One thing to note: teething is somewhat hereditary, if the mother or father of the baby teethed early, it's more likely the baby will teethe early. Most children have a full set of teeth by the time they are 2 to 3 years of age. These teeth last until roughly the age of six. Typically, the teeth that were first to appear will be the teeth that are first to fall out. Now I'm getting a little ahead of myself.

Which teeth come in first?

At six to seven months, the incisors (the two central top and bottom teeth) typically show themselves. Some babies are later and some are earlier. Baby J. started teething around five months.

What are the symptoms of teething?

Once again, the symptoms vary drastically from child to child. It's helpful to check with your pediatrician. They're better able to tell if your baby is teething. They know what to look for in your baby's mouth, such as teeth budding just below the surface.

Crankiness: Your happy, usually delighted baby, is suddenly cranky all the time. This is the most common symptom we've encountered. Baby J. is usually happy all the time, but the lack of sleep and the pain in her mouth leaves her cranky all the time. She yells more. Things that normally don't bother her, bug her a lot.

Drooling: Excessive drooling is very common during the teething phase. The problem here is that most babies are droolers around the six to seventh month period when the first teeth start to show. However, the amount of drooling that precedes the eruption of a tooth is usually far greater than your baby's day-to-day, typical drooling. Sometimes, it's like they're drooling buckets. Expect loose stools to accompany the drooling. Your baby will be swallowing a lot of that excess saliva, and as a result, watery diapers are a norm.

Face rash and coughing: Because of the excessive drool, it's not uncommon for your baby to develop a rash around his/her chin and to cough more often. Cleaning your baby's face regularly will help reduce the rash.

Biting: The pain caused by the teeth shifting under the gums and getting ready to erupt results in a baby that bites...everything. Biting helps ease the pain in the jaw. It applies pressure to the gums thus making the gums feel a bit better. So your baby, who is normally fairly gentle with you, might suddenly lunge at you and bite at you, especially your hard fingers. Give your baby a lot of teething toys, especially the ones that can go in the freezer; the extra cold toys will help numb the sore points in your baby's mouth.

Ear Pulling: The pain caused by the teeth coming in radiates through the jaw and causes severe pain in the ears. Your baby might start tugging her ears really hard. Beware though, this can also be a sign that your child has an earache. Check for inflammation and redness in the ear, and check with your pediatrician. Earaches can be severe and can lead to hearing loss. This is coming from someone, who as a baby experienced horrible earaches, and as a result, I have permanent hearing loss.

Low-Grade Fever: This is one of those symptoms that is debated by pediatricians. Some people swear that teething causes fever. Others say that it's just a coincidence, that during this time in your baby's life, they are more prone to illnesses that cause fevers. I tend to meet them halfway. I'm not a doctor, so it's guesswork, but I believe that the teething process, which wears down your baby physically due to the lack of sleep and the rawness of their gums makes them more susceptible to bacterias and other germs that result in fever. Either way you look at it, if your baby is experiencing a fever accompanied by some of these other symptoms, it's more likely they might be teething.

How can I ease my child's pain?

Teething rings, especially those that can go in the freezer, are a good way to help. He/she will chew the rings, relieving pressure on the gums, and the cold ring will help numb the sore, raw points. Cold food can help too. If you usually give your baby a warm bottle, try giving them a nice, cold bottle. Baby J. always preferred an ice cold bottle. The same goes if your baby is eating solids. Just because you prefer your foods warm that doesn't mean your baby would mind an icy snack. Cold applesauce, chilled yogurts, cold pears and other fruits really help numb the pain.

Infant tylenol and when the pediatrician gives the ok, infant motrin, can help the pain, when nothing else will. When Baby J. is at her worst and the pain is keeping her up all night, we usually turn to one of these medicines. She can't realistically chew on teething rings in her sleep, so the medicine is the only thing that will keep her from waking every few minutes in excruciating pain. Baby orajel can help, if you know the spot in the gums that's the problem, you can apply orajel directly to those affected areas, helping to numb the pain.

Don't Worry...

Eventually, the tooth or teeth will erupt. When the teeth come out, the pain immediately subsides. Your baby will return to their usual self. It's the waiting that leaves us impatient parents in dire straits.

D.

I keep thinking to myself how painful life can be. Birth wasn't exactly pleasant for my baby or my wife. All the stumbles, all the crashes while learning to walk. And then there's teething. I remember when my wisdom teeth came in. It was agony. I was one of the few people blessed with enough room in their mouth for their wisdom teeth to come in, and when they did, it felt like I was chewing glass for a week. I try not to think of that too much, when I hear Baby J. wake up in the middle of the night screaming. I hate to think of her in that type of pain.

D.

My poor daughter. She's miserable. Tired and cranky all the time. She has big bags under her eyes. I'm sure she isn't getting very good sleep. It was one thing when sharp, pointy teeth were poking through. It's pretty easy for those teeth to make their way to the surface. But molars?

I remember when my wisdom teeth came in. It was awful, and I was 16 years old. I was well equipped to deal with the pain of tooth eruption, but my little one, not even a year yet, she probably has no clue why her mouth feels like it's filled with hot pokers, or why every time she chews on something it's like biting into broken glass. She isn't sleeping well. She's tossing and turning all the time. After waking from a nap, she looks more tired than when she was originally put down. And it isn't long before she needs to go back to sleep.

I hope molars don't take too long to surface once they start. A couple days maybe? A week? If it's much longer than that, I think the poor girl will have a nervous breakdown.

D.

I hope this is just a precursor to what should be the best week ever, next week, when she has Christmas. I'm crossing my fingers anyway. What more can go wrong, right?

D.

Runny Nose, Teething, Face Wound...WORST WEEK EVER!!!

Baby J. started teething again yesterday. She didn't want to be put down. She took forever to take a nap. Then, that night, she woke up every few minutes, bawling. I held her for a long time, hoping that would put her into a deep sleep. It didn't. She tossed and turned in my arms, slammed me in the face with her head, flopped around like a harpooned whale.

But this morning, it isn't all three of us that are tired. No, only Mommy and Daddy are tired. Baby J. looks completely rested. She won't stop running around the house. This isn't fair. I only got 1 hr of sleep last night. My head feels like it's going to cave in. I'm pretty sure my eyeballs turned to jelly around 4am. My face feels numb from being slammed by my baby's bowling ball for a head 200 times. Aching. Tired. Yawning. Am I coming down with somethiong? Is that a scratch in my throat? Maybe I should take a nap.

oh I can't. Because I have those stupid responsibility things like my job. Ug.

D.

Baby J. Playing in her Pajamas

Well, it's officially daddy daughter day, and Baby J. is taking her second nap of the day. I checked her gums only a few minutes ago, and I was surprised to find that not one, but BOTH of her lower lateral incisors came in last night, and her upper right lateral incisor has finally come in a couple of weeks after the left one came in. That means Baby J. now has 8 teeth, only 12 more to go! She has seemed a lot less cranky today, so I think (for at least a day or two) the teething has subsided.

So far today, other than breakfast, a snack, and then lunch, Baby J. and I went on a long walk. It's an oddly warm November day. I had bundled us up in coats, only to get outside and see most people walking around in t-shirts. Needless to say, I was seating profusely before the walk was over. We walked for about an hour. I didn't bother with the stroller, which I kind of regretted later, when my arm felt like it was going to fall off. Baby J. enjoyed looking at all of the people outside, the leaves coming down from the trees, and the cars whizzing by. Even though we went out for the walk shortly after her nap, she became really drowsy before it was finished, snuggling with me for the last 15 minutes.

Now, I only have one question, when do I get my nap?

D.

She Looks Cute Now but Wait Until Tonight

Being a parent. I honestly don't know how my wife does it, since she's with Baby J. from morning to evening every day. I only have the evenings, the occasional night of putting her to bed all by myself (like when my wife is out at an author meeting) or the occasional Saturday or Sunday, when my wife needs a major breather, and I have my daddy daughter day time. Tonight was a particularly difficult night to put Baby J. down. She's teething, and tonight was far by the worst so far. She was cranky ever since 5pm, two hours before her usual bedtime. She didn't want to eat her dinner. She didn't want to play. She didn't want to do anything but cry and be held. I can understand, I remember when my wisdom teeth came in; having something drive itself through your gums is an altogether unpleasant experience, and I can't imagine how much more unpleasant for a baby who can not fully express herself or understand why it is happening.

It took an hour to get her to stay asleep in her crib. She kept waking up crying hysterically. I'd go into her room, pat her gently, until she calmed down. But after no more than 10-15 seconds after I left the room, she would be crying again. I feel terrible at times like that. I know she wants to be picked up. I want to pick her up, but I also know that she won't sleep through the night, if I'm holding her, and neither will I.

Oh well, I'm drained. It's funny because I remember only a few months ago having much, much worse nights. It was much harder to get her to sleep, but I guess I've gotten spoiled by the recent months where putting Baby J. to sleep requires hardly any effort at all, and on nights like this, where it's a trying experience to get her to sleep, I find I'm burnt out and ready for my own nap.

D.

Baby J. Napping on Daddy This Summer

Baby J.'s teeth woke her up this morning at 5am, that was until I realized it was daylight savings, and it was really 4am. She'd had a rough night. All of the excitement from Halloween had made her over-tired, and she spent the latter part of the evening cranky. I decided I'd lose some sleep and let Baby J. sleep on me for a couple hours until her normal wake up time. Now, I used to have to do this more often, especially when she was very little. It had been awhile since I allowed Baby J. to sleep on me, outside of her crib, and it wasn't any less uncomfortable this morning than any of the previous times.

It's sort of a double-edged sword. On the one hand, I really do enjoy providing my little one with the comfort she needs (especially after a bad night of teething). On the other hand, I was exhausted, and having to be up at 5am (oh wait, 4am) did not exactly provide me with the nice, relaxing Sunday morning I had anticipated.

I'll briefly explain why it's also uncomfortable having Baby J. sleep on me. She's a living, breathing furnace. When she falls asleep, it's as if some little Baby Gremlin is feeding her body hot coals, because the oven comes on, and holding her causes me to break out into a sweat. Secondly, she never stops moving (especially in her sleep). Whoever came up with the expression "sleeps like a baby" must have been intentionally ironic, because babies in no way sleep soundly (not mine at least). She's always tossing around, changing positions, pulling at her hair, all while she dozes. Thirdly, if I move even a fraction of an inch during the time she's sleeping on me (to say readjust after she tossed and turned her elbow right into my head), she immediately wakes up, scrambles up on top of me, and grapples me tightly, ensuring that I don't move again lest I face the punishment of another grappling.

But what made it all worth it, what made me smile "so big" after those two hours of total discomfort, was how Baby J. woke. Without giving any other indication that she was awake, she quietly started muttering, "da da, da da" over and over again. Now, I've been told that a baby as young as Baby J. (she's 9 months) doesn't understand "da da" yet, but I find that pretty hard to believe that when upon waking and seeing her dad, she immediately says "da da".

After she was done whispering "da da" softly to me, she got up and gave my wife and I a huge smile. It was a pretty terrific way to start the day.

D.