A few thoughts on teeth

We seem to have reached the peak of RSV on Monday and we're coasting down that mountain only to be met with the road block of teething. I, now, think that alot of the fussiness over the weekend was due in part to teething along with the RSV and ear infection. So here are some of my thoughts on teething:

- It was invented by the devil. So far in our experience, teething is horrendous. Harper just reached the point about a month ago where she can successfully put her pacifier back in her mouth so we've been enjoying blissful, sleepfilled nights. Well, that was only a tease. Thank you teething.

- My child is immune to gum numbing gels. I have heard from so many people that the minute that stuff was slathered on, their children had instant relief. Well, not here. It offers no benefits.

- My child also doesn't like cold things in her mouth. All other suggestions involve cold teethers, ice cubes, frozen fruit, cold or frozen wash clothes. Yes, I have tried these and, no, they do not work.

- Children's Tylenol is my miracle drug. However, it takes about an hour to kick in. When administered at 2am, be prepared to sing, dance, rock, jiggle, plead and cringe until the effects take hold at 3:15am.

- When do you technically count a tooth? If the top is just peeking through the gums, does this count as the official day when your child got their tooth? Or do you have to wait until the whole pearly white is out and showing?

- When your child is a paci-holic, it can be very dangerous come teething time. Harper is deeply soothed by her pacifier. When she wakes up in the middle of the night and reaches for one of her five pacifiers that are positioned throughout her crib for this exact reason, only to be met with utter pain when it hits her mouth, it can be extremely frustrating. She will continue trying the pacifier only to realized its a source of pain, not pleasure. For the past few nights, she'll grab it, put it to her lips, cry out in pain, take it out of her mouth, shake it furiously and then launch it across the room. You can practically hear her yelling out, "Damn you pacifier!!!" This is repeated over and over. Someone has short term memory loss and her name rhymes with Shmarper.
Just up from a nap. Yes, the red mark on the forhead is from sleeping on a paci.


- Why don't teeth seem to hurt that bad during the day?

- 32. That's how many teeth are in the human mouth. Seriously? 32 more to go? No thanks evolution. We'll pass. We don't need teeth. I'm perfectly fine pulverizing my child's food in a food processor for the rest of her life.

See, she can eat without teeth


- I reached out to my Parenting Encyclopedia today. My Parenting Encyclopedia is Courntey Kay. She has 4 children, the oldest just turned five. If she's not an expert then I don't know who is. She was told by her doctor that if adults had to cut teeth we would require morphine to get through the pain. Courtney suggested a rasberry (a giant pacifier with nibs all over to chew and suck on) so that is my mission today.
On a side note, my Parenting Encyclopedia just started a blog. Very entertaining - worth following...or blog stalking if you choose not to follow.

Yes, I fully realize I'm whining. But if you can't tell, I'm running on very little sleep....and I hate teeth.