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Friday, January 23, 2009

Teething is a Nightmare

What happened to my sweet little boy? He has been overtaken by the teething monster. I have heard stories about babies who go absolutely crazy while teething. I didn't believe it. Kaylie never really fussed while she was teething. She never ran a fever. Yes she chewed on things more than usual, but for the most part she just went with the flow. Micah has decided to throw all of our previous parental confidence out the window. So much for thinking all that experience with the first baby would make raising the second a breeze. Micah has proven what every parent says but I had failed to realize until now. Every child is different. Micah has always been a little more clingy since birth. He likes to be held and coddled. He is not usually content to just lie in his crib or sit in a bumbo and chew on a teething ring. I had finally made some peace with this. Chris and I had learned to balance a baby on one knee while eating and allowing a little extra cuddle time after getting up in the morning. He had started gaining that cute little baby personality, laughing, smiling, and babbling a lot of intelligent baby wisdom. Suddenly a few weeks ago things began to seriously change. It started with an almost constant drool. No problem, nothing a burp rag and a few extra changes of clothes can't handle. Then came an instinct to chomp down and gum on anything that comes close to his mouth. Who knew gums could injure a finger so badly? Next came the continuous crying as he chews on his own hand. At this point it is almost impossible to make him happy. If I hold him he still whines, if I give him a teething ring he gets frustrated because he can't shove the whole thing in his mouth. I even have tried oragel which works temporarily, but in no way solves the problem. I work so hard to get a smile or even a little laugh, but he just seems uncomfortable most of the time. I know time is really the only solution, but my sanity is wearing thin. When it's all over I 'll look back and this will seem like a little blip in the entire spectrum of child rearing, but for now I'm just praying for those little teeth to start coming in!