Thoughts? What are the actual benefits? Worth it? Waste? Who knows?
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I feel they were a fad, at least in my city. 3-4 years ago every single baby wore one, now no one seems to. I never felt comfortable putting a necklace on a baby, seems like an unnecessary risk, however how small. Teething never really seemed to bother DD too much in the first place (nothing a frozen teether and some Tylenol couldn't fix)
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There is no evidence based research to support them. To me the potential safety risk of having something around the neck was enough to choose not to use them.
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Ditto @MamaCate: There is no evidence that they work and putting a necklace around a baby's neck seems crazy to me.
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Who knows, I was given one and DD has 0 teeth at 9 months, not teething horrible but some nights it bothers her, some of my friends swear by it, she wears it somedays with me during the day and I take it off at night/naps scares me honestly... don't see it working
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I tried it for a week and didn't think it did anything. I also thought it looked hideous and I was constantly on edge that it would break or something. I was happy to take it off!
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The way I understand it, they're supposed to secrete an analgesic that is absorbed through the skin.
It seems like it would require a lot of amber and a lot of skin contact to actually do anything, which is why I tend not to believe they work.
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I think sometimes people get desperate to try anything when their child is in pain, which I can sort of understand. But if you think about it logically, how exactly can a necklace around a baby's neck actually relieve pain from teething? Apparently some acid is released from the beads? It doesn't make sense to me. And way too much of a safety risk IMO.
http://scienceornot.net/2012/10/30/amber-necklaces-and-teething-babies/
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@looch: that description of how they work is what turned me off.
When I first read that something from them is being absorbed into the skin, my first thought was why on earth would I want to let some substance that i don't know anything about be absorbed into my baby's skin?! seems crazy to me. The choking risk is another reason i would never consider them. I just kind of cringe when i see them on babies, but don't comment because it is not my place to.
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Pure voodoo.
My cousins wife uses one on their daughter. And they don't vaccinate. I think it's bizarre to choose the risk of choking instead of teething while abstaining from vaccinating against fatal disease.
I'd so much rather have a cranky teething baby than one with polio.
To each their own. -
I wouldn't put a necklace on my baby. My friend recommended it to help with teething when my son was struggling getting his first tooth.
We never got it and then the second tooth came in without any fuss. SO if i *had* got one, I would have attributed the easy tooth to the necklace. Which is how I think people get hooked on these things.
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No research to support, unsafe, and generally other things to do for teething esp cold and chewy items.
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@oliviaoblivia: This. Voodoo, and incredibly unsafe! I really have to bite my tongue when I see kids wearing them. I had a friend who was super all-natural about all aspects of birth and babies (I personally have found that these are the types of people that tend to swear by them), and I helped her put her son down for a nap one day and saw she'd left the necklace on. I went to remove it, and she told me "no, he needs it to sleep so his teeth don't bother him while he sleeps." Are you kidding me?! I'd much rather deal with a teething baby any day over than be worried about the fact that he or she is wearing a potential choking hazard to bed.
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@lawbee11: Agreed. I try not to judge because parenting is hard, yo, and folks get desperate. I researched them when I thought LO was having teething pain but it turned out to be an ear infection.
I don't understand why you'd leave it on when they are asleep though. That kind of crosses the line from not my thing to unsafe.
I actually don't really "believe" in teething as this month-long torturous experience. The research in this article was very validating to me:
http://www.slate.com/articles/life/the_kids/2015/05/teething_symptoms_in_babies_are_not_as_bad_as_parents_think.html.I mentioned it to a pediatrician as well and she said, "Yeah, older children are not very bothered when their adult teeth come in so I don't really get it, either."
Any time I've started to wonder if LO is teething because of XYZ she is either sick or it's a developmental stage. When she's actually cut teeth it's been pretty uneventful. If a parent tells me how hard of a time they are having with teeth, I usually suggest they take their child to the doctor because it sounds like they are sick not teething.
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@LindsayInNY: I'm one of the cray cray parents I guess from the comments! We put an amber necklace on our LO at 5 months and literally had no drool ever anymore! We didn't have to ever again do bibs! Also, we wore it everyday except for night time sleep. She didn't ever play with it or try to take it off, since it had been on for so long. Now that she is 2 yrs old, we don't really wear it because she has almost all her teeth!
I would say if you are changing bibs every other hour, then give it a try. Go to a local boutique mommy store, not Amazon, and try one on and pick a style you like. Also, talk to the sales person about them! Really, it doesn't hurt and really it is always what works for you!
Good luck!
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Not sure if it actually works, but I got an amber bracelet and put it on my son's ankle with a sock over it. Seemed a lot safer that way to me (as far as choking risk).
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We use Amber necklaces on my boys. I weighed my options in terms of treating my boys teething issues. My kiddos hate meds and all things frozen. I was so desperate! Amber necklaces have been so helpful for them; does it fix everything? Nope, but it does make a difference for my boys. I am even the crazy one that leaves it on my boys while they sleep. I used to take it off and quit because I couldn't remember to put it back on! N asks for his necklace after bath time. I am looking to buy him another one here shortly because his is starting to get too small.
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I didn't use one for DD1, but DD2 really struggles with teething. Her necklace seems to help her, and I think it actually looked kind of cute. I'm probably the least crunchy person you'll ever meet, but gave it a try figuring it wasn't going to hurt anything. I'm aware of the safety concerns but we feel the way we use the necklaces mitigates risk.
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We used one for months and it made a huge difference in her drool amount! I also kept it on while she was sleeping, but the store that I bought it from recommended that I wrap it around her ankle instead of her neck which is what I did. They also said to make sure it isn't long enough to be pulled over her chin and so we knotted it until it was the right length.
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I didn't bother with it and am skeptical. But if I were desperate I admit I would try it!
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I don't believe in healing powers of crystals, so no Amber necklaces in our home.
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Being a scientist, I'm surprised by the awesome results we have had with ours. Zero drool with either boy and minimal need for analgesics when teeth are really bad. We all make our own parenting choices, I'm happy we've used them.
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@HTownMom: My SIL's baby and my MIL wear them. MIL swears by it but SIL isn't sure if it did anything for her daughter's drooling (she's a week older than DD). I contemplated one because DD is a drooling machine! Daycare is always putting bibs on her (only one per day) so I wondered if it would help?
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@abbydabbydoodlebug: @lemondrop: I'm considering it for her drooling!! Where did you buy yours?
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@LindsayInNY: I got mine at a local natural baby store. I feel like it was more "verified" than a random website. I wish I could remember the brand.
Eta:http://www.thenaturalbabyco.com is the local store I bought it from, but it looks like you may be able to buy online.
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My mom found them on Amazon, from the Art of Cure I think. We did necklaces without any trouble, but an anklet and sock is a great idea!
And seriously, zero drooling from either of mine. We never needed bibs or anything for drooling. My first we started at 18 weeks after a monster nursing strike and tons of drool. No problems after that at all. They still had bad days, but I feel like it's much less than it could be.
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@abbydabbydoodlebug: I wish we had a store like that!
@lemondrop: I'll check them out - thanks!
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@LindsayInNY: it's awesome! They do doula meet and greet and breastfeeding classes. Plus, you can try on all the baby carriers and the employees are super helpful. I had no idea about it until I searched for natural baby store in my city and found it.
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