Amber teething necklace, I love you!

Little a had been having a cranky kind of week, waking up a couple of times each night, napping for only short periods and waking up miserable, and generally being out of sorts. She's been working on some new teeth, so I was pretty sure it was teething but the Tylenol and chamomilla (homeopathic treatment) we were giving her didn't really seem to improve the situation. So, after a couple of days of toughing it, I decided it was time to try a teething necklace.

I had seen them on friends' babies and thought they were cute, but honestly little a's teething woes had never warranted one. Oh, and I was also a little sceptical about how well they could really work. That being said, the other day I announced to my husband that it was time to buy one. TODAY.

So my dear husband made it his mission for the day, and came home with a gorgeous Baltic amber teething necklace from a local baby shop for his little girl. (It seems that amber teething necklaces are more popular out West, whereas I had seen a lot of witch hazel bark necklaces in Montreal - I don't know anything about the differences or levels of effectiveness between the two.) We put it on right away, thinking that at the very least we would feel like we were doing what we could to make the situation more bearable for all of us.

My, oh my, has the necklace exceeded our expectations! Little a has slept for 12 solid hours the last two nights, and yesterday she had a 3.5 hour nap (it would have been longer, but I had to wake her up because we were heading out for dinner). I think the pain-relieving qualities of the necklace are taking the edge off for her to get the rest she needs, whereas before she was in too much pain to keep sleeping. Everyone in our household is happier now, and her father and I are simply crossing our fingers that the fantastic sleep isn't just a coincidence or some kind of beginner's luck. If I have anything to say about it, that necklace is staying on until Little a is 6!