Liv, the quiet, peaceful, smiling, happy baby, has been replaced by a fussy, constantly nursing, grumpy, evil twin. For the past week or so she has spent much of the afternoon and evening fussing away until she finally succumbs to sleep. Her red cheeks, diarrhea (we’re talking up to 6 poops a day), voracious sucking of anything coming close to her mouth, and abundance of drool all point to one culprit – teething. Kade was never bothered by teething. He went through so much pain the first few months of his life with his severe dairy allergy that the teething was a piece of cake. Therefore, I am at a loss. I’m going to freeze some washcloths for her to chew on, and I’ve been using Tylenol, but it’s definitely not a cure all. Tonight I remembered that I still had teething tablets in the cupboard so I gave her two and she did calm down enough to do our nightly routine of nursing, rocking, bedtime. I am astounded that it is happening this early. Maybe the teeth are just coming into the gums from the bone, so once that’s over she’ll be fine, because I really can’t see or feel anything in her gums that would indicate teething. I just hope that whatever it is, it doesn’t last long, because I really miss my little angel.
Speaking of my angel, she started crying on the monitor as I was writing this so I went in to calm her and found her blanket covering her mouth and nose. Her eyes were wide with fear (as were mine). Thank God I didn’t let her cry it out, who knows what would have happened. She is such a wiggle-worm, but she hates the sleep-sack and her room is pretty drafty. I’m just grateful that I walked in there when I did.
Kade, on the other hand, has been really good since his meltdown yesterday morning (I hope I didn’t jinx anything by writing that). I have enforced a no t.v. rule (except Mr. Rogers during lunch) and it has made all the difference. It wasn’t that he watched it all day, but it was always on in the background, and it was a constant distraction. Now we just rock out to Christmas music all day long – great exercise and a hell of a lot of fun…
