teething

Just as you start patting yourself on the back for having a good week of parenting (i.e. no major arguments, tantrums or illnesses), you get thrown a challenge. Yesterday morning it suddenly came in the form of baby Wills being a little more cranky than usual. By afternoon he was a lot fussier, waking several times from his naps, and by early evening he had a low grade fever. Ugh. I hate fevers. I know that doctors say that when low, fevers actually help the body fight an infection – so leave it until it hits the upper range of 38. But when one of my babies get it I have to admit that I slightly panic and go straight for the paracetamol.

At his “well baby” check-up the other day, Doctor J noticed that his upper gums were swollen. So last night when he woke up every 2 hours screaming in agony (not his style at all!), I knew that teething was at least one of the culprits. His fever had also risen to 38.6 even 3 hours AFTER I had given Calpol, he was clearly in pain and discomfort, so I enlisted my husband to give an extra dose of ibuprofen. I don’t know how he does it, but my husband can work some serious Daddy Magic! With a few silly-faced peekaboos, he turned the dreaded “medicine time” into comedy hour, and literally had Wills laughing so hard, I secretly wondered if he had become slightly hysterical with the fever.

Mission accomplished, Dad went downstairs to watch his DVD reruns of “Las Vegas“, while I kept Wills in bed with me, hoping that the meds would kick in and we’d get some sleep. Well, you know that that wasn’t to be. This morning, I noticed a cough and a slight runny nose, which means that we’ve been hit with a double whammy.

Teething-wise though, here’s what I’ve done. Will report results in my next entry.

1. Homeopathic Teething Gel
I rubbed this in this gums every time he woke up during the night. It seemed to have helped because he went back to sleep after a couple of minutes.

2. Frozen Teething Rings/ Washcloth
Those went into the freezer this morning. When he wakes from his nap, they should be ready.

3. Paracetamol
I don’t like this, but I just felt it was necessary with the fever.

4. Chamomilla Drops
I’ve been starting to give him this homeopathic remedy for teething. It is in the gel as well, so the jury’s out on if this will help.

5. Mom’s TLC
The most important thing of all!

Photo via cjbvii

Originally posted on October 16, 2008 @ 8:59 am

Even though Wills’ nasty virus is on its way out (since my last post he went through 5 days of fever, wheezing and even diarrhea), his constant drooling and swollen gums show that my little guy is still teething badly. He’s smiling more now, and is back to his active self, but he still still has his moments (of sudden pain?). Because I don’t recall my two elder children teething as badly as this (or is it Mommy amnesia?) I had some questions. How painful was it? When did it usually strike worst? When would it be over?

So I sought advice from one of my favourite online doctors, Dr. Greene who said this:

“….Young teethers can’t talk. We don’t know the moment teething pain starts and stops. Teething pain and its remedies are very difficult to evaluate scientifically. Therefore, we must rely on observation — general observations by many parents and care-providers, as well as specific observations of our own children.

When the mouth becomes a source of pain, it is quite unsettling for some kids. If you’ve ever bitten the inside of your cheek, you know how distracting a bit of newly irregular flesh can be. For a baby, the intrusion of a hard, sharp tooth through tender, swollen gums can be quite an adjustment. Some get used to it quickly, but at first it can be more uncomfortable than a pebble in a shoe.

The teeth (or tooth) that causes the most pain varies from child to child. It is often the first tooth that causes the most discomfort — or those big molars, when they arrive. For many babies, working on several teeth at once is the worst…..”

In a nutshell? The golden rule of parenting: Each child is different. I got off lightly with my other two on the teething, but Wills didn’t put me through the torment of colic like Ollie did. Ollie is now a saintly 3 year old, but Nat was a terror at that age. So I as I watch Wills playing on his exersaucer, he stops, looks right into my eyes and gives me a toothy smile,

I realize that no matter how tough these baby stages can be it doesn’t really matter when they smile at you like that.

Photo via sarniebill

Originally posted on October 22, 2008 @ 8:26 am

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