Eeek...Molars!!!

So Jack decided to give Mommy the best birthday present ever - his molars! Here is an excerpt from a popular baby website to describe exactly what we are dealing with:

Even though molars might be weeks away from erupting, they are uncomfortable enough down in the gums to keep your baby awake when he should be rolling over and going back to sleep. For many parents, this means you’re suddenly up at night rocking and feeding a baby who used to sleep through. Most frustrating for these parents is the uncertainty as to why everyone is enjoying the late night snuggles for days or weeks on end – those pesky teeth can take forever to actually show up.

When you begin to suspect your child is starting to show discomfort and signs of teething, keep an eye out for more signs to verify your concern. If in doubt, you can also take your child to the doctor to rule out any other discomfort such as an ear infection or sore throat. The most common teething signs are:

Drooling
Pulling or digging in his mouth
Biting and chewing
Pulling or rubbing at the jaw or ear
Night waking
Slight fever (less than 100 degrees Fahrenheit)
Reluctance eating solids
Reluctance sucking at cups or bottles


When the nights begin to grow rough and the days grow rougher thanks to a cranky toddler and poor sleep the night before, dig back into your arsenal of survival tactics to make it through:


Take turns being up at night.
Use teething medicine and/or pain reliever with your doctor’s permission.
Offer your child cold things to gnaw on such as frozen pancakes, waffles, washcloths or bagels.
Rub the swollen area of the gums to offer counter pressure
Move bedtime earlier to accommodate the night waking
Try co-sleeping to comfort your baby and get yourself more shut-eye
Nap when your baby is napping
Offer fun distractions to keep baby’s mind off the hurt
Incline his mattress to help reduce pressure when sleeping.

We have discovered that Jack loves frozen teethers (he just holds them in his mouth like a dog while he walks around the house) as well as frozen waffles and veggies. He isn't such a big food fan very often - refusing even his most favorite foods at times. He has been waking between 5am and 6am for the last week, as well as going to bed very unhappily. We only hope that these teeth erupt soon so that we can all get some rest!!! He's been working hard at them, that's for sure!