Teething Has Begun!

Eli started teething today. He's sucking on his gums and drooling. Tali started a little bit older than this and didn't get her first tooth until after she turned one. Let's hope, for my sake, that Eli also waits that long to cut a tooth.

Half A Moler

Yesterday, when Tali was screaming because she didn't want to be put in the car seat, I discovered something fascinating. Tali has half a moler tooth on the top right side of her mouth. I'm not sure when it came in but it's there. I guess I've never seen it because I haven't really looked. She only has five teeth (well, 5 1/2 now) so it never occurred to me to check for molers. But with her head tilted back and mouth wide open to scream I had a clear view. Now we just need the rest of her teeth so she can eat everything and I can stop worrying if a food is soft enough for her.

What Was That For?

Last night, Tali woke up around 1:15 and started screaming, not crying - screaming bloody murder. I let her scream for 15 minutes and since she wasn't calming down I went in to see what was wrong. (Lucky for me, I am the only one who can calm her when she wakes up like that so it's not even worth H getting out of bed - he's tried before.) No fever, no dirty diaper, no spit-up, she just needed her mommy. As soon as I picked her up, she stopped. It took her about eight minutes to fully catch her breath and calm down and then I put her back down. After that she went back to sleep. I, of course, laid awake for an hour waiting to see if she woke up again. She didn't.  Since I don't know what the problem was, I am going to guess it was teething-related. I am so not a fan of this teething thing and she doesn't even have teeth yet! Does this really go on for two years? Will I ever get some sleep?

Teething

So all of these sleepless nights have finally been explained - Tali is getting her first tooth.  She's got all of the teething symptoms: gnawing on her hands, swollen gums, teething diaper rash, occasional diarrhea, general uncomfortableness, etc. The only thing she doesn't have is excessive drool. While most babies get their front teeth first, Tali is bucking the trend and getting a tooth a bit farther back in her mouth on the lower right side. I think it's her I-tooth but I'm not sure yet. 

I find it a bit weird that babies get their teeth so early. "Solid" foods aren't introduced until six months and when they are, everything is soft and mushy. They don't start actually chewing foods until somewhere between seven and nine months. So why the need for teeth at four months? I get that it takes time for all of them to grow in but is it really necessary to start so early? It'd be nice if they didn't start coming in until a bit later so that I could have a few weeks of sleep before the sleepless nights resume. As of now, she's only slept through the night when she's gotten shots. She was just getting to the point where she was starting to sleep for a six hour stretch and then the teething began. Can't an overwhelmed new mom catch a break every once in a while? Please?