I Can’t Believe I’m Actually Doing This

I Can’t Believe I’m Actually Doing This

You might as well pour me some organic wine in a bio-degradable cup and call me a hipster.  It seems as though I am half way there already.

What I am about to share will probably result in some mixed responses, most will probably be along the lines of, “Oh my word what an idiot”.  Those for it would think I’m an idiot for waiting so long and those against it will think I’m an idiot because I wasted my money.

Intriguing enough?

What I’m about to do is review the amber teething necklace that you would have seen on pretty much every child in the whole of Cape Town and probably South Africa too.  That’s right.  I actually went out and I bought Knox an amber teething necklace. No one sponsored it, I purposely went out and spent my good hard earned dosh on it.

There I said it.  I’m so ashamed.

This is not a decision that I made lightly.  Believe me.  If one had to find a word to describe how I felt about those kinds of things, “sceptical” may be one of the nicest as it’s probably better than, “I think you guys are weird for believing it and oh by the way, it doesn’t work”.  All those people that “swear” by them just happened to have easier teething babies after the necklace was on, because that was what was going to happen anyway, if you catch my drift.  The necklace really had nothing to do with it.  It’s all one wonderful money making co-inkydink.

At this point I should probably come in with some kind of disclaimer saying something like, “This is purely an opinion piece and does not affect my view of anyone that I know that uses them – you know I love you guys.  Also no babies, toes or bunny rabbits were harmed in the making of this post.”

Before we get too deeply into this, let’s roll back a couple of years to when my girls were teething.  They would be moaning, not sleeping and generally mad at the World.  We would be totally cool and calm as we casually waltzed up to the medicine cabinet, to pull out our secret weapon.  Vidal.  It was the best solution.  Amazing doesn’t even describe it.  You rub the powder directly on their gums and BAM, they’d sleep through and not have any fevers or anything.  Magic I tell you.  Magic!

Now let’s fast forward a bit to the beginning of this year when I found out that they no longer make the Vidal teething powder.  Not that it’s going to be stopped forever, but it will possibly be stopped for the duration of Knox’s teething period which is now going to feel like forever.

Are you kidding me?  Are you freaking kidding me?!  I almost cried when I found out.

Really I did.

You see, the last couple of weeks have been rough for the little guy.  Those teeth are desperately trying to squeeze themselves through those thick gums but they just aren’t making a real breakthrough.  For what I can feel and see there are 4 trying to make themselves known – all at the same time.  One night I had to get up every 15 minutes to pop the dummy back in and give him some cuddles.

At that point if somebody told me that if I cut off my baby toe and rub it on his gums it would stop his pain, I would have done it.  Heck, I would have probably cut the big one off for good measure.  If they’d told me that there was some mystic baby bunny rabbit soup that would work, I would be down at the nearest pet store finding the cutest possible one to cook.

For reals yo.

I’d heard from all my friends (pretty much half to 3/4 of them make use of these necklaces) that it really works…  It’s obviously not a total cure, but it eases the symptoms associated with teething.  And seeing as though these are the opinions from a number of different Moms, in different situations who also happen to be friends that I respect the opinions of, I did a little Googling. For the real 411, here are the deets that I obtained from the website that I purchased the necklace from (which I don’t really want to share yet, lest some overzealous anti-amber people start a rant at them or something):

Amber is associated with sunlight, warmth and is reputed to boost the immune system, reduce inflammation and accelerate healing. When baby is wearing the necklace on the skin, the warmth releases healing oils from the Amber. Amber is not a stone and is therefore warm to the touch. The Amber necklaces are known to reduce inflammation of the throat, ear and stomach and to fight infection and respiratory disease. It stimulates the thyroid gland to help reduce drooling and soothes red and inflamed cheeks.

It is all natural and is a less intrusive remedy for the pain without side effects. A natural analgesic, Amber will help calm a baby without resorting to drugs. The healing properties of the Amber includes calming, soothing and anti inflammatory to assist with pain.

This right here was the last nudge that I needed, which is what really drove me to buy the necklace.  Desperation is a real driver to forget what your normal standards are and what you are now willing to accept instead. It’s sad.

Then 2 nights ago this package arrived with our new necklace and immediately it found its way around Knox’s neck.

Now for the review bit.  To give it a fair review I will update it as the time goes on, in case it needs a couple of weeks to really work through the system and start to become effective.

Night 1: FAIL

That first night was pretty shocking.  Granted, it could be because I didn’t give him any pain medication, but it was really rather bad.  Seth was up with him most of the night.

Night 2: FAIL

Putting him to sleep was a mission.  He’d had a mild fever all day and some very white gums, but still no teeth.  Pain meds were given at about 4 in the afternoon – more for the fever than the pain.  Eventually after a fair amount of cuddles he was asleep.  Only to be in bed with me about an hour later.  But then he slept fairly OK.

Night 3: FAIL

Although he did manage to sleep the whole night in his own cot he was dopped up with Calpol and we had to get up every hour or so to put his dummy back in.  At this point Seth is about to rip the necklace off, because if anything it seems to have made it all worse.  But then you have to wonder…  Would it be worse if he didn’t have the necklace?!

What are your thoughts on the necklaces?