Teething and a Giraffe

I had not read much about teething. All that I knew was that it normally begins sometime between 4-6 months and one of the first signs is drooling. When Will started drooling like crazy around 11 weeks I didn't think anything of it. Then, at 12 weeks old, we realized he had a tooth erupting. Brent mentioned that earlier in the week Will was chewing on his finger and he felt something sharp. When he told me I thought he was crazy. I opened Will's mouth and sure enough there it was on the bottom row.

My first thought was something about hoping he doesn't bite my nipple off, and my second was to figure out how to keep him comfortable.

I began researching what to do. It wasn't as easy as giving him a teething ring and letting him be. At only 12 weeks he isn't coordinated enough to hold something and put it in his mouth to chew. He can hold things and he can chew things, but the combination is still beyond him. I had a bunch of teethers from the baby shower but they were too big around for him to even hold. I then read online that you could tie a washcloth into knots for them to chew. This worked decently because I could lay the washcloth around his face and he could push it into his mouth. Still, he wouldn't chew on it for very long. Another article said that I could use one of those mesh things that you put fruit in for older babies to chew but instead of fruit fill it with frozen breast milk. That way they can have something cold to soothe the gums and swallowing the breast milk wouldn't hurt anything. I had a few of the mesh things from our shower so I gave it a try. After a few minutes of me shoving it into his mouth and Will looking at me like I had lost my mind I gave up. I think it was too cold for him at this age.

Well crap. Sometimes a pacifier seems to help, but he won't keep it in. Over the past week we have had more baby meltdowns then he has had in the past 3 months combined. He will scream his giant head off and once we calm him down he shoves his hand in his mouth and rubs his gums. I feel terribly for him. Besides the fussiness his sleep pattern hasn't been thrown off too bad. Last night was the first night that he has ever gotten up at 4am and STAYED up. Usually he wakes me up to nurse and passes out while nursing. I can carry him and lay him down without him even opening his eyes. But last night he stopped nursing and was wide awake. Not necessarily fussy, just restless. Meanwhile, it was everything I could do to keep my eyes open. After an hour of trying to get him back to sleep I called for backup and tagged Brent in. I'm so lucky to have a great husband, he took over and got him to sleep while I passed back out.

Today I did finally find something that he can hold AND chew. It's called Sophie the Giraffe and it is deemed as the best teething toy. Actually I didn't get the original Sophie, but a smaller version with a handle. The reason I didn't get the original is because it squeaks like a dog toy. I don't even let my dogs have squeaky toys, let alone my baby. I really like this teether because it is small enough for his fat little hand to hold, lightweight, and it is rubber so it doesn't slip out of his hand and he loves the texture. I'm hoping this little giraffe has saved the day.

Teething has been the first event where I realized Will is growing up. Yes, I realize that he is still only 3 months old, but getting teeth is kind of a big deal. One day I'm going to wake up and he will have a full set of teeth and a beard (probably next week) and I'll be bummed. The other day I caught myself saying "who told you that you could grow up?", and I thought of how many times my mom had said that to me. Yet here I am, a grown ass woman with a toothy man baby.