It's the process of getting them.
We are in teething HELL right now. There is no other way to put it. I am at a loss for what else to do.
Reagan is almost 13 months old and only has two teeth. I think Madison had between 6 and 8 at this point. Nothing to worry about of course, some kids get teeth later, some earlier. Her doctor and Madison's dentist aren't concerned. But they warned me that she may be a "cluster teether". In other words, she may get a few all at once.
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| See? There they are! |
I certainly hope that's what is happening. If this ISN'T teeth, I have no idea what it could be. But whatever it is, it needs to pass soon because I am quickly losing my sunny disposition.
She's cranky. Really cranky. Even our standby, failsafe, Reagan-approved methods to cheer her up aren't working.
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| Taking her picture didn't help. |
She's basically glued to me. She'll play, eat, whatever, with at least one hand touching me. Preferably more contact than that. No matter how much she was enjoying herself, if I try to slip away, she'll lose it again.
She's got a killer diaper rash. The kind where you wince as you're changing them because it looks so horribly painful. Naturally, she's pooping more often too, and screaming bloody murder through every diaper change. We're trying to hold her down, clean her up, and reapply cream as fast as we can. I feel like my hands smell like poop and Desitin, no matter how many times I wash them.
Her appetite is all off. She'll reject a meal entirely, then wolf down something random.
Her sleep is off. She had a few nights of waking up at 3 am screaming bloody murder. Picking her up made no difference. We finally started giving her a dose of Advil and a cup of cold water, and that seems to calm her down enough where she'll fall back to sleep. Then she stopped that and had a good night. Then she started taking an hour to fall asleep in the evening. Now she's taking an hour to fall asleep AND waking up around 5 am.
And of course...
She's chewing on everything she can get her hands on. She's not sucking her pacifiers, she's gnawing them with all her strength. She was obsessed with trying to gum the cart at Target today (I basically stuffed her full of snacks to keep her mouth off that disgusting thing - no matter how clean it looks or how many wipes I used, gnawing a cart is pretty revolting).
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| 1. Ignore the Santa jammies. It's cold. 2. I had to stop Madison from taking the pieces away and saying "no, no, no, not for eating." Madison, your sister is relatively happy. She can eat whatever she wants. |
Pretty clearly teeth, right? I mean, if nothing else, she's definitely due for another one or two.
So the question is, what do I do now? I'm really at a loss as to how to get her more comfortable. I feel like I've tried everything I know, and I've exhausted my bag of tricks.
Of course, I don't have experience with a ton of tricks. Madison was a pretty easy teether. She'd get red cheeks, maybe drool a little more, and out popped a tooth. The only ones that really bugged her were the toddler teeth (canines and molars) and even those weren't bad. A little Advil before bed did the trick. Reagan is in another league. She is truly miserable.
We're using the Hyland's tablets. We're giving her Advil (if I'm in pain, I take a painkiller. I can't help but offer the kids the same comfort). We're giving her cold stuff to chew on (bagels, washcloths, whatever we grab).
So what else do I do? I know it's something she just needs to get through, I know it doesn't last forever, but I also can't stand seeing her so miserable. And as we all know, miserable babies make miserable mommies, which make miserable...well, everybody else.
My next step is an amber necklace. I've been a skeptic in the past, and Madison didn't need it, but I think it may be time to suck it up, take a chance, spend the $25, and get Reagan a new accessory. If there's anyone out there who's had success, I'd love to hear it. So far, most of the testimonials seem to be from people who tried it before their kids had a chance to enter teething hell. I need to hear from someone who used it to get out of teething hell. Who were as desperate as I am and found success.
Because right now I'm typing as fast as I can, so I can go to bed, so I can prepare to be up in a few hours, soothing, shushing, medicating, and chilling the gums of my poor peanut.
We want out. Right now.
I'm ready for my smiling peanut back.
