Tilt

As the mother of a 4 month old I am extremely familiar with the term ‘teething.’ It’s not something I heard other mothers and fathers talk about. Going into it I didn’t think Gavin teething would be a very big deal. He’d probably cry a little and then *pop* he’d have teeth! No. This is not how it works. And like most things having to do with parenting and babies, there is no telling how it’s going to be or when it’s going to happen.

I have to say when it did happen I was a little under prepared. I had gotten a plastic, water-filled teething ring at my baby shower and when my mother suggested that maybe his bouts of tears and open mouthed wailing were the result of teething, I popped it in the freezer and expected that this would be my answer.

But the ring was too cold for his little hands to hold and the condensation created from the frozen beads created puddles in his lap. While all this is happening I start to think that the packaging did not specify whether this particular tool was BPA free and worried about leaching from the plastic. After a little research I found that some small, usually family run businesses, hand craft wooden teethers.

Companies such as Little Alouette and Ollie Rose make maple wood teethers that are soft on baby’s mouth and sanded to super smooth to the touch. Made from local, fallen trees, they won’t splinter or crack and some are filled with rice to make a pleasant tinkering sound when baby shakes it. These pieces are made in a variety of forms and always easy for little hands to hold. My favorite are the ones shaped like Lady Fingers.

This, among other products I’ve found with a little research, was exactly what I needed…naturally.