Miss H never really teethed. I mean, she got teeth, of course, but there was none of that inconsolable crying, drooling, fever, diarrhea, whatever. She was totally chill and then bam! I’d notice there was another tooth. That’s kind of how she does life though.
If we’re being honest, I don’t fully remember Mr. B getting teeth other than some molars coming in at 20 months when I was staying with my sister-in-law…and he cried every night while I paced back and forth in the bedroom with him. And he was a pretty drooly babe and everything went in his mouth. Okay, and J might have once said he’d happily get the little guy some dentures if we didn’t have to endure anymore teething. So it was probably a wee bit more helacious than my tired brain can recollect.
But M. Sweet M. Dear, lovely perfect M. Whooo boy!
He’s drooly. And clingy. And sad. And tired. And unable to sleep. And in pain.
I feel for him. I really do.
And he’s an overachiever, that kid of mine. Completely.
He’s getting not one tooth, not two teeth, but three teeth in a row on the bottom. Yep, you heard that right. My little 5-month-old is getting three teeth. They’ve been visible in that “right under the gum” way for over a week now. I can seem them; but they haven’t broken through the gums yet.
I wish they would. So much sweet relief.
But in the meantime, I’ve got survival tactics.
First, he wears an amber necklace. The theory behind it is that the skin heats it up and it releases pain relieving oils onto the skin which helps with teething. I’m pretty sure science says it has to be heated to like 200 degrees F for it to release said oils. So who knows? But lots of people swear by them, and my older two both wore them until they were well over 3 years old. I figure if it doesn’t help, at least he looks pretty darn cute while he’s screaming in my face.
I wear this really cute silicone necklace similar to this one for him to chew on whenever he so desires. And oh does he ever desire! I don’t typically ever wear jewelry outside of my earrings and wedding bands, so this adds a bit of flare to the tired, rumpled momma look. It’s a win-win for us both.
We recently purchased a toofeze teether and everyone is a fan. I love that I don’t have to stick it in the freezer for hours first, which I always inevitably forget to return to the freezer and thus do not have a teether when needed, and Sweet M loves that he can hold it and his tiny hand doesn’t get cold. And yes, of course he told me that. I told you, he’s an overachiever.
I’m a pretty big fan of Hyland’s teething tablets, and M seems to like them too. Or he just loves that I’m putting something that has some semblance to food into his mouth and he thinks he’s big stuff. Either way, he gets super excited when he sees the bottle and eats them happily, and I think they really do help a bit.
I also would not survive this time without my trusty ergo. I’ve got a few too many baby carriers, but when the going gets tough, I always fall back to my ergo. Always, always, always. While Sweet M insists on not being out of Momma’s arms even while she pees – yep! – I can still get stuff accomplished while I hold him. Okay, I can only get some stuff accomplished because unless he’s asleep he feels like he’s being jaded if he’s in the carrier and not my actual arms, and then when he’s asleep I can’t really bend over and scrub the bathtub, so…I still stand by the ergo.
I’ve yet to find a bib I really love for drooly McGee over here (so if you have one you love, tell me about it!). He’s got a thick, short neck and is prone to heat rash. So the super cute bandana ones mostly seem to choke him and emit heat rash. And I’ve not brought myself to buy any generic regular ones…maybe I should. But really, a bib would be helpful right now. Until then, I’ll just use it as an excuse to play dress up with him a few times a day when his clothes are soaked.
Ear plugs. No joke. J gets some great ear plugs at work. I love my baby, and I totally sympathize with him, but I can sympathize even better when I’m rocking him around and his screams aren’t quite as piercing in my ears.
I’m also pretty keen on natural nipple butter by Earth Mama Angel Baby since he’s reverted to nursing like a newborn at night as a pain reliever.
If your baby loves soft things like Sweet M, then you cannot have enough bamboo blankets. My very favorite are Kickee Pants swaddling blankets. They’re so soft and Sweet M puts it right up to his cheek and will often drift to sleep. He insists on soft things by his cheek while he falls asleep. Somehow we only have two though, so when they are inevitably in the wash or misplaced, we use an Aden and Anais muslin blanket because that’s what we have on hand. Though they make some bamboo ones, as well as silky ones that I’m dying to get my hands on because I imagine sweet M would love those too, and I foresee blankets being a thing for him for many, many years.
Sweet M also loves this Under the Nile dolly for chewing on. But ours has been MIA for the past two days, so things have been a bit harry around here. Actually, even if your babe isn’t teething, they probably need this dolly. It’s M’s favorite thing ever.
And I admit, it’s not very green hippy of me, but when the going gets tough I break out the acetaminophen. Okay, okay, I had to go buy it first and then I called the pediatrician four times to confirm that it really, truly would not damage his liver if I gave it to him. But the little dude just needed some relief.
And let’s just be honest, even with all of that, teething just sucks. But at least we’ve found ways to cope. And I hope to remember this for the next baby. Actually, I hope to block out how terrible teething is so that I still desire a next baby.