baby teeth

[kettunainen]

ok, Mamas, tell me all you can about teething. A's slowly gearing up for it and I need to know more about what I'm in for beyond what I currently know: insane drool, pulling at ears (which could also be actual ear aches), swollen gums, cranky baby (but I have no idea what that really means), potential latch problems

Comments

[kettunainen]

we have a little now that overflows into a small waterfall every once in a while, but I have no idea if that's just normal baby stuff or if it's tied directly to pre-teething .

i already have a washcloth in the freezer -- tossed it in there a couple of weeks ago :-) and yes, we have a crap load of washcloths! what is the deal with getting so many? craziness. but useful for this sort of thing.

he's started chomping every once in a while and it only really hurt once. Dr. Sears came to the rescue for that one: mush baby into breast when biting/chomping -- they have to let go to breathe. it worked really well :-) (though, writing it out sounds awful -- suffocate baby briefly so as to rescue your nipple).

and he doesn't have too much of a schedule as it stands, so that won't be too awful (I hope!).

of course teething can cause ear aches -- there's a canal between the ear and the back of the throat, add in tonnes of drool pooling in/hanging out in the mouth and it only makes sense that *something* would end up irritating the ear

[tamago23]

Can also cause mild cold symptoms, diahrrea, and mild flu symptoms (a low fever). Also can cause difficulty nursing because his gums may hurt so much, he'll latch on, pop off, latch on, pop off, cry... oh, and a lot of crying. Teething is pretty sucktastic, all right.

Baby Tylenol is your friend. (The Pharma Plus generic brand of baby acetaminophen is fine too.) I can't stress that enough. I also can't stress enough that after teeth actually break the surface, after you give him a dose of Tylenol, brush his teeth. You don't want to let that Tylenol sugar syrup sit on his teeth.

[kettunainen]

oh gods, crying. ugh. i HATE crying! esp that 'holy shit I hurt and I don't know why and I don't know how to make it stop' crying. happened this morning (tired, i guess -- swaddling and bouncing fixed it, but it took a bit to clue in) and it was AWFUL to listen to :(

and yes, after watching what G went through with the teeth stuff, damn sure I'll be brushing A's little toofs.

[tamago23]

Yep. Knowing that we're designed to have a physiological negative response to crying (especially the higher-pitched pain or hunger cries) doesn't make it any easier to endure. :(

If Ghastly turns into a baby at some point, we're going to be super-careful with the teeth, especially because s/he will be high-risk already.

Teeth. Fun.

[the_moogie]

I'm not a mom, but have brief recollections of teething. I remember it as more of an insane mouth itching than a jabby pain. Frozen washclothes were good, because you could bite them, but they only stayed good for a few moments. You'll be great at helping the teething. It's like you'll be a midwife to A's tooth birth.

My teething also resulted in one of my fun childhood stories, in which my parents, not having any more Anbesol, tried to numb my gums with Preperation H and managed to numb my whole head. I don't remember it, but it was always fun to hear about how the cats kept looking at them funny, like "what have you done to the baby now?"

Re: Teeth. Fun.

[kettunainen]

you always have the best stories! and thanks for the vote of confidence :-) I hope it goes easily for A; I don't want to be even more taxed than I already am or I'll be a lousy midwife.

[alexisyael]

Teething is my personal hell

[kettunainen]

Teething is my personal hell.

lol, i hadn't noticed or anything ;-) (and *hugs*)

the amber necklaces look awesome! i'm totally getting one for A. want to try the least invasive method of pain-relief first, then homeopathics, then the regular stuff.

where is the rash? chin, chest, bum?

how does frozen stuff work with little baby hands and fingers? isn't it too cold for them?

[alexisyael]

it's a diaper rash... remy doesn't get the under chin drool rash some babies get.

remy is all about the cold stuff. he likes to play with/ eat/ suck on ice cubes (we started him with that when he was older, tho, and I was careful with him not being able to choke on pieces).

i never noticed him having an issue with his hands freezing up.

Oh, tho when he was younger, I held on to the washcloth myself. He'd touch it, but mostly I was the one holding it, until he was old enough to do it on his own.... at which point, his heat regulation was a lot better!