A Letter To My Baby’s Budding Teeth

Dear (presumably pearly) whites,

I don’t know what’s taking you so long, but seriously, it’s time for you to get here already. I’m a little tired of waking up every morning and looking for you with even more anticipation than my child will have for the tooth fairy when you decide to fall off.

I couldn’t have been more excited when my baby started teething at 3 months (with buds and everything), early by most standards, as I thought you would arrive early and relieve him from this long drawn teething process. But apparently, there’s no way to tell how long you’re going to take to finally make your way out. Here we are 4 and a half months, many teething rings, chewed carrots, and sleepless nights later, still wondering what the hell is taking so long!

While it’s cute to watch him shake his head from side to side, hoping that the wind will act like a teether and bring him some relief, it’s not cute to know that he is doing this out of annoyance with the itchiness in his mouth. It’s even more upsetting to be used as a teether while nursing. The mere fact that he can hold the teether with both his hands and shake his head from side to side — he’s old enough to have teeth already!

Everything going into the mouth may be a developmental thing (thanks, Freud), but it also helps him pick up virals no matter how many times I wipe things down. Oh and when he doesn’t have a viral his ears hurt or he coughs or gets all flushed and gets congested all thanks to you, dear pearlies.

You’ve taken away the little sleep I had finally started getting, and killed his appetite for all the foods that my baby was enjoying. That’s in addition to making me wonder why my child is waking up more now than he did as a newborn.

And as much as I love my son hugging me and needing me around all the time, it would be nice to be able to put him down while I eat (specially since he also old enough to pick up my plate and throw it, and already has). Clingy doesn’t begin to define how he’s feeling, and my arms are the only ones that provide relief.

Patience may be key, but for me it’s not coming easy. We have been through allopathy, homeopathy (which I’m really trying to believe in) and I even toyed with Amber beads (don’t worry, I didn’t actually do it). So, when the hell are you going to let me get some sleep?

Please just get here already!

Sincerely,

An exhausted, frustrated mother

Dear readers,

If you are wondering where I’ve been lately, this is pretty much it. My son is in pain, clingy and sleepless… Just while I’m trying to transition back to work.

Feel free to get in touch and let me know if your child has any teething symptoms that I missed. I definitely think I’ve been through it all with this.

All photographs in this article are original and contributed by author.

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