You know how I mentioned that I would be telling you some of my favorite baby gadgets that I have used with my babies over the years… well here is my first favorite baby item!!
As you all probably know, the teething months can be super difficult for both baby and parents in the world of babies. So that’s when we find ourselves researching all the teething remedies out there to help out babies feel comfortable and relieve some pain. Well one staple that you should always keep on hand when your babies are teething is a teether!!
Let’s start with what a teether is:
Teether: an object made of specific materials designed for an infant to chew, bite, or rub their gums on to aid in providing some sort of gum relief.
There are lots of fantastic, fun-looking teethers on the market! Companies have gotten so creative with the materials they put out!
There are teethers that look like food, animals, plants, people, and more! One of the teethers that pretty much all of my babies absolutely love (and I’ve worked with lots of teething babies) is the Nuby USA. Teethe-eez Soft Sillicone Teether!
Now one thing that I will promise you is that I will always be real when telling you about a baby product. And beyond that, I will tell you WHY it is developmentally appropriate… I am not about to promote something I don’t believe will be a benefit to you, your child, and specifically, their healthy development.
So let me begin tell you my reasons for loving this teether by starting with a story. When I was an Infant Lead Teacher at the Montessori School, there were definitely times I brought out some teethers to redirect mouthing Montessori Materials. And, I kid you not, as soon as I would open the freezer, my walking, and even crawling, infants would flood to the fridge waiting to be handed a teether.
As they stood there with their arms up, hands open, waiting to grab what I give them, I would always give them a directed choice, or an option between 2 teethers. And seriously, every time I gave the Nuby Teethe-eez Sillicone Teether as an option, they would choose that one over whatever else I offered. Every. Single. Time.
So here are some of my positive observations of this teether:
- The children, regardless of their age, were able to perfectly grasp it and bring it to their mouth, even without refined fine motor function. The way that the ring is shaped and sized makes it perfect for all types of babies to be able to grasp it and bring the bristled top to their tiny teething mouths!
- It seemed like the size and texture of the bristles on the top of the teether actually really felt good. My kids would spend a long time rubbing their gums on those bristles… drooling everywhere from teething. Haha!
And an important developmental reasons this teether rocks:
- The teether gives the child a proper mental connection about what can go in their mouths.
Now here is an important piece of developmental info regarding teethers:
It can get really confusing for babies if you, for example, tell them not to put your car keys in their mouth, but then you give them key- shaped teethers. Because in the mind of a child who is a concrete learner…
What’s the difference? They look the same!
Now for a con…
Over time and continued use, the bristles on this teether can wear down. But that is over a lot of time and frequent use. So if you get a few you’ll be just fine!
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this little tidbit of info about the Nuby USA. Teethe-eez Sillicone Teether! I would definitely add it to your list of must haves…