Toofs
At Baby Evan’s 2 month check-up, the pediatrician made a passing comment that all the baby drool is the first sign of teething. I think he may have confused my stunned expression with a death threat (or maybe it was when I said “take it back or I’ll kill you” – I see now how that may be confusing) because he quickly amended his statement to “although it may still be months before it really starts!” Ever since then I’ve been on constant tooth watch. Every time Baby Evan was the least bit cranky or squirmy or his sleeping pattern changed or he wanted to nurse more or he wanted to nurse less or he stuck stuff in his mouth I thought “Oh here we go, teething.” And every single time his gums remained unbroken. UNTIL NOW. Dum-dum-duuuuum.
Yesterday morning at breastfeeding support group I was commenting on Baby Evan’s sudden desire to nurse ALL NIGHT* and my sudden desire to move to Ouagadougou (wow, my spellchecker knew that one!) – alone – when he suddenly clamped down on my finger and I found his first tooth. Subsequent attempts to SEE the tooth have resulted in the kind of bloody murder screaming usually only found in bad horror movies right before the girl in her underwear remembers running UPSTAIRS is always the wrong decision. So there will be no pictures of the tiny, sharp little monster that has turned my sweet baby boy into a hell demon. If you want to come hold him for a minute though, I’m sure he’ll be happy to gnaw on you so you can feel it for yourself.
We have a tube of generic baby orajel which seems to dull his pain enough that he can be distracted with toys or the dog, but I’m going to need a lot more. Like, gallons and gallons more. If I’m looking for a remedy more in the “crazy pants hippie” direction, wearing Baltic amber close to the skin is supposed to help dull teething pain and my favorite maternity store sells amber baby necklaces. I already have my share of teething type toys but poor Baby Evan’s tiny mouth isn’t quite big enough for most of them and we’re still not quite ready for solid food so teething biscuits are out. So it looks like I’m going to need some teething tablets. Do you think they still sell this kind?
*Last night I was trying to put myself back to sleep after YET ANOTHER nursing session by reciting all the poetry I know in my head. I was pretty proud of myself for getting half way through Longfellow’s Hiawatha until I got to the part where he kills the Jabberwocky. My sleep deprivation, let me show you it.
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Tags: breastfeeding, milestone, OUCH, teething
That makes my teeth hurt just reading about the poor baby’s teeth hurting. That and I think I chewed my Trident a little too hard just now.
I like to try and get myself to sleep by singing nonsense songs or staring at the ceiling and going “uhhharghahaacrapmonkeys.” Something like that. I also made up a song: “I don’t want, want to be, a functional member of society.” Which is good, since being functional requires sleep.
Toofs! Wow!! I have heard that freezing damp baby washcloths for them to chew on helps, and also rubbing gripe-water on the gums. Ivy has begun drooling like a madwoman and everyone tells me this is a sure sign that teething will happen soon, though i keep trying to convince myself it has more to do with the fact that she doesn’t realize she has to swallow her spit -not choke on it and make her parents drop whatever they are doing and run to her to make sure she’s ok. Good luck!!
Aww! I’m still laughing at Hiawatha and the mighty Jabberwocky…
My mom’s bff has this thing called “baby bling” for her baby – it looks like jewelry but it’s designed to be gnawed on and – aha – an article about it is already showing up in your “possibly related blog posts” list!
http://blogs.babycenter.com/celebrities/2008/08/25/star-shopping-smart-mom-blings-up-teething-jewelry/
I second h_a_l – I’ve heard good things about frozen washcloths. I also have had good luck (I used to nanny) with teething rings like this one – http://www.viewpoints.com/Baby-Einstein-teething-rings-review-52a43 – because it was small enough for their little hands to hold, flat enough that a tiny mouth could grab on to it, and it also went in the fridge so was soothing.
Also, Allie at MyWardrobeToday is a big fan of natural things, and I think she’s talked about amber necklaces, but I know nothing about them beyond what she’s written.
You know you could wet a wash cloth and stick it in the freezer, then let him gnaw on that. The cold will numb the pain and he’ll get a kick out of being able to chew on something.
I’m pretty sure you stole that Cocaine ad from my facebook page. And I maintain that whatever else you want to say about Cocaine Toothache Drops, they are probably damn effective.
The SpaceToddler had 4 teeth by 4 months. I feel your pain, lady. There was NOTHING that would fit in his mouth nor did he have the hand eye coordination to hold the stuff that he did want to chew on. Sadly my finger was usually the most popular choice as a result. There was one thing though that offered some relief. The vibrating teether star. The points are small enough to fit in tiny moufs and the buzzing made it interesting enough to make him want it. It also made me think of vibrators all the time so it did double duty as an amusement.
http://www.shopping.com/xPO-The_First_Years_The_First_Years_Massaging_Action_Teether
Also, if Baby E weighs enough you could maybe start alternating ibuprofen and acetaminophen every three hours. Something about the dosing makes this possible. This came to me from my pediatrician B-i-L so I trust it wholeheartedly.