I learned something new about parenting this week. If you think your kid is teething, but you’re really not sure, HE IS NOT TEETHING. For months now, Z has gone through bouts of excessive drooling, chewing on everything, sticking his fingers all over his mouth, and of course his standard fussiness. And all along we figured he was teething and would check his mouth each morning for a shiny new tooth.
About a week ago, it finally happened! Without much fanfare, a tiny little white spot showed up on the bottom left side. And now the fun begins. First, he stopped eating solids. He screams every time we put him in the high chair, clamps his mouth shut, and pushes the spoon away – splattering food everywhere. Tonight, Dave was finally able to get him to eat a jar of baby food, picnic-style in the living room. But other than that, he hasn’t eaten anything other than a few pieces of frozen banana and a handful of cheerios dipped in water.
Thankfully, he’s still nursing, but it’s like he’s completely regressed to 6 months when we were first trying to get him to eat. On top of that, he’s had all the other fun teething symptoms: fever, diarrhea, diaper rash, and of course, extreme fussiness. These teething issues didn’t last more than a week, though. His gums are so red and swollen and he has a red rash all over his face. (I think his saliva is so toxic that when he puts his fingers in his mouth and then touches his face, his poor, sensitive skin completely breaks out.)
I had a dream a few weeks ago that Zeke got all his teeth at once, and it seems that’s not so far off from what’s actually happening. We can see at least three places where teeth are trying to break through, poor guy. We’re doing our best to keep him comfortable – dosing him with tylenol and teething tablets, giving him cold water and frozen toys to suck on, and letting him nurse whenever he wants. But I will be very glad when this stage is over.
On a positive note, it’s fun to watch him explore this new strange thing in his mouth. He likes to clink his tooth on cups and toys, and he keeps sticking his tounge out, presumably feeling how it rubs against the bumps on his gums. Too cute.
what are teething tablets?? poor ruby is going through this now too… ugh ugh ugh
Here’s a link.
http://www.hylands.com/products/teething.php
And on the website, I just noticed that the tablets are in a base of lactose. Oh dear. I guess we won’t be using these anymore. Oy.
Oh my gosh! Poor Z! Poor Mia and Dave! I remember Daisy teething, and none of the remedies people told me about seemed to make much difference, unfortunately…we basically had to wait it out, although we did try various teething gadgets, and an herbal remedy we got at Day One that could be rubbed on the gums (Kaiser said not to use anything else–like that stuff Orajel). Unfortunately, I think the soothing effects from the Day One herbal stuff were just way too temporary–lasting only a minute or so at most. Hence, I guess, the misuse of Orajel–people keep rubbing it on and rubbing it on until they give the poor kid way too much.
I hope you find something that helps. I think it helped a little when I refrigerated the teething rings, now that I think about it. But there certainly was no miracle cure that I could recommend, unfortunately. It didn’t last very long for us; really, it was much earlier, around 4-5 months, that it seemed really bad and then it was never that bad again. My memory if it was that it got better once the tooth popped through. The hardest time for Daisy seemed to be long before the teeth ever emerged. When they actually poked through, it was sort of uneventful. Do you think this agony is because so many teeth are working their way up at once, rather than because the tooth has emerged? (I should go back and re-read the post.)
Oh – yeah – I guess I didn’t make that very clear. It seems the first tooth that’s now visible wasn’t so bad. But it’s all these new ones coming in all at once that seem to be making him crazy. Poor baby.
Here are some suggestions from some older moms for whatever it’s worth.
1.Frozen popsicles made 100% from natural fruit
2. Widen the whole on a baby bottle and put the cereal, fruit, whatever inside. Not too wide though.
3. Frozen bagel
None of these are things I did, but maybe something will help.
Love,
Nana
The kid is really growing up just fine, since teething is really part of growing up. I guess the saying "No pain, no gain" is applicable in this situation. I'll wish you good luck.