The Joys of Teething!
First off - I think my partner and I have been pretty fortunate with our first child. I'll admit it, compared to other stories I've heard, Lincoln WAS (and IS) a very good baby. He barely cried, he slept anywhere and often, he eats anything we give him, and if he sneezed a new tooth would appear! Well, almost...
This parenting thing can't be that straight forward though, can it? Oh no, no one is ever that fortunate are they? This past week, we've experienced what it is truly like to have a kid in pain during this teething period. Like I said earlier, Lincoln grew his front teeth extremely easy! He may have drooled a little, but nothing to the extent of the stories I've heard from friends or from people online. It eventually had to catch up on us though, right?
Unfortunately, that was the case for us this week... or now known as 'Hell Week'. We had only just arrived back from holiday on the Saturday, and it was great to be back home and finally in our own beds and groove. We were all overtired and needed a good rest to catch up on reality, but nothing is EVER that easy in life - especially with kids! The first night started off with a bang with Lincoln screaming a bloody murder at 2am. I reluctantly got out of bed to sooth him to sleep, but it didn't last. The obvious next step was to try to stick my fingers into his mouth to apply some bonjela gel, with even more screaming and tears. Eventually, with some panadol he was able to settle himself for another few hrs before waking up screaming at 5am.
This screaming and crying trend continued for the rest of the day. Lincoln is a very good eater at the moment and loves his food (his favourite being tomatoes)! So when Lincoln doesn't want to eat, you know something is up. The first day we struggled to get him to eat anything. Everytime we tried it would just end in a screaming match, with him eventually breaking down in pain. It was painful to listen to, and it hurt to see him clearly struggling.
So day #1 didn't go well, and we just assumed that with a bit of rest that he'd be fine... rookie mistake. The back teeth need A LOT of time to grow through (take note anyone who hasn't experienced this yet!). Day #2 started the exact same as the previous: screaming early in the morning, tears and not eating. I remember feeding Lincoln one weatbix before heading off to work that day. I remember saying to my partner "Oh, he must be feeling a bit better. He's eating a little bit now." So I left soon after that, leaving the missus to look after both our kids. My initial positivity quickly diminished after I received a lovely picture message of Lincoln who had just spewed ALL over himself, my partner and the couch! Beautiful!
This routine maintained for a WHOLE week! 7 whole days of this! Lincoln looked so pale, exhausted and didn't want to move from our laps. It was nice to finally have some snuggles with the kid, I admit, but it was horrible to watch him experience such pain. Everything honestly pissed him off during this last week: having a shower, eating, if he stumbled while walking and even if we put him on the ground. It was tough on everyone.
Helpful advice? Once your kid has developed their front teeth, just be prepared for hell! The back teeth are the killers, and we haven't even experienced them all yet... bonjela and panadol may help, but not nearly enough in my opinion. This pain is different... I'm just glad that he's back to being he's cheeky self, and just remember, all the bad stuff only last momentarily. And that's one thing I've learnt more and more with this parenting stuff - the bad times are tough, but you quickly forget them. You dwell on the positives so much when bringing up kids, and when you see their smiles or hear their laughs you forget the problems and it truly melts your heart.
So, that was our horror week and hopefully it is a while before we experience that again - mum and dad need their sleep! Okay? Thanks. :) Feel free to let me know of any of your horror teething stories, because at the end of the day, we've all had them.
Fingers crossed for a better week this week!!
This parenting thing can't be that straight forward though, can it? Oh no, no one is ever that fortunate are they? This past week, we've experienced what it is truly like to have a kid in pain during this teething period. Like I said earlier, Lincoln grew his front teeth extremely easy! He may have drooled a little, but nothing to the extent of the stories I've heard from friends or from people online. It eventually had to catch up on us though, right?
Unfortunately, that was the case for us this week... or now known as 'Hell Week'. We had only just arrived back from holiday on the Saturday, and it was great to be back home and finally in our own beds and groove. We were all overtired and needed a good rest to catch up on reality, but nothing is EVER that easy in life - especially with kids! The first night started off with a bang with Lincoln screaming a bloody murder at 2am. I reluctantly got out of bed to sooth him to sleep, but it didn't last. The obvious next step was to try to stick my fingers into his mouth to apply some bonjela gel, with even more screaming and tears. Eventually, with some panadol he was able to settle himself for another few hrs before waking up screaming at 5am.
This screaming and crying trend continued for the rest of the day. Lincoln is a very good eater at the moment and loves his food (his favourite being tomatoes)! So when Lincoln doesn't want to eat, you know something is up. The first day we struggled to get him to eat anything. Everytime we tried it would just end in a screaming match, with him eventually breaking down in pain. It was painful to listen to, and it hurt to see him clearly struggling.
So day #1 didn't go well, and we just assumed that with a bit of rest that he'd be fine... rookie mistake. The back teeth need A LOT of time to grow through (take note anyone who hasn't experienced this yet!). Day #2 started the exact same as the previous: screaming early in the morning, tears and not eating. I remember feeding Lincoln one weatbix before heading off to work that day. I remember saying to my partner "Oh, he must be feeling a bit better. He's eating a little bit now." So I left soon after that, leaving the missus to look after both our kids. My initial positivity quickly diminished after I received a lovely picture message of Lincoln who had just spewed ALL over himself, my partner and the couch! Beautiful!
This routine maintained for a WHOLE week! 7 whole days of this! Lincoln looked so pale, exhausted and didn't want to move from our laps. It was nice to finally have some snuggles with the kid, I admit, but it was horrible to watch him experience such pain. Everything honestly pissed him off during this last week: having a shower, eating, if he stumbled while walking and even if we put him on the ground. It was tough on everyone.
Helpful advice? Once your kid has developed their front teeth, just be prepared for hell! The back teeth are the killers, and we haven't even experienced them all yet... bonjela and panadol may help, but not nearly enough in my opinion. This pain is different... I'm just glad that he's back to being he's cheeky self, and just remember, all the bad stuff only last momentarily. And that's one thing I've learnt more and more with this parenting stuff - the bad times are tough, but you quickly forget them. You dwell on the positives so much when bringing up kids, and when you see their smiles or hear their laughs you forget the problems and it truly melts your heart.
So, that was our horror week and hopefully it is a while before we experience that again - mum and dad need their sleep! Okay? Thanks. :) Feel free to let me know of any of your horror teething stories, because at the end of the day, we've all had them.
Fingers crossed for a better week this week!!
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