Here comes the tooty pegs

It’s that time. The start of another milestone in the Little Mans little life. He’s teething!

Teething can be extremely traumatic for a baby but obviously every baby is different. Some babies (and parents) are lucky enough for the first nashers just to pop through without any issue whereas others might scream for months, drool enough to paddle in it and chew on anything that will fit into their poor little mouths. That’s not to mention the bright red cheeks and drool rashes. 

For a little while now Little Man has been excessively dribbling and practically pulling his gums off so we know it won’t be too long until a tooth pokes its way through. While we’re yet to endure the tears, he does seem to have some discomfort as he pulls at and rubs everything on his gums, if you get too close he’ll have either a body part or an item of your clothing rammed in his face in seconds.

After having a look online I realised the options and variety for baby teething products is immense! I didn’t have a clue where to start.

We were kindly sent some helpful items to try out while Little Man is trying to push these teeth through. 

Funky Giraffe Bibs* sent us three of their XL bandana bibs. I have previously bought Funky Giraffe’s standard size bibs and was massively impressed but the XL bibs are on a whole different level! 

I love them. The size is perfect for my very dribbly man. 

Funky Giraffe bibs have a massive range of funky designs which are all well made and fleece lined. The lining protects even the dribbliest babies clothes underneath. The Little Man has reflux so not only are they complete saviours with the dribbles from teething but they’re great for saving his clothes from his sicky outbursts. 

The XL bibs are a reasonable £5 each which I don’t think is too bad considering the prices of bibs in some other well known high street baby shops. Funky Giraffe regularly have offers on their website too so it’s worth watching out and following them on Twitter and Facebook to be the first to hear of any. 

Prior to trying the teething gel we’d previously used another brand which the Little Man really didn’t like. I have no idea whether it worked with numbing the pain in his gums because all he did was spit it out. He seems quite happy with the taste of Dentinox. After having a little taste myself I found it less sweet than the other brand we’d previously used. The gel comes in a standard squeeze tube and is easy to dispense. You simply apply a little to a clean big persons finger and gently rub into those poorly baby gums to give an anaesthetic effect. Dentinox teething gel contains Lidocaine which numbs pain.

Dentinox It’s also suitable from birth, so no matter how early those teeth start to make a appearance it can be used without worrying. 

The Dr Browns Coolee watermelon teether* that we’ve been using is great. The colours are bright and eye catching and it’s a great shape for little mouths, although the little man insists on chewing the green edge most of the time. The teether is freezer friendly and gets nice and cold quite quickly, although it doesn’t feel like it stays very cold too long. The teether is small enough to comfortably fit into my change bag pocket for when we’re out and about but I do need to keep a close eye as it has a tendency to slip down the side of things or hide under little bums in the pushchair.

The little man seems pretty impressed with the teether and he’ll happily chew away without any encouragement.

I’m impressed with the price. As Dr Brown’s products are such good quality I had expected quite a hefty price tag on the teether but it’s a bargain at £2.99 which is much cheaper than the majority of other teethers on the market. Another thing I really like is the fact the surfaces are smooth and there are no hidden ridges for dirt or food stuffs to get lodge in and as it’s dishwasher safe

We’ve tried a few different ideas to help with our teething journey, I’ve listed a few of the ones we’ve tried below –


A flannel chilled in the fridge – Little Man sucks and chews for ages. The cold crisp flannel soothes his sore gums and keeps him cool at the same time.

A chunk of icy cold apple – Obviously this is a full supervised one but Little Man loves this. We cut a large chunk off and apple that’s been in the fridge and he knaws at it until it’s a soggy mess. 

Amber – I know some people love this but we bought an anklet and I have to say it had no effect whatsoever. The cynic in me thinks people ‘want to believe’ in amber. 

Sophie Le Giraffe – Another one that people rave about but it still just resembles an expensive dog toy to me. Little Man will take it or leave it. He prefers the squeak to the chewing though I do know some children go wild for them.

I can’t wait to see the Little Mans first little tooth. I just hope it’s not too traumatic on it’s way through.

What worked for you when your little people were teething?