It’s amazing what w
e let ourselves forget only to have it all come flooding back. They say that if an adult had to go through the teething process they would go into shock from the pain. Shock. Incredibly I forgot how difficult teething can be. For the baby, for the whole family, and for me. The days of being able to set my infant down seem far behind me and now I hold him or wear him all day every day. I’ve developed a sixth sense when it comes to locating teething toys. That’s how we’re rolling these days- from one teething toy to another. I try to remind myself that it can’t last forever- that the tooth will come through eventually. Maybe today, maybe tomorrow, maybe next month. Then the negative side of my brain reminds me, “There’s always another tooth.” And I sigh. We are really in for it now- the rest of his first year will be full of teeth- I’m already living in fear of the molars. The only thing that brings relief is knowing that there are lots of other parents out there with their own teething infants and that it probably isn’t going any easier for them. Misery loves company:)
We’ve got quite the collection of teethers at our house, perhaps you do too. My son is only 4 and a half months old so he lacks some of the motor control that an older baby might have. That means that we’ve been rather bummed out by most of the teethers that we have. Here is some of our collection.
The only one he can consistently use by himself is the purple foot and so it goes with us wherever we go. We have resorted to infant Acetaminophin a couple of times but most of it never makes it down his throat so we always wonder if it was worth it.
I vividly remember my daughter’s first tooth. It popped up on Thanksgiving Day when she was 5 and a half months old. My husband, daughter, and I all had colds and had been too preoccupied to make Thanksgiving plans. We ended up at a Shari’s chain restaurant because it was all that was open and dined on microwaved meatloaf with all the other misfits. We had been invited places but since we were all sick it seemed t
he right thing to decline. We attempted to be festive and enjoy the experience but by the time the food arrived our daughter was screaming so hard we had become a menace. We went home and found The TOOTH.
I’m sure that whenever my son’s first tooth pops up I shall remember that day with equal clarity. I’m also sure that if it doesn’t hurry up and make an appearance I might lose my mind. Anyone else feeling this way?
Four in the Door 