Have you been wondering whether it’s possible that your three-month-old is teething? Surely, three months is way too early for teeth?! Well, when it comes to babies, we know that every baby is different. Whilst it certainly is possible that your three-month-old is teething, statistics tell us that it is unlikely. In most cases, we see a first tooth erupt at around six months for most babies. But we should point out that, some babies are earlier, some babies are later and some babies are even born with a full set of pearly whites! At the three-month mark, lots of parents start to wonder if their baby could be teething thanks to an increase in dribble, baby begins to mouth their hands… so if it isn’t teething. What actually is going on for your little one?

Why is my baby dribbling so much?

Dribble is certainly a symptom that is associated with teething. However, if you have seen an increase in saliva at around three months, this is probably because your baby’s salivary glands have begun to develop. Baby’s salivary glands begin to work at this stage in preparation for starting solid food, what hasn’t quite developed yet is your baby’s ability to move their saliva to the back of their throat to swallow. If you are finding that you need to use bibs already, or constantly change their wet baby grow, it is likely that salivary glands are to blame rather than the development of teeth. It absolutely won’t harm for your baby to begin using teething toys however, my recommendation would be to get something that you can also play with so that even if your baby isn’t using it for teething yet, you still get play value from them. Have you seen our super cute Bo Bunny Teether here at Rosa & Bo? We love playing peekaboo with our teether in our house as well as using it to soothe sore gums!

Why does my baby keep biting their hands?

But what about if my baby keeps biting their hands at three months? Combined with an increase in dribble, it seems only sensible to guess that your baby is teething, right? This may be the case, but a lesser known fact is that babies actually gain more control over their hands at… you guessed it, three months old! Babies explore by putting things in their mouths as that’s where they have the most nerve endings, so they get lots of information about an object by mouthing it. This includes their hands, so it might not necessarily be a sign of early teething.

Why is my baby waking so frequently at night?

So your newborn arrives, and you begin to settle into some sort of sleeping pattern. In fact at night… they are actually sleeping pretty well. From three months onwards, your baby’s sleeping pattern seems to be all over the place. Could it be teething that is interrupting their slumber?! Whilst it could be teething, again, it’s probably more to do with the fact that now your baby is twelve weeks old, they are starting to wake up to the world. They are not so sleepy anymore, and they are learning the world is an exciting place to be! This cues millions of brain connections as your baby is learning and taking in so much information, which they are processing and this is responsible for keeping them awake. As frustrating and tiring as this is, it’s actually an incredible milestone in your baby’s development. Luckily, most babies do settle back into sleeping more after what is known as the ‘four-month sleep regression’, but it is entirely normal infant behaviour to wake during the night (even though most things we read don’t support this fact!).

If you have any questions about teething we would always point you in the direction of your GP or Health Visitor. We hope that with the help of our Bo Bunny Teether every baby will have an easier teething journey!