How I survived the teething stage (and kept my sanity)

It’s wild how different every kid is with teething stuff. Mine had zero interest in anything cold—washcloths, frozen fruit, nothing. But the old wooden teether from my grandma? That thing was basically glued to her hand for weeks. Then, just as I thought I’d cracked the code, she switched sides and started gnawing on her sippy cup instead. Honestly, I think half the battle is just surrendering to the chaos and keeping a stash of random chewable things nearby.

Same here—my little guy couldn’t care less about the cold stuff either. I bought every fancy teether and he just tossed them. But hand him the remote or a random spoon and he’s in heaven. I keep thinking there’s gotta be some trick, but honestly it seems like they just pick their own weird comfort thing. I’ve spent way too much time stressing over it, but you’re right—sometimes you just have to roll with the chaos and hope for a quiet night.

I get what you mean about just rolling with it, but I have to admit, I still wonder if I’m missing something that would help.

“sometimes you just have to roll with the chaos and hope for a quiet night.”

“I even worry about him chewing on random stuff like remotes—what if it’s not safe? Maybe I’m overthinking, but it’s hard not to stress about every little thing.”

I hear you on the anxiety front. The whole “just roll with it” advice never really worked for me either, especially when I caught my kid gnawing on the TV remote (why is that always the first thing they grab?). But honestly, I don’t think you’re overthinking it—those things are gross and probably covered in who-knows-what.

Instead of stressing about every single thing, I started keeping a stash of cheap teething toys in pretty much every room. Dollar store specials, nothing fancy. If he grabbed something sketchy, I’d just swap it out and move on... saved my sanity and my wallet. Plus, if one disappeared under the couch or got dropped in the dog bowl (don’t ask), no big deal.

Trying to let go of all the worry is easier said than done, but sometimes controlling just one tiny thing—like what goes in their mouth—makes the rest feel a little less chaotic. At least until 2am rolls around again...

Trying to let go of all the worry is easier said than done, but sometimes controlling just one tiny thing—like what goes in their mouth—makes the rest feel a little less chaotic.

That’s honestly such a good way to look at it. I never really managed to “just roll with it” either, especially when it came to the weird things my son would put in his mouth. The remote was a big one for us too (I swear, there must be something about the buttons), but also shoes, dog toys, and once, the actual dog’s tail. Not my proudest parenting moment.

I like your idea of stashing teething toys everywhere. I tried that for a bit, but somehow they’d always end up in the least convenient place—usually under the fridge or mysteriously sticky in the stroller. For me, I got a little obsessive about cleaning everything, like wiping down remotes with those sanitizing wipes every night. Maybe overkill? But it made me feel a tiny bit more in control.

One thing I still wonder about is whether all that stuff is actually dangerous or just gross. I asked our pediatrician and she said as long as it’s not a choking hazard and doesn’t have batteries popping out, it’s mostly just an immune system workout. Still, I can’t help but picture every germ imaginable living on those surfaces.

The hardest part for me was letting go of the idea that I could prevent every single germ or mishap. Some days I did better than others—on bad days, I’d stress about every crumb on the carpet. On good days, I’d just swap out whatever mystery object he found with a clean toy and call it a win.

If nothing else, I’ve learned that teething is basically an exercise in managing my own anxiety as much as my kid’s discomfort. And honestly, if anyone ever figures out why kids are so obsessed with remotes, I’d love to know...