3 months old cries

Our baby used to be all smiles and then suddenly all cries at 3.5 months old. Our concern was that something was wrong. We thought that it could be fever, stomach discomfort, or shoulder dislocation (paranoid me). The first two possibilities were demonstrated to be remote, whereas the latter physical injury was nil. It seemed that our baby is at the stage where he will start teething. Our baby would still break a smile to us, but whenever he is uncomfortable, he will scream and cry out the most dreaded cries that would leave us with cold sweat.

Teething & Symptoms
BabyCenter provides information about baby's teething. Few indications of teething are as follows:

• Drooling (our baby is doing that)
• Difficulty sleeping (probably due to teething-associated discomfort)
• Likes to bite (when we cleaned his gum, he would nip at our fingers; although he hadn't started biting mummy's nipple). Note that mummies would be the first to know when their babies are teething because they will start biting nipples.
• Cranky (irritated by the discomfort)
• Refused to be fed (probably due to distraction from the discomfort)

We still haven't observed the last indicator.

Other associated symptoms (though it might be inconsistent) would be:

• fever (probably due to infection as teething babies likes to stuff things into their mouth, hence predispose them to infections)
• others (refer to Baby Center)

Means to alleviate symptoms

• Teether (to soothe the "pain" (it's an itch-cum-pain feeling). A refrigerated, cooling teether could help to alleviate the gum discomfort.
• If baby is not comfortable with teether, then using a finger and muslin cloth would be a good idea. Rub it gently around the gum and allow baby to bite (slightly painful) whenever he/she has the urge.
• Apply Bonjela gel to soothe the discomfort.
• We tried Bo Ying Compound (Chinese medicine) to soothe our first baby's discomfort during teething, but after a scare about contaminant that can be harmful to children (reported not long ago in Hong Kong [FDA report]), we dared not try it anymore (though I believe that Singapore scrutiny on its products is of highest stringency compared to other places).
• Carry our baby and soothe him/her with comforting voice/lullaby and attention will help to alleviate their fear and anxiety (of the unknown because teething is our baby's first experience and can be frightening).

 When can my baby eat solid (semi-solid)
 Some said we can give our babies at around 4 months old (we preferred to wait until 6 months).

More adventurous means to alleviate teething discomfort (if in doubt, consult pediatrician before trying the following). I have not tried any of the following. Also, make sure the ingredients are safe for children (e.g. be organic with no pesticides)

• Rubbing the gum with ginger slices, spices, almond (or vanilla) extract, banana, chilled food or plastic utensils, and other solid food (referred to Home Remedies For Life).
• Home-made teething oil (composed of olive oil, coconut oil, and clove bud essential oil; referred in MommyPotamus).
• Teething cream (composed of coconut oil, cocoa butter, clove essential oil; Modern Alternative Mama).