The Teeth Have Landed

Charlotte has been developing rather quickly. She's completely sitting up on her own (although she still topples now and then) she's very talkative, she's able to grab straight for things she wants (and put them in her mouth), she has no problem finding sounds, seeing people from far away, and she's even started mimicking sounds she hears a little bit. Right now my sister is teaching her to high-five. She doesn't quite get the concept, but she's moving her hand to my sisters every time.

I had hoped that in the midst of all of these developmental milestones, that teething would be one of the ones on a normal timeline.

But, like everything else, teeth have come early.

At first I was upset because I dreaded what this meant for breastfeeding. Fortunately it hasn't been to much of an issue. It's all the other symptoms that have me in the fetal position on the floor in the wee small hours of the morning.

Teething comes with a whole slew of symptoms. Stuffy noses, irritability, changes in sleep patterns,   drooling, chewing on everything, and, last but not least, sore swollen gums.

She gets frustrated from her stuffy nose because she can't breathe when she's eating. So I try various methods to help her breathe better, all of which make her furious. It's hard to tell when she's fussy because her gums hurt or if she's fussy because she's just tired or cranky. So I never know when to give her medicine. I just got a homeopathic one called Kids Relief. I figure with Homeopathic stuff, if I give it to her and she doesn't actually need it, at least it won't hurt her.

I have to say that the absolute worst parts of teething are the changes in sleep and the drool. I was getting a nice solid 5 to 6 hours of sleep a night. That's all over. Now I'm lucky if I get 4. Naps are completely unpredictable. Sometimes she'll sleep 3 hours, sometimes she'll sleep 10 minutes. I had thought she would be done with spitting up by the time teething was a real issue. Unfortunately she spits up just as much as ever (even solids). Combined with the drool, I end up changing her clothes at least four times a day.

Hopefully I can figure out some more solutions to make all of this a little easier for both of us. I'm going to the store today to get some medicine for her sniffles. That should knock out a big chunk of what's bothering her right there. I'm also going to check into the vulli teething toys since I've heard so much good about them. I might up the solids too so that she spits up less, but that will mean more work for me in terms of pumping. This too shall pass!