When you're a new mom, it can seem like you're learning something different about parenting each day, from food hacks to nailing a smooth napping schedule.
These helpful tips can come from friends who have kids of their own (and let's not forget the online #momtok community), but Katie Richmond, 29, was at a baby swim class when she learned of a teething trick and just had to share with fellow first-time parents.
Richmond, from Toowoomba, Australia, told viewers on TikTok that there was a baby in the class who appeared to be uncomfortable on their back and kept trying to turn on her front.
Observing this, the swimming instructor predicted that the baby was teething, later confirmed by her mom.
According to the swimming instructor, babies who are teething "hate being on their backs" because of the amount of saliva they produce during this painful time, therefore using their best efforts to flip themselves over to remain on their front in a more comfortable position.
"So, if your baby is hating being on their back, like on the floor or on the bed or whatever, that might be an indication that they're teething," Richmond (@katieerichmond) says in her video.
Speaking about the reaction online, the mom of one told Newsweek that it's come as a surprise to some parents. However, "people have agreed that it totally makes sense and [wondered] why they hadn't put it together," she said.
Richmond's video prompted other moms to share their teething anecdotes.
One TikTok user commented, "My baby is teething and currently hates getting diaper changed or getting dressed!"
"Explains why we've now ditched the change table, it was becoming way too unsafe with all that flipping," another shared.
One mom confessed that her 1-year-old son "massively kicked off" when having his diaper changed a couple of days ago, which was "unusual" for him. "He's also teething, makes sense," she commented.
For more information on the swimming instructor's theory, Newsweek spoke to an expert in this area: dental hygienist Laura Bailey from Laura's Smile Club (@laurasmileclub on Instagram and TikTok).
Bailey explains that babies usually start teething around six months (some can start earlier) and the lower front teeth are some of the first to come through between five and seven months.
While Bailey acknowledges that there's "no conclusive proof" that babies don't like being on their backs when teething due to excess saliva, she says there is some truth in this "old wives' tale."
Digestive maturation begins when babies are around three to four months old, meaning they produce roughly two to four pints of saliva every day.
"As adults, we can deal with this, but because babies don't have the oral dexterity to swallow and the lower front teeth as a 'dam,' [saliva] ends up all down their face as drool or collecting in the back of their throat," Bailey explained.
Richmond felt compelled to share what she'd learned at the pool online after reflecting on her own situation.
"I'm currently away from my support system, so being in that situation myself, I think about people that don't have a support network at all, and they're doing it all by themselves," she told Newsweek.
"So I just think, imagine if one of those parents sees any of my tips or facts, and that makes things easier for them. That's all that matters."
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