. we nap co-sleep and at night after i go to bed when he wakes i bring him into bed with me and put him back in his crib before my husbands VERY loud alarm goes off. when we co-sleep we do sleep better and sometimes he sleeps longer.

for those of you who have experienced something similar do you think his frequent night waking is ONLY attributed to him cutting teeth or do you think he is starting to develop a sleep "problem"? i would like for him to learn how to develop self soothing skills so he can put himself back to sleep. i am not a fan of CIO either at such a young age. i'm considering getting the book by Elizabeth Pantley, for those of you who have it do you feel it helped you with your baby's sleep problems?

any advice, ideas and opinions are welcomed.

peace,
cindy


x-posted

so it's about that time when our little ones are starting to teethe. what have you found to help your little one throughout this painful time? so far, i'll i've been doing is giving novah tylenol and i have just started using baby orajel. someone posted on a previous post about baby orajel hardening the gums? whoever posted that, could you send me the link? i've heard that the teething tablets work well, have any of you tried them yet? i'm thinking about looking into them and buying some. i know this teething is only going to get worse. ugh.....

thanks!

some of our little one are approaching teething and i wanted to make a post of some things you can do to help soothe your baby.

Teething is one of the most common causes of frequent night waking during the second six months and through the second year. It can also cause fussy nursing behavior, as some babies experience gum discomfort with sucking. Baby might start to nurse, but then pull off and cry or fuss and not want to nurse anymore. Other babies nurse nearly constantly because the nursing is soothing to them.

Some things that help teething babies:

*"Anesthetize" baby's gums with a frozen/refrigerated teething ring, or rub ice cube on his gums (you can even make a game of it). Try to get baby to nurse. If he pulls off/screams again, repeat the ice-rub.

*Put some crushed ice into a clean baby sock and tie off the top. Since it can "mold" around the gum, this is often helpful for painful teething. The fabric is easy and comfortable for baby to handle and babies like the texture of the fabric, too.

*Freeze or refrigerate a wet wash cloth for baby to chew on. (TIP: wet the cloth with breastmilk, baby will be more apt to take it)

*Talk to your baby's doctor about using a baby pain reliever 30-45 minutes before nursing.

*Some babies are helped by homeopathic teething tablets. (Hyland's - can be found at Walmart in the vitamin section)

*Avoid using Orajel/benzocaine (or other topical anesthetics) directly prior to breastfeeding, as it numbs baby's mouth and can make breastfeeding very difficult for baby.


Here are some tips in case baby refuses to nurse due to teething pain.


Moms of teething babies sometimes get sore nipples from baby's gumming or "chewing" from discomfort or due to the increased saliva that comes with teething.

NOTE: baby's bottom might become red around the anus due to increased saliva and BM color may change.

askdrsears.com/teething

kellymom.com/teething

Reed is 12wks and his is beginning teething. no teeth have actually broke through but you can see them a bit below the gum. he is chewing on everything, crying and fussing. has anyone else's baby begun teething yet?