I lived my life by the books. I graduated top of my class and a year earlier than planned. I went to a great college, did volunteer work, and got married soon after leaving graduate school. I was on the fast track to the American Dream.

Soon after we got married, my husband and I had our first child, a little girl. She was an easy going baby. She hardly ever cried, never threw fits, and nearly slept through the night from day one… she was every parent’s dream. Surely you could see why we would think that having another would be just as easy, if not easier! This time we would know what to expect and how to handle it. Not to mention she would have a friend forever!

Those are naive thoughts from inexperienced parents, though. From the time we saw the little pink line telling us our second was on the way I suffered from every pregnancy symptom out there. I had killer migraines, I ran to the bathroom every twenty minutes like a toddler who was being potty trained, and my morning sickness was something out of an Exorcist movie. I had never experienced any of this with my first, and so already we were in new territory.

Fast forward a few months to when our second daughter was 7 months old. We were gearing up to take our first family trip together when I noticed that our youngest was starting to show signs of teething. You know the ones… inflamed gums, crankiness, drool E.V.E.R.Y.W.H.E.R.E. and chewing on E.V.E.R.Y.T.H.I.N.G. I was a bit nervous, as we were travelling from the East coast to the West coast where my husband’s family lives.

Prior to having children, this trip would have been something I looked forward to. However, cross-country travelling had become a daunting task since having children, especially considering that mine were only 11 months apart and one was now in the throes of teething. Still, they hadn’t seen the baby since she was a newborn and the holidays were coming up. I was now on the hunt for a teething cure.

I came across a few basic suggestions. Orajel, Tylenol or Motrin, and teething toys. While I’m sure they were good suggestions for some people, I wasn’t ok with pushing medicine every few hours and teething toys would just be something extra we would have to keep up with. I looked up natural and homoeopathic remedies for a teething infant and came across a real amber teething necklace. The forum I was on had a link that took me to Baltic ambers website where I found information on how amber works for teething babies.

Baltic amber gets its name from the region it’s found in. Baltic amber comes from conifer trees that are located in a forest near the Baltic sea. The sap is collected from the conifer trees and then processed so that the resin can be separated from the sap and made into amber stones. Baltic amber has some of the highest traces of succinic acid found in amber today, resulting in amounts up to 4% higher than others.

Succinic acid is a component found in amber that is responsible for relieving your teething baby’s pain, and if worn by yourself, can also relieve the anxiety and headache this phase has caused you. This is because succinic acid is proven to work as an anti-inflammatory, making it nature’s Ibuprofen, while also being packed full of antioxidants (think immune booster), and has been proven to relieve anxiety and lift your mood.

Baltic amber works best when worn since your body heats the stone, allowing for the resin to seep through the surface and into your bloodstream. When purchasing a necklace, you need to ask yourself who you’re buying it for. If it’s for an infant or young child, you should purchase a polished bead of lighter colour, as the polished surface will make it harder for the resin to seep out of, and lighter variants of amber contain more succinic acid than darker colours. If purchasing a raw bead, the colour of amber doesn’t matter.

My youngest has been wearing her necklace since the week before we left. We are now packing for our trip back home and I’m happy to report that Baltic amber was not only a life saver but a trip saver. Without this necklace, I’m confident that we wouldn’t have been able to travel 19 hours in the car with two children and then stay in a house with other people while our cranky baby cried through the night. Her amber necklace relieved her gum inflammation and made her the happy, wild child that we know and love!

Jenn Sanders currently works as a Marketing Assistant at Baltic Wonder, a company that is dedicated to the health and well-being of infants. Outside of work, she enjoys spending time with her family and outdoor adventures.

*Collaborative post

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