TMI Tuesday: I’ll Bite Your Finger!

Over the past few weeks our son has been going back and forth between the kind and loving baby that likes laughing and smiling to one that needs to snuggle with his mommy and daddy while a look of pain and fear crossed his face. The later usually coincides with nearly his entire hand shoved in his mouth mere millimeters away from making himself throw up (sometimes he does go too far). We are now in the midst of the teething period when there is little that we can do besides keeping things pressed against his gums and trying to make sure the resulting congestion is cleared away especially during the night.

Most of the time a binkie will suffice but there are moments when there isn’t enough pressure and either a cold rolled wash cloth or a knuckle are what he needs to munch on for a few minutes. Even with his teeth slowly protruding further from his gums it doesn’t hurt (my wife disagrees with this point) and he is rather entertained by the fact (sometimes) that he is biting daddy. It is hard to watch when he realizes he is in pain and all we want to do is make it go away. In the end there is little that we can do but the things above and the occasional dose of Tylenol… whiskey might have to be next or a Manischewitz lollipop (which did wonders in the past). After all, it would be watered down by all the drool anyway.  

Since he now has a couple of teeth that have come in and a couple more trying to break through, we have also added brushing his nubs to the morning and bedtime routines. This is something that is still a little odd for all involved and definitely an activity that our son does not enjoy. But we are all slowly getting used to it and his reaction could be worse like when we try to clip his fingernails… that is a scream I could have lived a full life without hearing.  

Also adding to the misery is the constant ebb and flow of various viruses that he either picks up from other babies or things that mommy and daddy happen to carry home from work. All of these things combine to make sleeping a crap shoot and our evenings a test of both patience and endurance. But even when he has those bad days or nights he knows that mommy and daddy are right there to help him and that is really what is important during this time in his life.