Having a boy teether has been a completely different experience.

Because let’s face it – men do not handle pain as well as women.

(Or at the very least, they want you to be fiercely aware of their discomfort at all times.)

But despite Noah’s continuous anger while teething, I don’t like the thought of constantly medicating my baby, despite his (at times) quite unbearable composition.

Every time I’ve asked other moms how they handle this incorrigible stage, they’ve told me the miracle cure is homeopathic teething tablets.

But the complicating factor was that they were sold in very few stores and were made by a company I’d never heard of.   I’ve not been able to find them since Ali was a baby, but they definitely helped her.

So I was super excited to find out that Baby Orajel Naturals is now making their own all-natural teething tablets.  A major brand I know well and that will be a lot easier to find in stores!

They sent me a few bottles to try out, and the timing couldn’t have been more perfect.  Noah just cut his seventh tooth, and since they’ve all come in pairs, I knew number eight was not far behind.

When I showed Chris the bottle, he looked skeptical.

“They’re … pills??”

“Yes, but they’re dissolvable, and he really likes them!”

And so I demonstrated our process.

1. Begin by cornering very angry baby.

2. Pull out the bottle and watch angry baby morph into excited baby.  Pull out first teething tablet and hand to baby.  Watch ensuing admiration and intrigue.

3. Pop the pill under their tongue for them.  Watch as baby looks shocked and confused at the disappearance of the dissolving treat.

4. Wait patiently for about 10 minutes, then enjoy the newly calm,

and possibly even happy baby.

(Okay, yes.  There was a wardrobe change in there.  But that’s another thing that boys require more of.)

Although I still give him Tylenol or Ibuprofen when the pain seems to get to be too much, it’s nice to have an all-natural supplement for the milder teething days.

And, in case you’re wondering the details of what is in these happiness-inducing pills, they use Chamomilla as one of their key ingredients and are belladonna-free, benzocaine-free, dye-free, alcohol-free and paraben-free.

And for you, Baby Orajel Naturals and BlogHer are teaming up to give one lucky reader a $100 Target Gift Card!

If you would like to enter for a chance to win, simply comment on the post and share one of your favorite parenting moments…or funniest parenting moment…or even most horrific parenting moment!! I just want to hear about a moment, so entertain me.

Rules:

1. No duplicate comments.

2. You may receive (2) total entries by selecting from the following entry methods:

    • Leave a comment in response to the sweepstakes prompt on this post.
    • Tweet about this promotion and leave the URL to that tweet in a comment on this post.
    • Blog about this promotion and leave the URL to that post in a comment on this post.
    • For those with no Twitter or blog, read the official rules to learn about an alternate form of entry.

This giveaway is open to US Residents age 18 or older. Winner will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by e-mail. You have 72 hours to get back to me, otherwise a new winner will be selected.

The Official Rules are available here.

This sweepstakes runs from 5/1 – 5/31/2012.

So tell me a story.  And best of luck!!

Be sure to visit the Baby Orajel page on BlogHer.com where you can read other bloggers’ reviews and find more chances to win.

Disclosure: This post is in conjunction with a BlogHer Sponsored Promotion. All opinions herein are mine (and Noah’s).

Orajel® is a registered trademark of Church & Dwight.

162 thoughts on “Conquering Teething, and $100 Target Gift Card Giveaway!

  1. My funny and scariest parenting moment is when I was so gung ho on teaching my little girl at 3 or 4 emotional loving well she took it just a little too far. As we were approaching going into a store, I spoke to a stranger and she ran and hugged him. I knew then that I had to explain the hugging to whom only and why but it caught me off guard and I laughed at myself because she had did what I taught her about love and being nice!

  2. My recent favorite moments have all been around my older son finally developing the first glimmers of empathy – giving little brother a hug when little brother bonks his head, bringing him a bottle of water when I comment to someone else that little brother is thirsty, and generally just being an awesome older brother. I hope it lasts for a few more days!

  3. Back when my daughter was potty training, my parents babysat while we went out to dinner. We picked AJ up, with evidence of an accident in a plastic grocery bag. The next day when I went to get my delicious leftovers out of the fridge, I was surprised to find the wet panties instead!

  4. My son had a speech delay and one of my favorite moments was when he finally was able to say Mommy. It warmed my heart.

  5. I’m happy to hear there are new teething remedies out there! My first son was a rough teether, and this baby seems to be following in his footsteps.

  6. just went through a terrible experience – my almost 2 year old got pink eye.
    How can you tell her not to touch her eyes? it was terrible!
    I felt so bad, because I know the discomfort and there was little I can do for her.
    cindy0462@gmail.com

  7. Favorite moment…all of them!!! Cheesy, I know but true! Last night I was feeding Kaiden a doughnut to keep him calm through the last hour of a 3 hour gym class his sisters were at. He was grinning and munching! Suddenly he pulled his leg to his chest and let one rip!!! Then looked at me and dissolved in giggles that only an 8 month old can do!! So cute! He then did it 3 more times! Such his daddy’s son! :)

  8. My lil guy was diagnosed with Hirschsprung disease at 5 weeks, after spending two weeks back in the hospital. Not funny in and of itself, but Eli let us know something was wrong by projectile vomiting — but ONLY on Daddy! He also got a huge kick out of peeing on male surgical residents in the hospital. Even at a month old, he’d learned that you don’t mess with Mama!

      1. I can’t lie, not getting pooped/puked on did brighten the two weeks of sleeping on a couch at Children’s. And being the person to soothe them when they don’t feel well is a feeling you can’t replace, and a memory I’ll never forget. :)

  9. We were in Sam’s Club and my daughter must’ve been around 2.5 years old. She saw a guy with an eye patch and yelled ARRRRGH matey!! Humiliating, yet funny at the same time.

  10. My favorite moments are when Abi says things like, “I’m so glad God gave you to me”, or when Lydia says, “I lub you, Momma.”

  11. My favorite parenting moment is when I ask my little one what the duck says and she says “Whack, Whack”.

  12. My favorite mom moment is walking into my daughter’s room each morning. Her eyes light up, she jumps up and says “hi!”

  13. Mine would have to be when our youngest was first born we were out and guess who forgot a change of clothes for him…..ME! And guess who had a major blowout just because this mommy of now 3 forgot a change of clothes….BABY! So yes, I did have to work with what I had and had to put his older brothers clothes on him, which did not fit at well, but at least he was covered! Lesson learned, backup clothes for all 3 were put int he car after that.

  14. I used a liquid drop for my first child that my neighbor swore by, I don’t recall the brand but they did absolutely nothing. I don’t think I bothered with anything at all for the second since he spent so much time screaming about nothing, there didn’t seem any point.
    Sheesh, what a dour paragraph…
    I will be sure to bookmark this brand and try it with #3.

  15. My girl once got 8 teeth at once. That was painful for us all and I sure could have used these back then. My girlfriend with an almost 6 month old will be thrilled to hear there is a more widely available natural option – thanks for this!

  16. We’re potty training (our boy) and teething (our girl) at the same time! Whew! This potty training this has been pretty good for my self esteem lately. He follows me into the bathroom, watches and yells, ” Good tee-tee momma! Good flush momma! You’re so big! You’re so smart!” It’s nice to know I do something well. ;)

  17. I don’t have kids yet so I will tell you one of my favorite stories from when I was a child.

    My Mom came home from work to find my Dad feverishly vacuuming and the smell of slightly burned garlic permeating the air. After inquiry, it appears that while the baby sitter was not watching, I had gotten the bottle of garlic salt from the kitchen and had used the entire container to salt the carpet throughout the entire house. I was quite cheerful about my success because ‘I liked the smell!’. When Dad came home, he tried to vacuum it up not realizing that our vacuum was not quite up to the task and was causing the garlic salt to heat up.

    The end results were: 1. That baby sitter was fired. I was only 2 and should never have been given that much time. (I had apparently crawled under all the beds to make sure I was salting the floor evenly.) 2. My parents had to pull out ALL of the carpet in the living room, family room, hallway and both carpeted bedrooms. 3. The vacuum cleaner was ruined. It always smelled of burned garlic after that so my parents had to get a new one so as not to ‘re-salt’ the new carpet. 4. We had a new family rule of ‘don’t salt the carpet’. :P

    1. Are you kidding??? That is amazing!!! It takes a lot of effort to ruin a whole houseful of carpet AND a vacuum with an “innocent” bottle of garlic salt!! You totally deserve some type of reward for that.

  18. Oh my gosh…here is my favorite parenting moment (and I use the term ‘favorite’ very sarcastically). When Nate, my oldest was only a wee little baby (I’m guessing around 6 weeks old), I did a routine diaper change at around 3 am. When I woke up in the morning, there was newborn baby poop splattered on the wall across from his changing table was. It was also on my shirt and on some of the stuffed animals we had received at his baby shower. How I missed the poop spraying in the middle of the night, I’ll never know.

    Thanks for offering such a generous giveaway!

  19. Definitely the first time my son said “mama” and knew he was referring to me :)

    demureprincess7(at)gmail(dot)com

  20. I just have to say we are a big fan of teething tablets! Looking forward to trying the Orajel Brand… my little one has 8 teeth now and she’s started biting me when she’s nursing asleep. I always think of your “blog post that never was. ” :)

    1. Ha! I had blocked that one from my mind. So many people misunderstood that post and thought it was real!!

      Or perhaps I should just write fiction more often…

  21. My favorite moment was seeing my baby smile for the first time…that smile does it every time!
    And funny story about the teething tablets…every time my husband gives my daugther one he has to take one too, just to make sure they work….he’s so weird.

    1. I did taste one before I gave them to Noah … didn’t do much for me, but they are rather tasty… in a Tums sort of way.

  22. My favorite moment is the very first night in the hospital after I’ve given birth. This night is the very reason why I have 4 kids, I wanted to experience this night again and again! It is so peaceful, laying in the darkened hospital room with something on tv turned low in the background, lying on your side with the bed halfway up and your brand new tiny baby curled up against your side. Those super soft tiny white snap shirts that they put on both the baby’s top half and bottom half…baby not yet really hungry so mostly just sleeping…just staring at the baby’s face in awe that this little being was inside your body just yesterday. I looked forward to this first night with every one of my pregnancies.

    1. I totally agree. I really loved both of my hospital stays… so surreal, magical, and cozy. Plus, people bring you food and drinks – to the bed. What more could you ask for?

  23. Today I forgot to put on Bennett’s diaper. After changing him! And I left the house! Went on a drive, stopped at a store, put him in the play area at a store, got him in and out of the car, and the stroller and didn’t discover it until I went to change his (messy again!) onesie. Amazed he didn’t “tinkle” anywhere!

    1. That’s impressive!! I haven’t done that, but I picked Ali up from church diaperless once… But then again, they had a dozen babies they were watching. I didn’t complain.

  24. We have nine children, ages 2 to 21. In fact, my 16 year old daughter, Bethany is the one who reads your blog regularly and alerted me to this post. I love every one of my children dearly and every moment with them is cherished. Too many precious, funny or horrible moments to pick a favorite, but this one came to mind. After 21 years, I am well-accustomed to getting up in the middle of the night to assist in pottying. One particular night, my 3yo son needed to go. I stumbled out of bed and steered him carefully to the bathroom. (He’d been known to drop his drawers in the wrong room in a half-conscious state.) As I wearily pulled down his pants, my head leaning over his shoulder, he prematurely released his bladder and shot me squarely in the eye!

    1. Nice!! And I thought they only did that when they were babies! Now I’ll know to keep a close eye on Noah…even when he’s three.

  25. My favorite parenting moments always occur when I am holding my kids right after they’ve woken up. They are snuggly, warm, smell good and still for…five minutes. Then we attack the day.

  26. Oh, and I’ve mentioned it a gajillion times already on the blog, but Della’s getting 6 MORE teeth right now (after having only 6 for the longest time), and so I will definitely be giving these miracle tablets a try!

  27. My favorite parenting moment was when my daughter peed on the carpet and my younger son thought it was water and was patting the wet carpet. My daughter was crying because she saw her brother taking her “place”!

  28. My four year old is so smart. He amazes me daily. I asked him one day if he knew where I put something. His response was, “Nope. I’m afraid I haven’t!” when I asked who taught him the phrase “afraid I haven’t,” he replied with “I just learned it up myself!”

    He also told my sister, while at his cousin’s baseball game, “It’s a bad thing Lance isn’t here!” He’s heard us say “It’s a good thing….” and decided to apply it for bad things as well. :)

    My Facebook is full of Jonathan’s quotes. He is so much fun. I can’t wait until Nicholas can speak more clearly. I will be entertained constantly with two talkers! :)

    1. I LOVE the crazy phrases they pick up on! That’s one of my favorite things, too. Ali started using “unusual” a couple of weeks ago. Cracks me up!

  29. Bennett’s getting in two molars. At the same time! And here I just thought he was just REALLY snuggly! I’ll have to try these tablets!

  30. I get to go home today with my sweet baby Addyson. I can’t wait to be home so I can love on her big sister, Alyssa Kaye, too.

  31. I’m glad to hear there are now more natural teething pain relievers. I’m going to have to go out and see if I can find the baby orajel naturals here in my town. My sister is due in August (with a boy) and I’d love to add some to her gift basket!

  32. i think projectile vomit is horrific and funny all at the same time. my son had it the worse when he was just a few months old and we were in the car. it was not fun cleaning vomit out of a car.

  33. Oh, how about a blowout in the airport! Ah, parenting.
    –Brandy
    fosterbrandy(at)msn(dot)com

  34. A recent embarrassing moment was last weekend in Marshall’s. I had just been complimenting my daughter’s manners, when she yelled out “Mommy, I tooted!”. Yikes.

    Thanks for the chance to win!
    mrsmchappell at gmail dot com

  35. I have lots of horrific and embarrassing moments, but one happened just the other day in Walmart. I was pushing James around in the buggy and he said, really loudly of course, “Momma, Don’t forget to buy the toilet paper! We need to be able to wipe our bottoms!”

    Thanks for the reminder honey.

  36. Let’s do horrific that’s always entertaining. I was installing a bird house in the back and my 19m old daughter was with me, when I turned I saw a snail shell in her hands and some yellow slime. I panicked I honestly thought she had eaten the snail. I was on the phone with poison control and her dr’s office before I realized the snail had just retracted into its shell…. Still it was a scary moment.

  37. Love just seeing my children grow to love each other! With kiddos 6 years apart, it’s fun to watch them learn and grow and love…and aggravate – ha! :)

  38. My favorite moments were watching her sleep…..I could watch her forever…so peaceful. I also loved to watch her while I was breast feeding

  39. My favorite moments are when my twins are getting along and sharing. They constantly fight for toys even though they have the same ones! So when they look out for each other and play along and hug each other, they are the most adorable moments =]

  40. My favorite moment was the first time I saw the smile on DD’s little face.
    tcarolinep at gmail dot com

  41. My favorite parenting moments are always the ones, I don’t expect. When the boy is too old to fall asleep in my arms, or too young to read a word, or too angry to forgive, but he still does and I’m reminded how amazing this journey is.

  42. i’m due in november – most horrific has been realizing i’m already not getting a full night’s sleep!

  43. My son was 7 years old and decided that he would share with Sunday School class what his.dream job would be…He said that he wants to drive fast, say bad words, and be on the show Cops!!! I had no that he had ever watch that show. When I picked him up after class his teacher told me this and I think I almost died.

    1. That is awesome!!! I love parenting moments like that. Well, love them AND hate them – at least when they happen to me!

  44. So far my favorite parenting memory is seeing my daughter roll over. She had been trying for about a week and when she finally managed to flop on her belly the first time she looked SO happy

  45. One of my most favorite parenting moments was seeing my sons take their first walking steps-what a milestone!

  46. What I love about my daughter is that she is obsessed with dancing to whatever music is playing. We call her our “tiny dancer”. Play music in the car and she bounces her legs around in her seat.

  47. My favorite is when my son dances… he bends his knees and bounces like he is dancin like a girl to “drop it like its hot” lol

  48. One of my favorite memories was when my son went trick-or-treating the first time! He got candy at the first house so at the 2nd house he dumped his candy into their bowl thinking it was all about sharing!
    Thanks for a chance to win and have a great day!
    kmassmanATgmailDOTcom

  49. One of my favorite and aww moments was when my son learned to say awww himself. He doesn’t recognize himself in his baby photos so he will refer to them as “baby” and say awwwwww over and over again. It makes me so happy!

  50. I guess when nursing my daughter, she turned to her father when he was putting her to sleep trying to nurse
    tbarrettno1 at gmail dot com

  51. tweet-https://twitter.com/#!/CrazyItalian0/status/204953759321833472

    gina.m.maddox (at) gmail (dot) com

  52. My favorite new mom moment is the first time I made my baby laugh. There is nothing like hearing a baby giggle! Thanks for the chance to win!

    gina.m.maddox (at) gmail (dot) com

  53. My favorite parenting moment as a Mom was when I talked with him, he laughed and responded with his “baby talk” happily.

    ctong2[at]gmail[dot]com

  54. I have the sweetest 5 year old ever! I wanted to order something online for myself today, but it exceeded $12 more than my gift card was for. I told her I was just going to not get it because I didn’t want to spend the $12. She came back to me a few minutes later and gave me $12 of her money that she has earned and been saving for months to buy a specific Ariel doll. She said, Mom you would look so beautiful in that, you can use my $12 to buy it…..it made me cry! :) Love that girl!

    giveohgiveaway at gmail dot com

  55. I have too many mom moments to choose from. But one recent conversation with my grandson comes to mind. He’s 7 and I was showing him some old photos. There was one of me when I was 16. My grandson said “you looked cute then, grandma.” I asked him if that meant I didn’t look cute now and he said “no silly! Now you look like my grandma.”

  56. I was a totally inexperienced 18 year old when my oldest son was born. I’d never even changed a diaper. The first time I changed him in the hospital I put the diaper on backwards. Now that baby is about to turn 30. I can barely believe it.
    Thanks for the giveaway!
    eswright18 at gmail dot com

  57. It has been a little bit since I was a new mom, but my favorite moments were the closeness I felt with my babies when they were nursing.

  58. One of my favorite parenting moments was when my daughter was 3 months old and someone was talking to her at the store she busted out laughing… sweepmorey at gmail dot com

  59. One of my most startling moments as a mom was when my daughter was about 8 months old. I took her out in the stroller and along the way I met a friend and stopped to talk. I turned away from the stroller (it only seemed like a few seconds) and when I turned around she was on top of the canopy. How she managed that I’ll never know but she turned out to be quite a monkey and climbed everywhere!!

  60. My favorite moment happened recently when my 1 yr old niece said “Hi” to me for the first time. It just melted my heart.

  61. It’s funny now but when my son was about 3 years old he was visiting my grandmother who was 75 years old at the time…they were decorating her Christmas tree and my son grabbed a strand of beaded garland, looked at my grandmother and said “What’s this sh&t for?” She still laughs about that now.

  62. I don’t have human kids, but I do have 7 cat fur babies! One of my most horrific moments as a cat mommy was when I found Meeko laying in the floor one morning grunting and straining and laying on his side. I could not tell what was wrong and it was terrifying. We took him to the vet and he had a blockage in his urethra. He is fine now and just on special food to prevent the formation of crystals in his urine, but it was so scary and upsetting to see my baby like that!

  63. I don’t know what you would call it but my husband gave my son potato chips when he was about 6 months old.

  64. My daughter watches us so closely. The other day a bug landed next to her. She got up (meanwhile the bug flew off), walked over to Daddy, pulled off his baseball cap and swatted at the ground where the bug was. ‘Cause that’s what you do to bugs!

  65. Having dinner with the girls, and him behaving perfectly then holding him in my arms and having him conk out right there in my arms. precious.

  66. My son came to us first as a foster child. I’ve had many wonderful moments, but probably one of the most memorable was when he started calling me “Mom”.

    runningmatey at hotmail dot com

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