Dear Diary,

 

Sophie is the It Girl in Hollywood. She’s spotted with everyone who’s someone in the celebrity kiddie crowd. She receives rave reviews on shopping sites (almost 2,000 on Amazon alone!) and is to babies what designer diaper bags are to mommies. Naturally, she landed on Baby C’s registry, and I ended up buying the $25 giraffe myself, since my family members hadn’t heard of her and weren’t willing to drop that much money when they could purchase a teether for a tenth of the price.

 

Meet Sophie

When my daughter began biting and drooling, Sophie was by her side. Baby C touched the rubber giraffe’s soft skin, squeezed her spotted tummy, and giggled at the squealing sound it made. But Sophie was just a toy, not a teether. I tried to force the friendship. When Baby C’s teeth were troubling her, I stuck Sophie in her mouth and encouraged her to chomp away. Although she nibbled and gnawed for a few seconds, she eventually spit Sophie out. My sister laughed and said I wasted my money. My mom said I didn’t have Sophie when I was a baby and was perfectly fine. I wanted the relationship to work. Baby C was just as cool, let’s be honest here, even cooler than the celeb babies on magazine covers. Maybe she was too good for Sophie!

 

It’s So Hard to Say Goodbye

I eventually came to terms that I may have flushed $25 dollars down the drain. In B.C. (Before C was born) $25 was chump change. I regularly dropped that amount on an overpriced lunch or on happy hour martinis (I made good money in my thirties and no longer needed a man to buy my drinks!) But A.D. (After Delivery and After being Ditched myself, I became a single, stay-at-home mom) twenty-five bucks became a big budget item. Baby C moved on, but it was so hard for me to say goodbye to Sophie.

 

Her New Boo

I soon found a replacement for Sophie. Well, actually my sister hooked her up with a new boo. Baby C was now besties with MAM’s Baby Bite & Brush Teether. MAM’s was the only thing that stopped her tears and eased her pain. MAM even works well with a teething gel, so I squeezed Baby Orajel Naturals on the bristles. I also dropped off a MAM to live at Grammy’s house. Other Loves: Baby C is also friending cooling teethers. Sassy’s Teething Tail Fish is a favorite. It stays frozen longer than the competition. When this teether worked, I went overboard and bought almost every cooling teether in the store. Now, we have a freezer full of comparisons. Sassy’s even travels well. At restaurants, I ask the waiter for a cup of ice for the fish to swim in until Baby C cries for him.

 

Potential Mates

After staying at home for nine months, I’m heading back to work and want to make sure Baby C isn’t enduring too many teething troubles without me. So of course, mommy went shopping for soul mates….uh, I mean teethers. I really want Baby C to like The Orajel Front Teeth Teether by Munchkin. I was immediately attracted to its qualities. It applies pressure to sore gums and cleans your baby’s tongue. This potential mate even matures over time (something most men don’t do. Just kidding!) It comes in advanced stages for middle and back teeth. Although it’s not mentioned on the packaging, I plan to squeeze teething gel on the massage ridges.

 

Where’s Sophie Now?

Although Baby C ditched Sophie as a teether, she still has love for the giraffe as a toy. Sophie’s still a staple in my diaper bag and makes appearances every once in a while. Perhaps Baby C will become besties with Sophie again in the future. My mommy friends tell me Sophie is awesome at soothing sore molars. Perhaps I’ll get my money’s worth. Then again, I would have paid more money if it meant less tears for my teething daughter.

About The Author

Vlog Mom/DFTM Creator

Not long ago, Heather Hopson hosted a television show in the Cayman Islands. Today, she's back home writing a different kind of story as a new mom. In her 15 years working as a professional journalist, this by far is her best assignment! Growing up, she dreamed of becoming Oprah Winfrey. She was the features editor for her school’s newspaper and a teen talk show host for her city’s most popular radio station. She went on to earn a bachelor’s degree in Journalism from Michigan State University. After graduation, she worked as a television producer and reporter at CBS, NBC and Fox affiliates throughout the U.S. Instead of heading to Chicago to join Ms. Winfrey on her set, she bought a plane ticket to the Cayman Islands instead. She arrived five days before a category five hurricane! She lived in paradise for seven years, hosted an award-winning television show and traveled the globe with a government delegation. She also served on the board of directors for Big Brothers Big Sisters and spearheaded a Send a Kid to Camp campaign. Then, she relocated to Washington, D.C. to obtain a teaching certification and instruct 8th grade reading at a high needs middle school. She later returned to her hometown of Pittsburgh, PA to raise her daughter Caitlynn, now 4-years-old. During her 10-month-stint as a stay-at-home mom, Caitlynn inspired her to create this blog, and Diary of a First Time Mom was born on Mother’s Day 2012. Two years later, she expanded the family to include 20+ writers. Currently, Heather serves as the communications director at Allies for Children. In addition, she is the owner of Motor Mouth Multimedia, which ranked #49 in Startup Nation’s Home-Based 100 Competition sponsored by Discover Card and Sam’s Club. Recently, The Pittsburgh Foundation and The Heinz Endowments selected Heather to receive an Emerging Black Artist award to develop Diary of a First Time Mom.

5 Responses

  1. Pam

    Popsicles worked wonders for me. You can get the Pedialyte kind so that she’s not getting too much sugar.

    Reply
  2. Vee Elliott

    A warm wash cloth or nursing worked for both my little ones. Also, be sure to have a plethora of bibs on hand…let the water works begin!!!

    Reply
  3. tutu

    This design is incredible! You obviously know how to keep a reader amused. Between your wit and your videos, I was almost moved to start my own blog (well, almost…HaHa!) Great job. I really enjoyed what you had to say, and more than that, how you presented it. Too cool!

    Reply
  4. Jailen's Mami

    Jailen is currently teething and we have tried everything that has been recommended! We’ve heard about Sophie but never got one. These are things we tried, not in any particular order.
    1) We bought the Baby Orajel teething tablets because we figure it’s better than the gel since the tablets dissolve and would reach more of the irritated areas.
    2) We have many, many teething toys, here are links to some:
    Twisty figure 8 (our newest one and Jailen’s favorite) – http://www.amazon.com/Munchkin-Twisty-Figure-8-Teether/dp/B00009IMCK
    Fresh food feeder mesh bags – http://www.amazon.com/Munchkin-Pack-Fresh-Feeder-Colors/dp/B000GK5XY2/ref=sr_1_4?s=baby-products&ie=UTF8&qid=1338682882&sr=1-4
    Nuby key ring – http://www.google.com/imgres?q=nuk+teething+toys&um=1&hl=en&client=safari&sa=N&rls=en&biw=1024&bih=597&tbm=isch&tbnid=RSVmZQULLBsLUM%3A&imgrefurl=http%3A%2F%2Fadventuresinmommylandblog.net%2F2011_04_01_archive.html&docid=wuswIzrv9b88mM&imgurl=http%3A%2F%2F3.bp.blogspot.com%2F-uWmK2P4r23Q%2FTan38_JaBfI%2FAAAAAAAADKM%2F9GINomXfoms%2Fs1600%2Fnuby_teether-key_pp.jpg&w=300&h=300&ei=y67KT7AFzcPqAbfywBQ&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=96&vpy=254&dur=243&hovh=225&hovw=225&tx=107&ty=114&sig=105191322576664878871&page=2&tbnh=132&tbnw=137&start=18&ndsp=24&ved=1t%3A429%2Cr%3A0%2Cs%3A18%2Ci%3A114
    3) He also chews on everything in sight, towels, clothes, his shoelaces, socks, his toes, my iPhone, anything really!
    4) We also were told to put a raw egg in a sock in a dark place and that would help for teething so we’ve done that to!
    5) We have also given him Tylenol when he wakes up screaming at night because he’s teething but only when a fever has accompanied the screaming.
    6) We also started brushing his teeth as soon as he showed signs of teething and started eating pureed table foods. He loves getting his gums massaged and teeth cleaned at the same time.
    7) My sister had used an amber necklace for my niece. Amber is supposed to be a natural remedy for pain. Since Jailen puts everything in his mouth, we wrap it around his ankle in his PJs at night. Since we’ve started using it, he hasn’t woken up because of his teeth.

    Reply
    • newmom0608

      Thanks for the awesome advice! I tried Highland’s teething tablets and it didn’t work, so maybe I’ll check out Orajel’s. The mesh bags are AWESOME!!! Baby C loves using them and I’ve filled it with fresh fruit, like watermelon.

      Wondering how the raw egg went? Check out the post called Odd Advice. My cousin swears by it!

      Reply

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