Thursday, August 18, 2011

The Amber Grail of teething relief

As I have mentioned before, Anna has been having the worst time teething. It's been hard on all of us. Our usually happy, smiling, content baby that had fallen into a wonderful sleep pattern has been cranky, irritable, fussy, restless, and generally MAD. She has not gone to sleep before about 11 PM but twice this whole month, and on those two nights she woke up again and kept us up until well past midnight. Both her and I are a bleary-eyed mess.

A nectarine popsickle - yummy, but didn't help.




A dear friend shared some information about amber teething necklaces with me. What I read made me drop whatever I was doing, and drive across town to buy one locally, TODAY. Yes, I was very desperate. 

Nothing we had tried so far seemed to have brought any relief for my poor baby. I should throw in here that  I am not the type to worry about every little discomfort our children experience. It's a part of life, a part of growing up. A little bit of pain accompanying natural processes such as teething are great teachers of patience, and enduring discomfort. In fact, I have never made any special accommodations for our teething babies, because none of the other ones ever seemed to be bothered much by it.

But Anna - she was IN PAIN.

Skeptical though I was, I must say the necklace worked wonderfully today. It took about 3 hours to take effect. Then I had my happy, smiling baby back - what a difference! Her gums still look really bad today, so I don't think it was just a coincidence. 

Her sleep pattern is still off, so she did not fall asleep when I nursed her around bedtime as usual. But at least she was not fussing. She quietly and happily sat and watched from her high chair as I made and canned some pickle relish after the kids were in bed. Next time I turned around, she was snoozing happily in her chair. 



Are you wondering how the necklace works? This info is from a website that sells beautiful amber necklaces and other similar products:

Baltic amber is not a stone, but a fossilized tree resin.


Historically, Baltic Amber has been used in Europe as a natural and traditional remedy and curative for many ailments for centuries. Long ago it was considered one of the leading medicines of its time. Baltic Amber is the most esteemed amber in the world, and the healing qualities of Baltic Amber make it unlike any other type of amber found in the world.

When baltic amber is worn on the skin, the skin's warmth releases trace amounts of healing oils from the amber. These oils contain succinic acid and are absorbed into the skin.

Baltic Amber has some of the highest concentrations of Succinic Acid found in nature, and this is what makes it so special. Succinic Acid is a natural component of plant and animal tissues, and it's presence in the human body is beneficial in many ways.

Not wanting to take away from these benefits by removing the necklace from Anna's body, I instead wound it around her little wrist for the night so she wouldn't strangle herself with it in her sleep. So far, so good - she has stayed fast asleep - and we both definitely need all the rest we can get!


Do any of you have any experience with amber necklaces for teething? How about hazel wood necklaces for morning sickness???

13 comments:

  1. We bought an amber teething necklace for our son, some time ago! We had heard that they help with teething pain and/or had healing properties. We bought it mainly because we just liked it. Our eldest daughter has one too.

    I have been on the look out for one for Meg just recently. I asked Dylan would he care to donate his to Meg...but he did not much like the idea!

    Glad that Anna has had some relief...poor sweet girl! She looks so cute snoozing in her chair! ;)

    ReplyDelete
  2. I'm not sure about the hazel wood necklaces, but I've had bad morning sickness with all 4 kids, and this last time, those natural preggie pops drops helped. They didn't take it away, but they helped take some of the edge off, and were useful before I was given Zofran.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Wow, Zsu, way to go! I never would have thought about that in a million years.

    Our family used frozen, plain bagels, that way the baby could try to chew that bagel to bits, it would cool the gums and help them work through the pain of teething a little bit, without the worry of a choking hazard.

    Mindy

    ReplyDelete
  4. Poor little thing, she looks like another person on that picture ... I hope this amber necklace will help her the whole way teething :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. I love your family picture! How cute with the girls matching dresses! I am reading up on the Amber necklace.... How exciting that it may work. Don't need it yet, but I want to be prepared!
    - Julie Mace

    ReplyDelete
  6. So glad it worked for you too! We "found" the amber necklaces about 6 months ago. I was a bit skeptical about the claims. However, I knew teething was around the corner and I figured it was cute even if it didn't work. I couldn't find any locally so I did have to order mine and waited about 3 weeks. In that time teeth were coming in and he was sleeping horribly. I put it on Sean and I noticed a huge difference in the amount of drool he was outputting in a matter of a few hours. He also started sleeping more restfully. I became a believer.

    I also have one on that I wear regularly in hopes of helping my thyroid. I've seen anecdotal evidence about that too. I figured it can't hurt...I don't know if it's helped yet though. I don't go back for another test for a few weeks.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I was skeptical about the amber necklaces too...until I tried it for myself. Even after I bought one, I was hesitant to put it on my 6 month old so I wore it myself, as a bracelet, for about a week. I have carpal tunnel syndrome in both wrists and type for a living....amazingly enough, the hand that wore the amber bracelet was nearly pain free for that week while I wore it. Like you, a few hours after I put the necklace on my cranky baby boy, he turned back into the smiling, happy baby I had been missing. He's just over one year now and wears the necklace 24/7....it's been a life saver. Glad you found some relief for you little one too. It's so hard to watch them be in pain...especially when we're sleep deprived and crabby ourselves!

    ReplyDelete
  8. My baby girl has been wearing hers nearly 24/7 since I bought it for her Christmas present. Her first two teeth came in and I barely noticed! One night of tossing and turning and she had two little teeth. I've used it for "tired" headaches and within five minutes I felt MUCH better. My dad's story is the best though. Chronic pain, well, everywhere due to injuries and unable to feel his hands since before I was born, after fifteen minutes he could feel the ridges of his finger tips and after nearly an hour, he did five push ups! Baltic Amber is AMAZING!!!
    Now, it does not work for EVERYONE to such a degree, But I know of enough people that it's worth a try. I'm so glad it worked for your princess!

    ReplyDelete
  9. I, too, was very skeptical, but after months (yes, months!) of teething misery with nothing giving her any relief I was also desperate. I figured that even if the amber didn't work, it would still be pretty with her Sunday dress, so I got my three girls matching necklaces. For my youngest, it has been a godsend. Almost immediately the fussing stopped; within days, her regular sleeping rhythm was back. Since then, she and her oldest sister wear their necklaces 24/7. My toddler lost hers within a week, which was a bummer. For the cost, I think anyone - adult or child - who is in pain should give it a try. For us, it has been great.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Wow, I might have to try this for me! I suffer from a chronic pain condition and judging by the comments, it's worth a shot!

    How are the beads attached, is there much risk of a baby breaking the necklace/bracelet and choking on the beads?

    ReplyDelete
  11. Zsuzsa, if you are concerned about choking, you might want to wrap the necklace around Annas ankle. This way it is rather unlikely that she can chew on it long enough to swallow pieces.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Thank you so much for posting about this! I never heard about it and just got ours today we ordered for our ten month old teething so badly. Well already just in a couple hours I see a HUGE difference! Is Ana sleeping well through the night with it now? I am so looking forward to his first night with it! :)

    ReplyDelete
  13. With my first two babies I didn't know anything about amber but with the 3rd and the 4th I did. They both had necklaces and they worked wonders!!!! I am a firm believer now and will definitely be getting baby #5 one too.

    ReplyDelete

Your KINDLY WORDED, constructive comments are welcome, whether or not they express a differing opinion. All others will be deleted without second thought.