Teething and Amber Necklaces

[texasfarmom]

Why does everything now turn into a research project?

I think my 3 month may be teething. I'm not sure...regardless I've decided I'm going to get some Baltic Amber Bracelets to try to help with teething. I was going to order some tonight, but there are too many choices!!

How do I know what to buy? Have you tried them? Did they work? Where did you get them from?

TIA

[rightkindofme]

They are cute and all, don't get me wrong... but I can find zero mention anywhere of them working except for places that sell them. I'm not so sure I believe the claim if the only people saying it are trying to make money.

[weezix]

I'm also curious if they work or not. The teething stage is SO difficult and anything I can do to make it easier this time around with my last baby would be great...so I was thinking of getting one as well but don't know if there is a difference between brands etc.

[broodymama]

My kids have them (the necklaces) and they're cute but didn't do anything to help with teething.

I don't know if the bracelets come in different sizes, but the ones we have are big enough for my 4 year old to slide on and off without unclasping it.

[lizajane30]

My kids have them, and my husband likes to call them their "snake oil" necklaces. I'm sure they do no harm, and they do look great, but like PPs I've never noticed much benefit from them.
I bought ours from Inspired by Finn and was happy with the purchase. They have many different colors to choose from.

[luvmybaby333]

Welp, my daughter (the youngest) has been wearing once since she was 2 months old. We have early teethers here too. I can't attest to anyone else's experiences with amber necklaces, but I know our experience has been positive. My daughter has been wearing her necklace for over 2 years straight. Obviously she's had many teeth come in during that time. She has never needed anything extra beyond her necklace. No Tylenol, no teething drops, nothing. And before it's mentioned that perhaps teething didn't hurt her as much as it does others, I will share that there have a been a couple occasions where her daddy took the necklace off to bathe her... and then forgot to put it back on. Why did we end up noticing that the necklace was missing, you might ask? Well because the following day she would end up fussing which was so contrary to her temperament. At first we didn't connect it. But after several incidences like that, we concluded that the necklace must be helping... and we decided to leave it on for as long as necessary.

Anyway, we chose a round-bead "milk & honey" necklace from Inspired By Finn on Hyena Cart. We chose that particular color because it is said that the lighter and cloudier the amber, the more analgesic properties it contains. From our success with the necklace, I will assume that advice to be true. That particular store also now offers a non-polished version (I'm not sure if it's available in the Milk & Honey, though) that is also supposed to allow more of the pain-fighting goodness to come into contact with the body. Something about it being more raw makes it more potent. I dunno.

At any rate, even if it doesn't turn out to be the magic teething cure for your child... it's still cute.

[lizajane30]

Well, now that you mention it, luvmybaby, my kids never needed anything else for teething either. But I never noticed a difference if we took it off. My kids also have milk & honey beads.

[Knitting Mama]

My daughter wears a butter-colored necklace from Inspired by Finn. She exhibits all the general signs of teething except the fussiness, so I consider it to be successful. I wasn't sure it would work either, but it sure seems to be helping.

[texasfarmom]

Thanks for the replies. Another thought...I asked my pediatrician about them and she said she had never heard of them. However, she did add I shouldn't use a necklace because of the strangling hazard, and shouldn't use bracelets because of the choking hazard. She said it would be fine to use a bracelet around her ankle though.

Would a bracelet (or two) around her ankles work? or is it the close proximity of the necklace to the mouth that makes it work? Should I just get a necklace and be extra careful with her wearing it?

I know, so many questions! First time mom here trying to figure it ALL out.

[Viola]

I think they do make some for the ankles. At least I saw one by Inspired by Finn.

I've seen a lot of babies around here wearing them, usually as necklaces. There is a mom who makes them here under the name balticamberteethingnecklaces

[P.J.]

We have one because it looks cute. Honestly, I can't imagine it will really make a huge difference with the pain, but if it does hey that's great!
We live in Germany and got ours online here, I think from the company that's the biggest distributor of them. It's got a magnet closure which I really like, and will open if tugged hard enough; they tested it for how much pressure it needs to come off and determined it was what a baby could do if trapped ~ gotta love that German scientific thoroughness! I recommend getting one with a magnet closure for that reason if you can. Also, each bead is individually knotted so if it breaks only one or two beads come off. I take his off at night for sleep, but he naps swaddled so I leave it on. If we drop swaddling I would take it off for naps too. It says on the packaging and websites babies are not supposed to sleep in it.
As for necklace or bracelet, I heard that the analgesic effect is local, meaning the amber should be as close to the place you want the pain relief as possible. So I think a bracelet or anklet would be less effective. That is, if there is any pain relief. Again, they're so cute so why not?

[seasiren]

My son wears one, my sister made it for him. I don't notice a difference, but it is s cute and a good conversation piece. I think the best thing I have tried for teething pain is cranial sacral treatments. Find someone in your area who has worked with kids alot and give it a try.

[luvmybaby333]

Originally Posted by texasfarmom

Thanks for the replies. Another thought...I asked my pediatrician about them and she said she had never heard of them. However, she did add I shouldn't use a necklace because of the strangling hazard, and shouldn't use bracelets because of the choking hazard. She said it would be fine to use a bracelet around her ankle though.

Would a bracelet (or two) around her ankles work? or is it the close proximity of the necklace to the mouth that makes it work? Should I just get a necklace and be extra careful with her wearing it?

I know, so many questions! First time mom here trying to figure it ALL out.

The necklace I have has a special plastic screw-type closure. It keeps the necklace fastened securely, but would easily come apart under pressure (such as if it were caught on something that could cause strangulation). The beads are individually knotted so that if the necklace were to come apart at section other than the fastener (which is highly unlikely due to the nature of the clasp) then there would only be one bead lost, rather than many.

If you do decide to go with a necklace, it would also be best to avoid necklaces with magnetic closures. While the ease of removal may seem tempting, magnets can be highly dangerous if ingested. While a small amber bead, or even a small plastic clasp piece, could very easily pass through a baby's system without harm-- an ingested magnet could be deadly.

In any case, we have always let our daughter sleep with hers. For the first two years of her life, we co-slept and it wasn't an issue. Now she is two and sleeps in a toddler bed in her own room. There is nothing conceivable for her to hook her necklace on. Even if she did manage to snag it on something, I am absolutely positive that it would break before strangling her. It's come off a couple times during rough play with her older sister. I would not leave something on my child for 2 years straight if I had any thoughts, whatsoever, that it could harm her.

[Mom2M]

Unfortunately, I have noticed no benefit from wearing the amber necklace and no change when it was removed.
It does look very cute though and I keep it on her because of that (and on the off chance that someday in the future it will help, lol)
I also have the milk and honey beads and each bead is knotted individually. The necklace has a screw clasp, I would definitely not want a magnet.
Also, I would not get a bracelet or anklet. I wasn't sure how DD would react to having a necklace on but she has not even noticed it! When we got it, I put it on and she never even touched it and has no interest in it at all.
If she had a bracelet, it would most likely be chewed up by now.
Good luck!

ETA The necklace is only 12 inches long, I can't see any way it could possibly snag because it is so close to her neck.

[Knitting Mama]

I personally don't think that there is much risk of strangulation with a necklace from Inspired by Finn because they use breakaway clasps that will come apart if too much stress is put on the necklace. And, like a PP said, the beads are individually knotted, so the whole necklace wouldn't go to pieces if it did get broken apart.

I meant to add on my earlier post that I have been wearing an anklet myself for the past 3 weeks and I have definitely noticed a lessening of my arthritis symptoms.

[aloneinid]

I have an odd observation about amber teething bracelets (mine by Finn, too). I used one on my DS2 when he was an infant and after wearing it for several days he began to have black colored wax from the ear on the same side that he was wearing the bracelet. I took it off and the wax cleared, put it back on and the wax redeveloped. I then switched the bracelet to the other side and the wax developed in THAT ear. It was so bizarre, but I took the bracelet off and it never occurred again. Other than that, I didn't notice any difference in teething behavior with or without the bracelet, but was disappointed I couldn't keep it on him because it is so cute!