A couple weeks ago, Charlotte began cutting her two-year molars. And if this experience has taught me anything it’s that I should have kept my trap shut about how tough those first baby teeth were.
It turns out that those suckers were nothing, ABSOLUTELY NOTHING, compared to this. Because six-month-old Charlotte couldn’t talk. She couldn’t tell me how much her mouth hurt and ask me with her big brown eyes full of tears to make it stop.
Six-month-old Charlotte just suckled. Everyone around me used Tylenol or whiskey or homeopathic tablets to calm the teething frenzy, but I gave the kid a wood block to gnaw on and my breast when she was in pain and called it a day. When she got an infection because her buds kept popping in and out, I rubbed her gums with alcohol to help kill off any germs. That was the closest I ever came to pain relief.
These two-year molars are much worse because breastfeeding simply doesn’t cut it. For the first time, she has had teething fevers – even with the extra boob sessions she’s been taking advantage of. I catch her chomping down on everything from blankets and wood blocks to her hand and sticks she finds in the yard. Two days ago, she clamped down on my nipple in her sleep so hard that she drew blood all the way around my areola.
Sometimes she grabs my finger and asks me to “scratch my teeth, please” which means that she wants me to push down on her molar buds and help relieve some of the itching sensation. Other times she wakes up from her nap with a scream on her lips and begs me to pick her up, “mouth waking me up, Momma, please tell it no hurting.” Over the weekend, she asked me if she could have a band-aid for her teeth please “to help, to help my mouth heal.”
You’ll just have to trust me on this: when your kid asks you for a band-aid for her teeth, please, no amount of understanding the benefit of chompers really matters. I guess it’s a good thing that biology is in charge of some aspects of child-rearing because if I knew in advance how painful teething would be for her and it was up to me to cast that pain upon her…well…she’d be sucking down her meal with a straw on her first date, let’s put it that way.
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That is so sad. Poor little baby girl. :(
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Hugs from one Charlotte and mama to another! Mine just cute 4 teeth in a row giving her a total of 12 teeth now. Her poor little gums have been so swollen. We’ve been through the fevers, restless nights waking up in pain, gnawing on everything in sight and the bloody nipples - twice (ouch!). We’ve found that on top of a lot of extra hugs and cuddles, that homemade Popsicles have relieved some pain. As well as some teethers called P & Q Chewy Tubes. They’re thick and can reach the the back of her mouth. Definitely not looking forward to the two year molars.
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Sounds painful! I remember you writing (read your blog often but don’t comment much) about her teething when she was young and not wanting to use an amber teething necklace. What about now that she is older? My fourth baby is now 8 months and teething. I never had the necklace for my boys but my daugther recieved it as a gift so I thought I would try it. I believe it really works! It cuts down considerablly on the droolling. She knaws less on things when she has it on. I do only put it on her in my view and never while sleeping but for daytime comfort I truly believe it is helping! Here is a link but I am sure you have read about them…
http://www.artisanbaby.com/catalog.php?item=56 -
Jude has been chewing on his fingers soooo much lately! His nose has been running nearly constantly… and like you, I don’t do the quick sprint to the medicine cabinet for tylenol, we just let him ride it out. I’ll say it doesn’t sound as bad as yours, but I agree - a toddler getting teeth is so much worse than an infant with a boob in his mouth.
As for the band aid. Jude had a bruise on his shin from soccer the other day and asked for a band aid… and he had an ear infection one time and asked us to take his ear off (I guess he thought he was some sort of mr potato head). He makes me chuckle.
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I have soooooo been there with my daughter! It does get better. I love the picture—she is such a little sweetheart.
By Christy / Thrifty Vintage Kitten on October 19, 2011
Oh my gosh! Poor baby! That’s just heartbreaking!