Having your first baby is always an exciting and uncertain time. You have this beautiful new life that doesn’t talk, but is totally dependent on you, and you want to do everything perfect. There is so much to figure out and one of the most confusing times is when your baby is teething.
Photo courtesy of Crocodile Baby Store.
Teething usually begins around six months old, but it’s normal for teething to start at any time between three months and 12 months old, according to WebMD, which says, “By the time your child is three years old, he or she will have all 20 primary (baby) teeth.”
You’ll know when each baby tooth is coming in about a week in advance because there will be some classic symptoms preceding each one.
“Some babies are fussier than usual when they are teething. This may be because of soreness and swelling in the gums before a tooth comes through. These symptoms usually begin about three-to-five days before a tooth shows, and they disappear as soon as the tooth breaks the skin,” says WebMD, adding that, “Babies may bite on their fingers or toys to help relieve the pressure in their gums.”
One of the best things to do during this time is to give your baby a safe teething toy, and not all teething toys are created equal. The best options are natural (latex) rubber teething toys or if your baby is allergic, then natural wood teething toys.
Here, we’ll look at some of the best options on the market for non-toxic natural rubber teething toys. Among the most notable places to look are: Crocodile Baby Store, Nature’s Baby Blanket, and Tiny Birds Organic Baby & Family.
Crocodile Baby Store
Crocodile Baby Store provides a strong eco-focus on baby products that fall in the range of organic, natural, sustainable, and durable.
Photo from Crocodile Baby Store.
The store has a great line of teethers from Lanco Toys that are all made from 100 percent natural latex rubber, hand-painted using non-toxic paints, and measure nearly four inches tall. They’re also completely free of bisphenol-A (BPA), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), and phthalates.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration says on its website that “both the National Toxicology Program at the National Institutes of Health and FDA have some concern about the potential effects of BPA on the brain, behavior, and prostate gland in fetuses, infants, and young children.”
The use of BPA has been banned in Canada and the European Union because of concerns about neurological effects on fetuses, infants, and young children.
PVC is a polymer used in the making of vinyl, plastics, paints, and adhesives. PVC is widely used because it’s durable, cheap, and easy to work, but it’s also a known carcinogen.
Phthalates are part of a group of chemicals that are known as endocrine disruptors that can interfere with the body’s hormone system. Phthalates are a family of compounds found in a wide variety of consumer products to increase their durability and reduce chipping.
Crocodile Baby says that, “Babies can chew and mouth (the Lanco) teether with total safety,” adding that these teething toys are made of natural rubber “constructed from the sap of a rubber tree” and that, “This all natural material can be harvested sustainably without the use of herbicides and is readily biodegradable.” They are water-resistant too!
The Lanco teething toys also meet the European Union’s EN71 Toy Safety Standards, Part 1, 2, 3; and the ASTM (American Society for Testing and Materials) Toy Safety Standard, F963.
Nature’s Baby Blanket
Nature’s Baby Blanket is a one-stop-shop of everything organic for babies – from clothes to blankets to bedding to furniture to toys.
Chan Pie Gnon Soft Teething Toys. Photo from Nature’s Baby Blanket.
The store also has the popular Chan Pie Gnon Soft Teething Toys from The Vulli Company. These 100 percent natural rubber toys are easy to grip, safe to chew, and have the added feature on making a squeaking sound when squeezed. They’re also about five inches tall.
These teething toys are made from the sap of the Hevea rubber tree and colored with non-toxic food grade paint.
Like the Lanco toys, these teething toys are also free of BPA, PVC, and phthalates. They also comply with the U.S. safety requirement of ASTM F963.
Tiny Birds Organic Baby and Family
Sophie the Giraffe teething toys. Photo courtesy of Tiny Birds Organic Baby and Family.
Tiny Birds is a store that provides great organic and natural products for babies that are hard to find elsewhere, including clothes, diapers, mattresses, dolls, and teething toys.
They offer a good assortment of both natural rubber and natural wood teething toys (ideal for babies prone to latex allergies).
One of their most popular natural rubber teething toys is Sophie the Giraffe, which is made by the same company (The Vulli Company) that makes the Chan Pie Gnon Soft Teething Toys.
These teething toys are also made from the sap of the Hevea rubber tree and are colored with non-toxic food grade paint. They make the squeaking sound too.
They are also free of BPA, PVC, and phthalates and comply with the U.S. safety requirement of ASTM F963.
Reader comments and input are always welcomed!