Teething

Teething. Gross. That word makes me cringe every time I think about it. Naturally, Jackson is a terrible teether. I mean he is not that kid that wakes up one morning with a tooth and we say wow we didn't even realize. PSH. The first go around was 9 days of fussy, crying, not sleeping hell. Yes. I said it. We were ALL miserable. Everyone. Even the cats. We are now entering round #2. I think.

That's the thing with teething, you are never quite sure if they are or aren't. Is it a cold, ear infection, just being a baby? Jackson was fussy for the 9 days before we even saw anything start to pop through. Then he had 3 more days until they were up. And for the record, we couldn't really feel anything for those nine days. But every baby is different. My new thing is everything people tell you is never right (I can't tell you about your baby). Oh you will feel them and then ya de ya de ya blah blah. You just go with whatever your gut is.

Ok so I gave you my warning of we have the worst teether ever and we were miserable BUT I did find some relief in these things... I feel they saved our lives a little. I mean it could always be worse. In fact if I'm right about these 2nd round we are doing way better.

1. Try to keep your same nap/sleep schedule even if that means they cried for 30 minutes (which means the nap is over in our house). It was easier to transition afterwards. This one sucks but I'm still sticking to my guns on this one. He went right back on track after he got his teeth.
2. We always always start Jackson in his crib for bed and then if he wakes up (and is teething) we would let him sleep with us. For some reason that is just what he needed. He has always needed lots of cuddles so this was especially important. At first we were really against it but someone said hey maybe that's just what he needs right now. Hm why didn't we think of that?
3. Mesh Teether. We put ice in it and he goes to town on this thing. We love it! He loves it. It's really great. Plus with ice in the teether when it melts it's just water so it's no big deal. And if you kid has problems chewing this is a great tool for teaching them to bite/chew.

4. Hylands Teething Tablets with tylenol. Works for giving you at least 4 hours a sleep at a time and helps with naps. I have also heard Motrin but we haven't gotten any yet so I can't vouch for that one. Hylands is all natural and doesn't have medication in it. Really if you could get away with just hylands that would be awesome. We try to avoid Tylenol at all costs but sometimes you just have to use it.

Yes we have tried- cold teethers, wooden teethers, rubbing his gums, cold wash cloth... the list goes on. We do LOVE Sophie but she doesn't really help at the crucial points of teething. The only thing we haven't tried is the necklaces which I have debated but we'll see.