Tuesday, September 28, 2010

teeth

3 months ago Dr Lady told us "those top teeth are well on their way, you should see them anytime now.

Yesterday Tommy was still sporting a two-toothed grin as he had been for 3 months. Exactly how much does the Dr. know anyway?

This morning one of the top teeth has finally broken through.

You know how sometimes you watch a person struggle and struggle through something, then they finally cross the finish line and you're just so proud of them? You know how good that struggle was for them and how it was all worth it and it made them better and stronger?

This was not like that.

This was like how sometimes your child won't let go of you because apparently being held by a human being who is standing up is the only comfortable position and everything else makes him scream until he bleeds.

Yesterday has easily earned the title of Worst Day Ever because the demon who possessed my child's body literally screamed bloody murder every time I put him down. But because I'm a very experienced and mature mom, I understand that it's OK for him to scream sometimes and I put him down anyway.

In his crib.

After prying his freakishly strong arms from around my neck.

After tearing my oversized mom t-shirt from the grips of his tiny hands.

After forcing him to stop crawling up my body 3 times.

And I closed the door to his room and hid in my closet.

After the longest 20 minutes of my life, because I thought my ears were simply going to die and fall off the sides of my head, I went back in to rescue him from the apparent horror of his crib.

Which is when I saw the blood.

All over his mouth and hands.

And I picked him up and kissed him better and his freakishly strong grip was nowhere near strong enough to pull him close enough to me.

Wiping blood of your child's face after you've listening to him screaming for the past 20 minutes might be the most gut-wrenching thing a woman can do.

This morning I'm certain the blood came from his mouth because I can see the open sore right next to his new tooth.

Now I find myself wondering if I really think teeth are all that? I mean all the best foods can be gummed anyway (mashed potatoes, ice cream, popcorn), so is it really necessary that we do this again for every tooth that needs to enter his mouth?

They're all gonna fall out anyway....I say we just skip the whole process.

6 comments:

  1. No fun! Miriam bled with a few of her top teeth as well. Also, just a head's up, Rachel got these horrible-looking bruises/blood-blisters when she got her 1-year molars in. It was awful.

    Teething is not for wimps. Good luck, Tommy (and you).

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  2. I am so sorry about that! My kids have been such easy teethers. One day I'll look in their mouth and realize that there are more teeth there were before, and I'll wonder how long they've been there.
    I guess the trade off is that they have gotten teeth REALLY early- starting at 4 months and a full set of teeth by their first birthday. This is bad news for a breastfeeding mom.

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  3. I'm with you. Teeth are overrated. Ellie's in the other room "going to sleep" (read screaming)... she's teething again and she's not a happy teether. Worst part? I can't tell where the tooth is coming in so orajel is a no go. Hope his next tooth is better!

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  4. Oh man, I'm so sorry! I'm home with two teething babies today. Joy, huh? Yesterday must have been miserable teething day for everyone. Ellie rolled around on the floor and screamed. She wanted me to be there with her, but NOT touch her. And if I spoke? Forget about it; she burst into tears again. Ugh. I hope Tommy's done with the worst of it! At least for this tooth...

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  5. :( Sad. I'm sorry. That is not something I am looking forward to with my little guy. I hope he's feeling better today and the next tooth comes in better.

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  6. Amy...I have always maintained that if adults had to go through the teething process we would be hospitalized and anesthetized because no adult would put up with the pain, misery and discomfort. Good luck. You're a great little Mama. It's just that all of motherhood is a guessing game and we don't always guess right. Hint: Every mother has been there done that when we make a judgment call (read: make a move for sanity) and then end up being wrong. But you'll notice that Tommy still loves you and you're everything to him. So...keep smiling, comforting and guessing. Love, "Aunt" Sharon

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