Surviving teething and the lies we tell ourselves.

January 15, 2014 Bettina Rae

Showing you his teeth!

I’ve never really understood teething. Yes I’ve blamed many the restless nights on the impending chompers but mostly, I’ve had no idea whether that was the real reason for his sleeplessness or not. Usually the reality is I just like to tell myself that it is teeth causing the midnight (and 2 o’clock, and 4 o’clock, and 5 o’clock) wakings so that I can believe the lie that he is going to return to my baby who used to sleep through the night soon.

Previously we’ve only used the amber necklace and Bonjella to ~~make ourselves feel better that we’re doing something (anything!?)~~ relieve teething symptoms but in reality I really have no idea whether either works (although the necklace is staying as a fashion accessory regardless).

Things have changed recently though. Just before Christmas the dreaded eye teeth started making their appearance. His gums have been red raw and there has been no question that he is pain with hand constantly in his mouth. He has even taken to pointing to his mouth and crying, especially after eating anything acidic (is this normal!?). Nurofen has been our only saviour as it’s also the only thing that brings down his temps as well (something he has always gotten when teething – or something I have always attributed to teething anyway – am I the most clueless parent or what?! Practical parenting classes for me I think!).

I think we are almost through the worst of it (again, another lie I am choosing to tell myself) as we mostly got a whole night’s sleep last night. Although now that I’ve told you all that I’m pretty much guaranteed it will never happen again (because everyone knows the moment you boast about anything to do with parenting, you have just set yourself up to be proven wrong by your child).

I know I really have nothing to complain about when it comes to Eamon’s health. Except for a few bouts of flu he has been perfectly healthy and in most cases recovers faster than me. But maybe that’s why this is so out of the ordinary for us. I want my happy kid back. This one that screams for half an hour straight is no fun at all!

This post was sponsored by Nurofen for Children but all opinions are my own (ain’t nobody can afford to buy those!).

One Response to “Surviving teething and the lies we tell ourselves.”

Lilybett and Boy
10 years ago
Reply

I completely agree with you that it’s difficult to tell what’s teething and what’s growing and what’s learning and testing boundaries, etc. We’re finally coming to the end of Dear Boy’s teething with his last set of molars coming through. Those bad boys were quick but they did a number on my boy’s personality that shocked the hell out me. After a week of massive tantrums and whinging (OH GOD THE WHINGING) I discovered his lower ones were through already and one set of points were through of the top ones – completely unobservant of me not to notice. Now he can actually say “sore teeth” or “sore mouth” it makes it a bit easier to figure out what’s what.

Surviving teething and the lies we tell ourselves.

One Response to “Surviving teething and the lies we tell ourselves.”

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