Fear of teeth

I think Spencer might be teething. He's showing signs - he's been eating his hands and slobbering for weeks. And then the last 2 days he's been cranky too. And not really into eating. And not really into sleeping. Those are the signs - right?

I'm not ready for teeth. For many reasons.

Today's is his 4-month leap birthday. February's shortness didn't let us properly celebrate the 4-month mark, so we'll celebrate today. By celebrate, I mean, I'll feel nostalgic and give him some extra kisses when I get home. Do we know how to party or what?

Anyhow, back to the teeth. I thought I'd have at least another month before dealing with them. Teeth seem like something for a big kid - not my little baby. And we were just starting to get into a decent sleep pattern which has gone into a tailspin the last two nights. Monday night he slept from 9pm - 3am IN HIS CRIB! Then went right back to sleep with me after eating and slept until 6:30am. It was so exciting. Last night he woke up every two hours. Not so exciting.

And what about breastfeeding? I always said my goal was to feed until 6 months or until he got teeth. I know lots of people feed with the teeth, but I'm not sure I'm comfortable with it. But, than again I also said two weeks ago that I'd b-feed until the 4 month mark and now that I've made it to this point, I'm not ready to stop.

And my final thought - one that's surprisingly not about me, me, me - what can I do to help Spencer if he is teething? I found one of those liquid filled teething rings that someone gave me at my shower and tried to give it to him, but he doesn't seem to know what to do with it. I also have some Hylands teething tablets (homeopathic) that someone gave me, but I'm not sure about using them. Any suggestions/advice welcomed!

Comments

[sheri]

if my memory serves me at all, clyde had "signs" for a long time before the teeth actually arrived. like months of totally wet shirt syndrome. of course, clyde is clyde and spencer is spencer and leo is leo, who is also showing the "signs" now. who knows if and when it will mean actual teeth.

clyde liked chewing on teething rings and cold things in one of those netty food things. like ice cubes and other soft stuff once food was introduced. he never got tooth pain really badly, but he was always a big sleeper. leo seems to prefer gnawing on a burp rag and his hand rather than the actual teething devices.

we're starting leo on cereal (per doc's rec) to see if it helps with the sleep. it probably won't. but we're not getting any, which makes us susceptible to trying anything. we'll see.

my only hope now is that springtime will make waking up in the night more bearable. it's so darn cold.

also hanging on with the breastfeeding. we'll see on that too. how did i go 18 mos. the first time?

[Abby]

Lily didn't get her first tooth until she was over a year old! Crazy, huh? They can have all the signs and still not break a tooth for a long time.

The Hyland's never really did anything for us. Neither did baby-orajel. Just regular infant tylenol or baby motrin (motrin for older infants only) seemed to work the best. There are also water-filled toys that you put in the fridge that Lily sometimes liked. Some people also swear by a cold, wet washcloth.

[joy]

My first boy did not get a tooth for a year either. At one stage I was worried he didn't have any!

My second boy is also 4 mnths and doing much the same thing you describe here, but I don't think it's teething (hoping). I think it's more an issue of him finding his hands and getting more coordinated feeling things with his mouth. I don;t know if this is your first, but if you're anything like I was you will be thinking "is it teething?" for the couple of years (heh!)

All that said, if it is teething, I wish you luck. My son actually never was miserable with it (I know. I'm lucky). If he does seem miserable, I think a little motrin at bedtime can be good too. (orajel..not so much)

[joy]

p.s. i like the name of your site. i love me a lager and lime!

[Jenna Schrock]

Oh, teething is difficult for moms. I experienced changing diapers every now and then when my son experienced it because he pees more often. What's worse is he got rashes on his bottom! Hmm, you can have a teether for him - a softer one will do. Well, I hope all is well with your little boy now. :)