By far, co-sleeping with Gregory during day-naps has been one of the most rewarding and bonding parts of parenthood. There are hazards, to be sure (falling off the bed, suffocation if they’re really small), but so far, for us, the benefits have outweighed the risks. Now, time to buy a bed rail!
Teething!
Defensive Disclaimer: I KNOW that it could seem that parents go on and on about this thing called teething, and why do they care so much? Are they that bored?
Someday, however, when your child screams for hours, crying out in pain, you will understand.
They say that if average adults had to deal with teething pain, we would be flat on our backs, sick as dogs. Some say to compare it to just having had your teeth pulled out, day in and out. Visit this website to recognize such symptoms faster and to timely take appropriate measures.
Whatever the case may be, whenever Gregory is teething, it’s obvious. He bites down HARD on my hand whenever it is near. He whimpers and cries, even when I’m sitting by his side, trying to play with him. He drools everywhere. He spits up (the kid normally only does this once or twice a month, if that!). The only positive side effect is that he sleeps more (his first nap was 2.5 hours today– his second has been going on for over 2 hours as we speak…)
It’s a dilemma for parents. The only sure-fire way to ease his suffering that I’ve found so far is Children’s Tylenol. I only give him 1/2 the recommended dose (under .4 mL), and only once every 8-10 hours, but I still feel terrible about it. I don’t want to tax his poor liver, even though I know he’s only getting one tiny dose every few days or so.
I have a few other tools in my arsenal. Homeopathic belladonna tablets for the swelling, the Orajel Naturals teething gel (it’s wise to be careful of the other stuff, since it has Benzocaine in it! For most babies, this is okay, but for some, it causes a deadly allergic reaction), and chamomile drops. I usually employ all of the above before giving him the Tylenol. If things look pretty grim, call The Dental Specialty Center of Marlton. This highest rated dental practice will provide excellent attention and care.
Fun toys with different textures are all good and fine, until a certain point. Once he reaches it, however, he is in too much pain to want ANYTHING in or near his mouth. This is usually the point where the whimpers are turning into wailing screams. I almost always have to give him Tylenol if we get to this.
On top of it all, I probably get one or two safety notices/week in my inbox, warning parents to discard any teething toy that doesn’t expressly state it was made without BPA or Phthalates. The first one, BPA, is now illegal to use in the manufacture of most bottles and pacifiers. The second, Phthalates, are not far behind, mostly because of the damage they do to the liver.
There are several things I am going to try. If anyone has any further suggestions, please, please, share. It’s like a war zone over here!
Gum-omile Oil: I called around and found some at the Sunflower Shoppe down the road. I will be picking this up tonight!
Baltic Amber Necklace: I’ve seen many babies that I know wearing these. This remedy seems, excuse my adjective, hokey. A necklace? To provide teething relief? From what I’ve read, as long as it’s actual amber stone, they release succinic acid (a natural analgesic) when they come in contact with warm skin. There’s the choking or strangulation hazard to consider, but I’ve seen many that do their best to minimize these risks (by having stones that, in the case of accidental breakage, are small enough that they wouldn’t block an airway. They are knotted in between so that they wouldn’t ALL come off, and the clasp would break if it accidentally caught on something). From the reviews I’ve seen, some people swear by them. Others say that there was no noticeable difference, but at least it was cute looking!
Paying It Forward
Tonight, I accidentally ran across a few articles about the links between SIDS and the DTaP vaccine.
Do your own research, seriously. Having had a relative die of SIDS, I have no interest in discussing the morbidity. Plus, if you’ve read my blog at all, you already know my stance on vaccines– conflicted and undecided (a hard spot to be in, for someone with my personality!!).
I bring this up only because it explains why I just spent time researching food, and after midnight, no less.
I mean, I had to do something! I was thoroughly depressed and even slightly nauseous by what I’d read. And trust me, I stumbled upon the SIDS/vaccine article by accident. I was not prepared for what I read, and yet I couldn’t look away…
On to happier things: Thanks to Christina (a friend from Biola/Torrey who is 8 months preggo with her first baby) I recently discovered Urban Acres, an organic farmstore smack dab in the middle of Dallas. They have a neat vegetable co-op, where I can pay $50/month for 30 lbs. of organic produce, straight from local Texas farms! Add onto that the fact that this store sells beef from the ranch I’ve been researching, and we have a winner! I can spend $75/month for 10 lbs. of antibiotic/hormone free lean ground beef, and not be too much poorer for it!
Also, they sell non-homogenized milk! The kind where the cream rises to the top and everything! In 4 more months (wow, already??) when G is drinking milk, I am determined that it be the real stuff, full of all the hearty vitamins that are lost during the homogenization process. Plus, I’ve heard that it actually tastes like melted icecream! WORD!
Again, if you think I’m crazy for caring about this stuff instead of buying 1.99/lb ground beef from the supermarket, here’s some food for thought from a blog I found through Courtney.
Eating food that isn’t stuffed with artificial fillers really does pay off in health (FYI, 70% of the world’s antibiotics are found on U.S. feedlots…there’s a reason E coli strains become resistant to pretty much whatever we throw at them!).
As they say, pay it now to the farmer, or pay it later to the doctor!
Living Proof
Do you want to go back in time and be a 17 year old boy, minus the raging hormones and pimply skin?
Scratch that. Let me start over.
Do you want the metabolism of a 17 year old boy? Where you can eat eat eat ALL the time and never never gain weight?
It’s what happens when you breastfeed. Seriously.
I eat SO MUCH food, and still weigh as much as I did 2 months ago (125 lbs.). While that may not seem like a very low number, I am 5’6″, almost 5’7″. For my height, I’m 5 pounds away from being underweight (every inch adds/subtracts 10 lbs. for averages, FYI). As a result, if I don’t have a LARGE dinner (by large, I mean more than Jesse), a dessert and 2 before-bedtime snacks (and, most of the time, a pint of beer!) I wake up with my stomach sticking inward and my hip bones jutting out. My metabolism is a raging machine on full throttle, and it’s all due to breastfeeding.
On a related note, I am super proud of myself (in a good way). Just 2 months ago, I didn’t have the milk supply to feed G without supplementation. It’s now been 2 months since we used any formula!
All I do is wait until 2 hours after G is in bed and pump! I can definitely see the benefits of pumping/milk storage, even for stay at home moms. For example, even though I was with G all day yesterday, he’s going through a bit of a growth spurt. Since my body takes several days to aclimate to needing more milk, we heated up a bottle in the afternoon for G when he was still acting hungry. Problem solved! If he wakes up before I can pump in the evenings (which happens only during a growth spurt!) my body is ready to give him a full feeding (instead of shutting down for the night).
So far, he’s gaining weight beautifully, despite what a rough time we were having only 10 weeks ago. He has now mostly caught up to his 6-9 month size in clothing (we’ve always been one or two behind), and doesn’t ever act hungry right after a feeding. And he has enough energy to supply an army.
And if something happens to where my milk supply suddenly diminishes again? I have a stockpile to help supplement until I can get it back up again!
Because it can be done. I am living proof of the fact that a woman’s body CAN make enough milk, even if genetics are against her. All it takes is persistence, the right herbs, and lots and lots of calories. And prayer 🙂
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