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How To Get Your Baby To Drool Less, Because It's Kind Of Gross

by Lindsay E. Mack

When you're taking care of a tiny baby, it can feel like 90 percent of your laundry is made up of drool bibs. Seriously, how can one tiny human produce such an ocean of spittle? If you feel like you're drowning in the stuff, then it's smart to know how to get your baby to drool less. Because reaching for the burp cloth every four seconds can start to get annoying.

First, it helps to understand what causes babies to drool in their younger years. According to Healthline, drooling typically peaks when babies are around 3 to 6 months of age, often around the time those teeth start to come it. In fact, the excess saliva could be a reaction to the pain of teething. Additionally, your baby is putting anything and everything in her mouth, and she doesn't yet have the teeth or muscle control to really reign in the spittle. So the drools flows freely, and it gets everywhere.

Although there isn't a magic button that will make your baby control the spittle, there are a few tricks that can stem the flow for a bit. For instance, it may be helpful to give your baby a cool chew to gnaw on for a few minutes, because this may help pause the drool for a bit, according to Our Everyday Life. In fact, it might help soothe gums that are irritated by the teething process. On the other hand, you may want to give up or reduce your kid's pacifier time, as noted by Chicago Speech Therapy, because using a pacifier may hamper your child's oral control. And learning to control those mouth muscles is a crucial component of stopping the flow. Lastly, you may want to help your kid gain greater awareness and muscle control. In this case, using an electric toothbrush occasionally may help your kid gain control and get a better sense of the way mouth muscles work, as noted by the Royal Children's Hospital.

In spite of all your efforts, however, you may just have to deal with an exceptionally drooly baby for a few months. Fortunately, she will eventually grow out of this phase. But in the meantime, you can stock up on still more burp cloths.