Then There Were Six

I thought those front teeth would never come in foks. It started MONTHS ago with his major nursing strike. Remember? It was at least a month or two before the first two teeth came in. No joke...and it was the two to the side of the two center front teeth so he looked kinda funny. Judging by his behavior, by the look of his gums, and by what Aiden's teeth did, it seemed like he was getting all four at once...but no...he got those two side ones and it was another month before the middle two came through...and he was a moody BUTT the whole time. Fortunately we only had a very short visit with the biting phase and it was never very bad, thankfully.

You can't see his teeth, but he's too cute NOT to put in the blog!

But here is chase...he has 6 teeth and a 7th on the way. I knew tooth number 7 was on the way when the pulling resumed. Ooooo the pulling. this has been the worse symptom of his teething (for my nipples anyway) since he was 7 months old. He pulls at the breast, presumably to put counter pressure on his tender gums and jaw. I can't blame him, but I can STRONGLY hate the pulling. About two weeks ago he started the pulling again, repetitively pulling with his hand so much so that not only did it hurt my nipple from the shallow latch, but it was hurting my breast from the rough pushing on the skin. It's pretty flippin' rotten. He gets mad mad mad when I block him from doing it. This is NOT conducive to bedtime boobs, as I'm sure you can imagine. Irritating the mini-man does not help him get sleep.

So out comes the teeth cocktail again for everyone's sanity, especially my cutey baby. Here is what we use:

Amber necklace...ALL. THE. WAY. I was seriously skeptical about this when I got one from a bargain website a few months back, but I was sold the first night we forgot to put it back on after bath. I was up...ALL. NIGHT. LONG. Ok, one data point right? That's just a fluke...but it has happened a few times since, same thing. It really does help. Watch for a review on the product all three of us are using and have fallen in love with soon!

Hyland's Teething Tablets. Ok, that's kind of a lie. For MONTHS the teething tablets were pulled from the shelves while being reformulated. I don't know anything about this...all I know is that Chase started teething in the middle of the and I couldn't find it anywhere. So I had my local Natural Food store order me the Hyland's Kids Kit and until I finally found the teething tablets back on the shelf I gave him a blend of two of these...you'll have to figure out which two on your own, or just get the teething tablets. I'm fairly certain if I divulge my methods we could be liable so I'm not going to go there. It's pretty simple if you read the labels of what is in the kit to figure out what works for teething. I actually really like that Kids Kit for lots of things, not just the teething combo I used.

During Chase's nursing strike, for a few days I had to also give him baby ibuprofen because the amber and the teething remedies were not breaking through the pain for him. I rarely use OTC medications for myself or the boys anymore, but some instances warrant it. Better living through chemistry...hahaha!

Since toofer number 7 is on it's way we have a pretty strict regime of keeping Chase happy with his necklace and with his homeopathics. If he is pulling a lot I know I need to give him the teething tablets...I go by his behavior, not by a schedule. This seems to work for us.

Additionally, Chase wears his amber necklace overnight. This is NOT RECOMMENDED by the manufacturer. I know that Mama Christa and I both do this with the babies but other moms are not comfortable. One way to reap the benefits of the amber overnight (which, frankly, is when we need it most) is to wrap it around a wrist or ankle and put a sleeve/pantleg/sock over it. As long as it is in contact with the baby's skin, it is doing good.  We do not recommend having your baby wear a necklace overnight either, we can't. It's just what the two of us do and you have to weigh options for your own family.

For now, this is working, and that 7th tooth is ALMOST through. I always hear that the eye teeth are real bears, but I don't remember from Aiden's teething how it compares to the rest of teething. In fact, Chase, overall, has been FAR MORE symptomatic about teething than Aiden ever was. He gets loose poops, cranky, low fevers sometimes, nursing strikes, flushed cheeks...the works.  I see some changes on the top gums, I'm wondering if those bears aren't moving into position...maybe. I'm ready. Right now, he's happy, cute, and busy, so I will keep doing what we are doing until it doesn't work!

BOOBS?! LEMME AT 'EM!

I hope you found something helpful here to help with your teether. I never medicate or treat a child who doesn't act uncomfortable. Aiden rarely did, Chase ALWAYS does. For what it's worth, baby orajel is bad news...especially for breastfed babies. It only nums the gums anyway, and the worst of the teething pain comes fromt he movement of the teeth through the jaw bone. I remember this when I was in my very early 20s and I started getting my wisdom teeth in. My jaw hurt like HELL for days at a time, on and off for MONTHS. Orajel didn't help. Ibuprofen did. Having that vivid memory has helped me to help my boys a little better. Orajel has also been linked to choking due to numbness in the throat...so it's not safe to use anyway. A breastfed baby will sometimes have trouble latching due to numbness of the lips, tongue, and gums, so it mostly does more harm than good.

**fist pump** to the teething baby mamas out there. I feel you!

Twice Bitten, Once Shy...

Torturing Chicken Little by trying to get a photo of his chompers

This week I've been feeling nibbles and clamps from my 4 month old baby Chicklett. They don't necessarily hurt, but they surprise me every time and it was a sudden reminder that I'm about to go through all of this teething business all over again. Sigh.

Being bitten is a huge fear for many mothers, and is sometimes the deciding factor of not breastfeeding at all - or that is the automatic end point for the relationship. I will admit that in my 28 months of breastfeeding there was a period around 9 months old with Chicken Little that I uttered the words, "I don't know if I can do this." But, you all obviously know that I can and did do this... and you can too!

It is a good test of your commitment to breastfeeding. But with support from those who have gone through it before you will be just super!

• IF you are being bitten your baby is not actually hungry. It is physically impossible for them to bite/clamp and eat at the same time. During teething you will be acutely aware of when they slow down on sucking and probably start to make the decision to end their nursing session a little earlier than normal.
• Nurse with your thumb near the corner of their mouth, so when/if they start to bite you can quickly unlatch and remove baby before injury occurs.
• If you end up being injured, a trick I used was to pump and give the breastmilk to baby in a cup. He thought it was awesome, and it gave me time to heal... and build up the confidence to trust in nursing again.
• If you are bitten, try your best not to laugh (baby will then think it is funny too). Tell baby "NO, that hurts mama" in a firm serious voice and end your nursing session (since they obviously aren't hungry anyway)
• Remember that this is a relatively short period of time in your nursing relationship. Once those teeth poke through baby is usually done looking for something to chomp on.

Who could resist that face??

While nursing him now I do occasionally have that, "Eekgads, if he really wanted to he could take a nipple off" thought in my head while looking down at his mouth full of teeth... but I trust in our nursing relationship and it's been over a year since I was last bit. Your baby isn't trying to hurt you, just looking for a way to relieve the pressure of that tooth popping through. Give them something they CAN chew on and stay strong. This can be a big speed bump, but it's not the end of the road.

Additional tips: http://www.kellymom.com/babyconcerns/teething.html