Is that you, sleep? It's me, Sarah. My top 5 tricks for teething.

Oh, Lordy. My daughter was really a champion sleeper since about 6 weeks old. I could get a solid 6 hours of sleep a night and, though its really not enough to really recharge, it was a dream compared to lately. Between teething and growth spurts, my rest situation has really left something to be desired. I've never been able to nap during the day when she slept so that's not an option for me. A few weeks ago it seemed that she reverted back to a newborn eating schedule. Every two hours, even at night. As I mentioned in a previous post, my fiancé works away most of the time so I don't have the other set of hands during the difficult times with Emily. She has since slowed down on her feedings but has been unbelievably cranky lately. It really breaks my heart when I know the reason she is crying is because she is in pain and probably scared. We all have our own little tricks to soothe our little ones, these are mine.
Comfort her. I know this one is a little obvious but I still wanted to add it to the list. Pick her up. Hold her. Being a baby must be scary. Everything is brand new and that has to be a little terrifying. Sometimes they just need a little extra love. Obviously we can't just hold our babies all day long nonstop. Our hands are occasionally needed for other tasks.
Distract her. This has to be my most helpful trick in my teething tool belt. I'll sing Emily a goofy song while I dance with her around the house. I'll shake her hard plastic teething ring so that it makes a loud rattle. I'll make crazy noises and silly faces. Just anything to get her attention so that I can offer her something that will actually soothe her.
Wet cloth. I'll put one of her CLEAN, wet cloths in the fridge for awhile and then give it to her to play with and chew on. This was especially perfect when she was younger and couldn't grab on to more solid toys. It still is one of my go to solutions.
Liquid-filled teething rings. I keep a couple of these bad boys in my fridge at all times. That way I always have a cold one ready for her when she gets fussy. Emily has a bit of a short attention span so I have a few different colors, sizes and shapes of these. These are a recent purchase and so far they've been hit and miss. Some days she loves them and some days she couldn't care less.
Last but not least: unconventional "toys". This kind of goes into the distraction category but I thought it deserved its own mention. Babies (well at least mine anyway) eventually get bored of the toys they play with everyday. We can't all afford, or even want, to go out and buy new ones each week so I like to substitute. They love new textures and shapes so ill give her things I have around the house to play with. Don't worry it's all safe and it's only when I'm right there to supervise. I'm not bat-sh*t crazy. I'll put her little wool sweater on her lap when she's in her swing. I'll give her one of her shoes to play with. When I'm changing her and she doesn't want to cooperate, I'll hand her a clean diaper to shake around. Just always make sure it's something SAFE and CLEAN for a baby and that it's not too small because she will put it in her mouth.

I have a few honorable mentions that may not be as generally helpful. Emily has a favorite song. Colder weather by Zac Brown Band. It almost always makes her stop crying instantaneously. And if she's overtired and needs a little tiny metaphorical push to fall asleep. This almost always does it. It's honestly been a godsend.
Sometimes she's just bored and has a bunch of extra energy so I'll put her in her jolly jumper and let her bounce around. It gives her a bit of exercise as she's not crawling yet and can't move around on her own. I have a feeling she's gonna be a handful once she does tho considering the amount of energy she has now.

What's your go-to trick to helping your fussy baby?