Making the Cut
Monday, December 12, 2011
Nora's teeth, that is. But let's back up a second.
Nora had her 15-month well baby doctor's appointment today.
Unfortunately, she was diagnosed with another ear infection. We've chosen not to treat it at this time, since she is still sleeping well and is not completely miserable (though she has her moments). But we do have the prescription just in case we need it.
Aside from that, it was a good visit. Nora is now 21 lbs., jumping up into the 20th percentile for weight (she's always been hanging around 5th percentile, so this was a surprise)! Still petite, but not quite as petite right now. She's 29 inches (also 20th percentile), and her head is something like 47 (or 49?) centimeters, which is the 77th percentile. Her daycare provider said that's what makes her so cute--that her head is slightly bigger than the rest of her body. Haha!
We talked language development and walking and attitude. All deemed normal, of course. :) Little Miss got four vaccinations, which is always fun. Not.
Oh, and the pediatrician confirmed that Nora is cutting at least EIGHT teeth right now, including four molars. No wonder the kid is a little irritable. What's funny now is that at any given moment, we don't know what's bothering her. Is she pitching a fit because her teeth hurt? Is her ear bothering her? Or is she just being a toddler with 'tude? I guess we will never know. We're trying to err on the side of caution--giving her the benefit of the doubt--and being a bit more sympathetic than we would typically be to her outbursts.
Tonight, she pitched an absolute fit once we were home from daycare. She would.not.let.me.put.her.down. Let's be real: I love holding her, but I would try to put her down just to play with her and she did not want to have anything to do with the floor. I tried to put her in her high chair to eat and she flipped out, so I marched her upstairs to put her in the bath and get her ready for bed. She threw a big dramatic tantrum during the bath (which, as a result, only lasted about two minutes--long enough for me to wash her hair and wipe her down), and once she was out and dressed in jammies, she was fine. In fact, I brought her back downstairs and she proceeded to eat one of the largest dinners she has ever had. She scarfed down everything we put in front of her.
One minute she's a monster. The next she's an angel. Such is life with a teething, ear-achy, moody toddler.
I try not to overuse painkillers/fever reducers, but Nora has had at least one dose every day for over a week now, thanks to her mysterious illness and these dang teeth. I've also been using Orajel every night before she goes to bed, and busting out her teething necklace. (I owe you guys a review on that thing. Watch for it, hopefully soon!) We've tried offering her the frozen/refrigerated teething things before, but she never wants anything to do with them. I was given a bottle of teething drops made by Gentle Naturals, but haven't used them yet.
Do you have any tips and tricks to help soothe a teething toddler?
I have to say, as much discomfort as she's probably in right now, I'm glad we're dealing with a bunch coming in all at once--let's get this over with! Better a shorter time with more discomfort than a longer, drawn-out period of teething with a little less discomfort. Am I right, or am I right? :)
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9 comments:
We found dissolvable teething tablets that go under the tongue, and they seem to do really well....granted my little girl is only 5 months old, so I don't know if she's teething or not (you're not alone!) but she had her hands in her mouth screaming and as soon as I put them under her tongue she was all smiles!
Hope everything calms down for you soon!
Sending you sunshine,
Rachael @ You, Me and Natalie
www.youmeandnatalie.blogspot.com
I love the Hylands teething tablets. They're amazing! I've used them with my 11 month old daughter since she started teething at 3 months and they work great every time.
I agree with the teething tablets.
As far as her ear infections, you should look into a chiropractor!! I swear by them for ear infections in my son. My son had one when he was very young and I took him to a chiropractor. He hasn't had one since!! Look it up and see if it is something you may be interested in. I was willing to exhaust every option before tubes and it sounds like you may be getting close to that point.
Our baby (17 month old) is cutting 4 molars right now too - so we get half your pain! We give him lots of frozen fruit. I get the kind with no added sugar, so the ingredients are just that fruit, then I put them in the microwave for about 20 seconds, to soften them, and he eats them up - and it soothes his little gums!
A third vote for Hyland's teething tabs.
Why did I think that teething tablets were taken off of the market? Hmm. I will have to investigate this further.
There was a recall on Hyland's a few months back (early 2011, I think?), which might be why you thought they were off the market. We love the tablets and strips from Humphreys, but the strips especially have been so popular they are nearly impossible to find. We use Orajel Naturals when needed, too - we stopped using regular Orajel when this news came out (http://www.webmd.com/parenting/baby/news/20110505/fda-warns-about-teething-medication) and our ped suggested avoiding it as well.
Dear lord! I had no idea about the Orajel stuff from the FDA. That is... ugh. Thankfully, we've usually only been using it once a day (bedtime), but that's little comfort, as it says that the condition can be caused by a single use. AHHH!
I guess I will be shopping around for alternative solutions!
No babies for me yet. But just one thought - related to the chiropractor comment above. Have you thought about a naturopath for the ear infections. I had an ear infection as an adult and let me tell you I have never had so much sympathy for little ones. She seems to get them a lot and I have a cousin who was similar. The naturopath suggested pulling cows milk for a while to see if she had an allergy. It helped a lot and now that she's 4 she is fine with milk and ear infection free.
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