Ask any parent what one of the worst things they had to endure during the first three years of life with children and the vast majority would say the teething process.
It’s awful.
It’s relentless.
And it’s downright evil.
In fact, rumor has it, when parents say to their children, “you’ll get yours when you have kids of your own,” they in fact meant dealing with a teething child.
But what about when you’re dealing with two of them at the same time? Well…that’s a whole other can of worms! But is there anything worse than teething twins?
Let’s count:
- Playing leap-frog with unicorns
- A tonsillectomy as an adult
- Multi-car pile-up
- Gallbladder Removal Surgery (with a dull scalpel)
- Paying your taxes
Ok – enough of the humor. If you’re reading this, you’re likely suffering through one of the most epic and toughest phases of your growing children.
Teething is an ongoing process and in fact is very painful. When visiting with our pediatrician they tried to explain to us what it would feel like as an adult (hold on to your seats and stomachs, it’s about to get a little gross). They said, “Imagine having the deepest of pimples on your forehead, and then another one right next door, and it just will not pop or come to a head. It’s always throbbing trying to pop but the pressure just compacts and builds…now imagine that in your mouth all day and all night. That’s teething.” (Thank for the gross analogy, doc, I think we get it.)
While it did help us with empathy and to understand why some of the tools sold for teething are helpful, our pediatrician didn’t really offer us any practical solutions to help our teething twins- We survived it through trial and error.
When it comes to teething and helping your twins manage through, here is what’s worked for us:
5 Tips on Helping Your Twins Survive Teething
1. Provide a wide array of teething toys that are safe to chew (your car keys are not one of them…leave them far, far out of reach).
2. Now freeze them! – while our children did not at all take kindly to frozen foods (they don’t like ice cream…gasp!), many parents have a rotating stock of frozen toys they use.
3. Mesh frozen fruit or veggie stick. These are a bit messy, so be forewarned, but these mesh pops allow you to make fresh, homemade fruit pops that your children can munch on and get some numbing relief.
4. Motrin & Tylenol cycling – please refer to your pediatrician, but many parents swear by this. We try to limit use of analgesics, however, when teething is in full force and it’s preventing all parties from achieving good quality sleep, we’ve definitely given a low-end dose of Motrin about 30 minutes before bedtime. It really, really helps.
5. Your fingers. In the beginning of the teething process (before too many pearly whites have erupted), we would wash our hands and then gently rub our fingers up and down their gums. They loved it and you could see that the positive pressure really did help.
CAUTION
One thing to avoid – and this is important. There are over-the-counter products like analgesic gels etc. that can locally numb the gums. They are typically marketed towards parents of young children specifically for teething; however, they are not intended for children under two, and cases of allergic reactions have been reported. We implore you to read all instructions and contraindications on all products purchased, and always speak to your pediatrician on product safety before dosing out to your children.
In the end, we all survive teething. Sure, there may be some restless nights, drool-enriched clothing, and (in the case of our son) more than 5 outfit changes in a day. Teething hasn’t always been kind to them (or us), but it’s a part of growing, and having witnessed our children experience it, I am grateful I didn’t have to endure this process as an adult. Ouch!
