Review: Simple Baby

Guess who has been cutting molars?

That's right, Snapdragon.  Well, and Mongoosine too.  Turns out tweens teethe as well.

But lets focus on the wee one. You know, the one who deals with his teething pain by crying, tantruming, biting, and looses sleep over it, as opposed to the one who deals with teething irritation by fussing, griping, and burying herself in another paranormal YA angstfest book.

I have to say, teething is NOT fun. Not fun for baby, not fun for mama, not fun for anyone.  

I remember when Mongoosine was teething, the first time around (dang adult teeth coming back and confusing the issue) and how hard I tried to find a solution.  We tried the baby Oragel, we tried the iced teething rings.  Nothing seemed to really help but time.  Later when my nephews were teething my brother found they were only happy with a vibrating teether, but I'm a little weirded out by those. Don't want to giggle the brain or something.  I'm not saying they do, just that they weird me out.

So, as I have gotten more and more involved in the crunchy online community, I have come to learn about these Baltic Amber Teething necklaces.  See Snapdragon's bling?  Yeah.  It's an Inspired By Finn Baltic Amber Teething Necklace that the awesome Shannon from SimpleBaby.com sent us.

I have to say, he's waaaay less fussy when he's wearing it than when he's not, so it's pretty much become a full time wardrobe piece, and I have no plans on taking it off of him until he's fully done with this whole teething shenanigan.

So yes, I am recommending them, advisedly*.  

What you should know- 

-The beads are individually tied so if baby manages to break the cord through herculean acts of sheer strength, they're not going to send little pieces of amber flying willy nilly.

-They come in many different lengths, from short ones appropriate for babies (Snapdragon's is 12") to longer ones for adults (think wisdom teeth or other chronic pain conditions.)  Mongoosine has been wearing one about 14" long off and on that a good friend of mine sent us that her wee ones outgrew, as one of her molars has been pushing in.  I can wear the 14" one as a choker, and have on bad headache days.

-The amber has oils in it which when warmed by the skin are released and have a mild analgesic effect.  That's how they work.  

-*Technically, they're not recommended for anyone under the age of 3 because they contain small beads. Simple Baby has a good explanation of this.

 "Similar to children’s games that have age recommendations when the items contain small parts, new legislation coming into effect in the US in February, 2009, mandates an age recommendation of 3 years and older for this type of jewelry. This jewelry is not intended for wear on children under 3 years old. (If you do not see this age recommendation on the website of other retailers of this type of jewelry, it does not mean that their jewelry is better suited or safer for young children – they are simply in violation of US law [Small Parts Regulations].) Children should be supervised when wearing jewelry, and it should be removed when the child sleeps."

-According to a lot of websites I've looked at, the lighter the amber, the more effective the teething necklace will be. That said, having spoken with people who have used everything from the butter colored to the green, most people find that there is no noticeable difference between their child's temperament between colors, but that there is a vast difference between necklace off and on.  

-They're pretty cool.  Spouse, who would never wear a necklace, is all like "yeah, you're going to grow up to be one of those dudes who wears a necklace and is cooler than your daddy."  Yes. Yes he is.

-Great customer service.  I often find myself being less and less impressed with companies and stores with automated customer service and more and more impressed with companies and stores with real humans behind them.  This is one of those instances where there's real humans, well, human, Shannon, and she's kind of awesome. Check out her blog if you want to know even more about the woman who runs Simple Baby. 

Want one?

Simple Baby carries them along with other great Baby items for teehing, like teething anklets, diapering, elimiation communication, playtime, and feeding. 

I personally am a big fan of 

But that's because I'm a fan of creative play.

So go check out Simple Baby, and check out teething necklaces, your wee teether will thank you.  Then check out their other cool stuff.

Bling wearin' baby sez "Word to yo' mama."

Disclosure: Shannon from Simple Baby sent me a teething necklace to try out so I could get some sleep and so could Snapdragon.  You know, because miserable whining is no fun.