Can’t even count how many times I’ve been on the receiving end of “just give them a teether, it’ll help!”—meanwhile my kid looked at every teething ring like it was some sort of alien artifact. I swear, if there was a gold medal for finger-gnawing, he’d be an Olympian by now. I totally get the stress about germs too… the number of times I tried to swap out his hand for something “approved” only to have him go right back to drooling all over his fist. Eventually I just gave up and started wiping his hands more often and calling it a win.
Funny thing—after years of dental drama myself (I’ve had enough fillings to qualify as part cyborg), you’d think I’d be less squeamish about the whole mouth germs thing. But nope, seeing my baby shove everything but the kitchen sink in his mouth still made me twitchy. My dentist actually laughed and told me babies’ mouths are basically little germ factories anyway, so stressing too much is kind of pointless.
Distraction did help us, but only in tiny bursts. Sometimes just singing a ridiculous song or letting him crinkle a chip bag (supervised, obviously) bought us five minutes of peace. Other nights, nothing worked and we both just powered through it half-awake and cranky. Honestly, I think half the battle is realizing there’s no magic fix—sometimes you just survive it together.
If it makes you feel any better, my kid’s teeth eventually came in fine despite all the finger-chewing and rejected toys. Just hang in there… and maybe invest in some good hand wipes.
You’re not alone—my grandkids were all about finger-gnawing too, and most of the “approved” teething toys just got tossed aside. I remember worrying about germs, but honestly, you do what you can and try not to let it drive you crazy. Kids’ mouths really are like little petri dishes, but somehow their teeth still come in fine. I think you nailed it: sometimes it’s just about getting through those rough nights together.
