I've got to be honest: I've kind of felt a little bit inept over the last several months regarding one key issue in raising my baby. That is teething. I thought she was teething when she was 4 months old. Then I was so confident that she was teething when she was 5 months old that I went out and bought orajel and motrin (in all fairness, I could see her top teeth through her gums at her gum/lip junction, and had no idea that it takes several months for teeth to move the distance from that junction to going through the gums). Then when we were moving, when she was 6 months old I thought she was teething again. She not only fooled me, but she fooled my in-laws, who babysat her for us one night, as well. I took a month off from thinking she was teething when she was 7 months old because I decided I would stop trying to guess if she was teething; I had been wrong at 4, 5, and 6 months, after all. But when she was 8 months old she got super grumpy and I thought, for sure, that she was teething. I even said to my parents and in-laws, "I know that I have said it several times before, but I really think she is teething this time." My mother-in-law said, "Sure Sara..." having heard it all before. My mother-in-law was right; Gwen was just getting a cold.
Now Gwen is 9 months old, and this time I really do think that she is teething. Yeah, I know I've said this before, but she is super irritable. I don't think she is getting sick because she just got over a cold this weekend. But maybe she is just being Gwen, and being Gwen means that you act like a teething little monster all the time (note: I mean monster in the most affectionate way possible. I love my little monster).
The moral of this story is that it is super difficult to guess when a baby is teething. And yes, I felt inept...until I joined a moms group and found out that everyone else was doing the exact same thing. Essentially what I discovered, after doing an informal poll, is that the only people who correctly guessed that their child was teething the first time were those people who had children who sprouted first teeth early (around 4 months). Everyone who had normal or late bloomers (Gwen being a toothless, 9-month-old late bloomer), in regards to teething, incorrectly assumed their child was teething for several months before teeth came in. Anytime baby got a runny nose or had an extraordinarily fussy day, baby was getting teeth. And it wasn't until their baby actually got teeth that they said, "Oh, this is what teething is like!" It's one of those things that you apparently anticipate greatly, and once it happens you understand. There isn't a good way to prepare (aside from having pain meds and teething rings on hand for when the time comes) because it is different for all babies.
So I think Gwen is teething. For real this time. But I thought it was for real each time before. So we will just have to wait and see. I think that wishing for teething is just hopeful thinking because you like to think that your child's fussiness is for some greater purpose and isn't just a bad day.
Now Gwen is 9 months old, and this time I really do think that she is teething. Yeah, I know I've said this before, but she is super irritable. I don't think she is getting sick because she just got over a cold this weekend. But maybe she is just being Gwen, and being Gwen means that you act like a teething little monster all the time (note: I mean monster in the most affectionate way possible. I love my little monster).
The moral of this story is that it is super difficult to guess when a baby is teething. And yes, I felt inept...until I joined a moms group and found out that everyone else was doing the exact same thing. Essentially what I discovered, after doing an informal poll, is that the only people who correctly guessed that their child was teething the first time were those people who had children who sprouted first teeth early (around 4 months). Everyone who had normal or late bloomers (Gwen being a toothless, 9-month-old late bloomer), in regards to teething, incorrectly assumed their child was teething for several months before teeth came in. Anytime baby got a runny nose or had an extraordinarily fussy day, baby was getting teeth. And it wasn't until their baby actually got teeth that they said, "Oh, this is what teething is like!" It's one of those things that you apparently anticipate greatly, and once it happens you understand. There isn't a good way to prepare (aside from having pain meds and teething rings on hand for when the time comes) because it is different for all babies.
So I think Gwen is teething. For real this time. But I thought it was for real each time before. So we will just have to wait and see. I think that wishing for teething is just hopeful thinking because you like to think that your child's fussiness is for some greater purpose and isn't just a bad day.
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