Teeth.
Add this to the list of things I never realized. Because teeth? They take a damn long time to grow. I have thought that maybe, possibly, could it be, my child was teething since the beginning of March. With every slightly warm forehead, every time she woke up through the night and every time she had the sniffles, I was sticking my thumb in her mouth and running it across her gums.
And nothing.
Memorial Day weekend I even asked Twitter how you KNOW when your child is teething, because I wasn’t sure if mine was yet. That day, I took C to visit a friend. And she took one look at my kid’s toothless grin and said “Oh! You’re getting a tooth.”
“WHAT? Where?!?”
[It should be noted that said friend has a daughter about a year older than mine, so she's smarter AND more experienced than me.]
“Right there. See. It looks like a clear line. That’s where the tooth will come in.”
“Weeeeelll shit!” I was excited. Not only was my child getting a tooth, but my inability to notice it means that she might handle the pain easily, right?
I went home and told everyone that C had a tooth. A few days later, I started to feel something sharp on my finger. And then I noticed another clear little line to the left of the first. Days passed and everything felt the same. (PS. Babies really aren’t happy about letting you stick your hand in their mouth, huh? Who knew.)
Finally, almost two full weeks later, when she opens her mouth just right, and with the right lighting, and if you’re properly positioned sort of above her, looking down into her mouth. You can see that my baby has a tooth.
Whew. One down, another on the way. How many more to go?
{ 10 comments }
OMG! We’re going through the same thing! Everytime Baby Girl is inexplicably fussy, I declare “she must be cutting a tooth”. Day after day, I see nothing. She’s woken up every night this week crying for about two hours. We’re so very tired. Will look for the clear line tonight when I get home—if she’ll let me, she keeps sticking her tongue out when I try to look at her gum!
A lot! But once they get one, it seems like they just start popping up left and right!
There’s a mom at my group who swore her 4 month old was teething. Cut to EIGHT MONTHS LATER and baby girl still has no teeth.
Baby Evan sprouts them like weeds but is epically unhappy about them for weeks both before and after they pop.
Most babies are teething by 3 or 4 months- that doesn’t mean any teeth will pop up soon. Those little teeth wriggle around under the gums for weeks or months before they finally break through, causing drool, pain, and itching the whole time. My son has had all of his teeth for 8 or 9 months, now, but the drool has just now slowed down. Hang in there- it sucks.
Congrats on the tooth (may the next 19 be very peaceful :p). Seriously tho – we’re onto number 8 and my BFFs have become teething gel and painkiller. Not very naturel mama type stuff, but it buys DD comfort, and us, sleep. And one other suggestion? Don’t put your finger in the teething darling’s mouth with your nail bed facing the razor… I figured that one out with experience. How can something so little cause so much hurt? Good luck!!
Man, I didn’t think Evan was ever going to get a tooth, then boom! Two popped through and seemed to be half grown overnight!
A few weeks ago I was POSITIVE my baby girl was teething. I went to the store and bought some baby orajel and teething tablets. Turns out she just wasn’t feeling well and ended up having a double ear infection. I’m starting to think she’ll be a late teether. Hope the rest of your baby’s teeth cut as easily as the first one
Ry has like 20 teeth popping in at the same time (okay, maybe it’s only three) but she is just not herself. It’s so sad to just watch her cry and not be able to do much for her. She’s such a happy baby and when she cries it makes me sad b/c i know she’s in pain…it’s also frustrating b/c i can’t do anything. Wish i could take away the pain…and stop the crying
Here’s to teeth popping through easily and quickly!
Haha, I know what you mean. Vivian got a tooth a while back – I swear to you she did. Then it disappeard. Now I think she’s working on getting it back.
Don’t feel bad! I also had no idea how to tell if my baby was teething. My friend {who has like 4 kids} did the same thing! 9 teeth later and I’m a pro at telling
I don’t think about the amount of teeth still left to come up. It’s scary.
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