Teething is NOT for sissies.

I think Carter is teething. At least, I hope this is teething. Because if it's not, and teething is somehow worse than this, then I may develop a drinking habit or need to be committed. Or both.

(Hanging out with Tank the Monkey)

Really, I guess I shouldn't complain. Carter's mood lately has been nasty and not very fun, but I still believe that it could be a hundred times worse. He still wakes up in a good mood and, according to my mom, is happy and playful all day. He still naps in the car on the way home from Grandma's and wakes up fairly pleasant shortly after we get home. The issues start around dinnertime. He's been refusing vegetables (although in his defense, we tried a few new veggies and its possible that he just doesn't like them.) and eating only bananas, apples, and oatmeal. Then, when we give him a bottle after he's had his "solids," he drinks maybe an ounce or two and then arches his back and screams. I can usually force about 3oz on him before he totally melts down and reaches the point of no return.


Just to reassure myself, I read up on signs of teething today:

1. Excessive Drooling: Um, I'd say so. He's a virtual fountain of drool lately. He bounces in his exersaucer and it's like watching a Saint Bernard run in the heat of summer. (Okay, I'm exaggerating, but seriously, the kid POURS saliva these days.)

(Do you see the river of drool on this kid?!)

2. Irritability or Fussiness: Again, a big UH-HUH! He's irritable in that he goes from squirmy and happy to absolutely miserable and back again before you even know what hit you, and fussy on and off all night.

3. Sleep Problems: Oh yeah -- Check! For the first time since about 6 weeks, he's up during the night. I refuse to give in and feed him (criticize me if you must, but this is a habit I don't want to start) so we take turns getting up to go give him a pacifier and a little head rub to soothe him. It works -- for about an hour. We've been playing this game from about 1:00 am until 5:30 am when we give in and get him up.

4. Chewing/Gnawing: While he's been doing this for a long time, it's much more pronounced now. Carter will grab my hand and then launch himself forward to bite me. Cute... for now. I also find that he rubs his toys along his gums now, whereas he used to just chew on them.


5. Refusing Food: Yep! My kid is usually the baby-equivalent of a garbage truck. He'll eat almost anything, whenever it's offered. He wants food so badly that we can't eat with him in our laps anymore, or drink while holding him. As I said before, he'll eat fruits but doesn't seem to want anything else (Perhaps because we serve the fruits cold?) We always offer him a bottle afterwards, and lately he's only been drinking 2 or 3 of the 6 oz he gets. At his last feeding of the night, during which he normally chugs the 6oz, he'll only take about 4.


So, these 5 factors, combined with the low-grade fever he's maintained leaves me believing that this is, in fact, teething. I know it's a short affair and that there's not much I can do to help him, but so far I hate it. We've tried teething tablets and Tylenol, which both seem to help a little, and we're just hoping that he can get through it quickly. It makes giving him the breathing treatments nearly impossible because getting him to sit still is difficult. We've been putting Yo Gabba Gabba on which puts him in a baby trance for a few minutes. I don't care if it IS a psychedelic baby-rave... it makes him sit still!! Call me a bad mommy, but whatever works! :)