Esther and William are now almost 8 months old!!  I cannot believe how quickly the time has flown.  They are growing bigger and stronger everyday and developing very distinct personalities.  This has become apparent recently as they have started teething. 

Parenting premature babies can be very confusing as you are always trying to provide for them to two ages, their actual age and their adjusted age and you are never sure which to apply to what, for example weaning, sleeping, routines and teething. 

I am now confident that I know that anything related to feeding and digestion, including teething, is marked against their actual age whereas anything that is developmental such as crawliing, rolling, talking etc is measured against their corrected age. 

And so at almost 8 months actual we are well into the zone of teething though have nothing to show in the way of teeth.  I am quite distressed to learn of some prem babies who started going through the motions of teething at 6 months, as ours have done, but not been rewarded with teeth until well into their first year!

The reason I find this idea so terrible is that our twins, and William in particular, are really struggling with growing their teeth.  They are very unsettled during the day, constantly chomping and chewing anything that they can get their mouth on apart from their food.  They often seem to find feeding painful particularly their solid food.  William has had an earache linked to his teething and repeatedly tugs at the infected ear.  Both babies have struggled to get to sleep and to stay asleep once finally gone.  It has been very tiring and emotional for all concerned and is still going on.

One of the problems I have foudn is finding anything that can be used to soothe Esther and William’s tiny mouths.  Though they are really now quite old babies they are still very tiny, Esther only weighs 11lbs.  Finding teething toys to ease their gums has been impossible.  I twitted about this a week or so ago and was very pleased to receive a helpful reply from @Amber_Pumpkin

Amber Pumpkin suggested that I might like to try an amber necklace for the twins to soothe their teething symptoms.  I naively asked if they would be able to fit the beads into their mouths as we had been struggling with other products.  Amber Pumpkin kindly pointed out that in fact amber necklaces are not chewed but worn so that the healing properties can work their magic.

Babies do NOT chew on the amber – it works by warming against the skin and releasing minute amounts of soothing oils which is absorbed into the bloodstream.

A natural analgesic, amber will help calm a baby without resorting to drugs.

Amber is a resin, not a stone. It is therefore warm to the touch, as well as very comfortable and light to wear.

Scientific investigation into the therapeutic effects of amber is ongoing.

Currently, there are two different theories that attempt to explain how wearing amber on the skin can have a soothing and calming effect on teething babies and toddlers.

One theory suggests that when amber is worn on the skin, the skin’s warmth releases minuscule amounts of healing oils from the amber which are then absorbed via the skin into the bloodstream.

Amber’s anti-inflammatory and therapeutic properties are also recognized by allopathic medicine. In Austria, Switzerland and Germany, you will find amber teething necklaces sold in local pharmacies. Pharmacists and doctors have long known about the healing properties of amber which include calmative, analgesic, antispasmodic, expectorant, and febrifuge (anti-fever) functions.

A second theory is based on scientific findings which have shown that amber is electromagnetically alive and therefore charged with a significant amount of organic energy. Its special attribute is the fact that it is electronegative. Wearing amber produces negative ionisation on the skin’s surface. This, in turn, has a positive influence on the human body. The negative ions assist in the in the prevention of illness. These health-promoting effects apply to babies, children and adults alike.

http://www.amberpumpkin.com/amber-teething-necklaces-do-they-work.html

David and I have tried Calpol and teething powders on Willim and Esther with very little effect and so we were, or I was, keen to try something new.  I asked Amber Pumpkin if I might trial one of their products and wrtie about our experiences on my blog.  They kindly agreed and sent me two tiny amber anklets for Esther and William to try.  They sent anklets rather than a necklace to ensure that the babies could not pull them off of themselves or each other as the anklets will be safely hidden in their baby gros. 

We are going to start wearing the anklets tomorrow and I am going to write on my blog each day about how we are getting on.

I have to admit to being a bit sceptical but also really hoping that they do work as I love the idea of them.

If anyone else has exprience of using amber jewellery to help with teething then I would love to hear from you.

If you would like to know more about Amber Pumpkin then you can visit their website at http://www.amberpumpkin.com/

Here’s hoping that an end is in sight for the terrible twin teething troubles!