Soothing Baby Safely Using Natural Rubber Teething Toys
February 16, 2012 Kyriaki (Sandy) Venetis Having your first baby is always an exciting and uncertain time. You have this beautiful new life that doesn’t talk, but is totally dependent on you, and you want to do everything perfect. There is so much to figure out and one of the most confusing times is when your baby is teething.
Photo courtesy of Crocodile Baby Store.
Teething usually begins around six months old, but it’s normal for teething to start at any time between three months and 12 months old, according to WebMD, which says, “By the time your child is three years old, he or she will have all 20 primary (baby) teeth.”
You’ll know when each baby tooth is coming in about a week in advance because there will be some classic symptoms preceding each one.
“Some babies are fussier than usual when they are teething. This may be because of soreness and swelling in the gums before a tooth comes through. These symptoms usually begin about three-to-five days before a tooth shows, and they disappear as soon as the tooth breaks the skin,” says WebMD, adding that, “Babies may bite on their fingers or toys to help relieve the pressure in their gums.”
One of the best things to do during this time is to give your baby a safe teething toy, and not all teething toys are created equal. The best options are natural (latex) rubber teething toys or if your baby is allergic, then natural wood teething toys.
Here, we’ll look at some of the best options on the market for non-toxic natural rubber teething toys. Among the most notable places to look are: Crocodile Baby Store, Nature’s Baby Blanket, and Tiny Birds Organic Baby & Family.
Crocodile Baby Store
Crocodile Baby Store provides a strong eco-focus on baby products that fall in the range of organic, natural, sustainable, and durable.
Photo from Crocodile Baby Store.
The store has a great line of teethers from Lanco Toys that are all made from 100 percent natural latex rubber, hand-painted using non-toxic paints, and measure nearly four inches tall. They’re also completely free of bisphenol-A (BPA), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), and phthalates.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration says on its website that “both the National Toxicology Program at the National Institutes of Health and FDA have some concern about the potential effects of BPA on the brain, behavior, and prostate gland in fetuses, infants, and young children.”
The use of BPA has been banned in Canada and the European Union because of concerns about neurological effects on fetuses, infants, and young children.