Friday, February 24, 2006

When Toddlers Turn

Allison has all of her baby teeth now with the exception of the canines and two-year molars. He canines are now coming in. I remember reading or hearing somewhere during Emma’s infancy and toddler hood that those are the most painful. I don’t remember them being difficult for Emma, but Allison is having a hard time with them. From out of no where she will say, “Ow” and start to moan or cry. It’s especially startling when she goes from being perfectly happy to wailing in no time flat. Before meals and bedtime I have been giving her Baby Orajel using my finger. I did the same thing with Emma. After she got used to the taste and understood the association between me putting that on my finger and her tooth pain going away, she has opened her mouth wide like a baby bird. Wednesday night before I put her to bed, I got out the Baby Orajel again just like any other night. I finished applying it to the last canine space when she clamped down on my fingertip as hard as she could. That’s how I found out that that space was no longer completely empty. Another canine was poking through and sharp. Danny was holding her at the time. I couldn’t pull my finger out. I stifled a yell so that I wouldn’t scare her. I had no idea that Allison was a little shark in toddler clothing! By the time she let go, I had tears welling up in my eyes. When I was able to speak, I sounded like I was crying. It hurt that bad. She didn’t break the skin, but that space on my finger was numb. When I went to bed that night, it still felt like that patch of skin had fallen asleep.

Dear readers – be warned! Your toddler is awfully darn cute but he or she could turn on you at any time. They do not care that you are providing them with oral anesthetic to ease their pain. They only see your finger as a new piece of meat they’d like to try. My suggestion is to use a cotton swab. It will save your flesh and will provide your child with a valuable frame of reference for when they wake up one morning with a hangover in college. Let's not be shocked. You don't think a child who tried to canabalize her mother is going to grow up to be a perfect angel, do you? :)

2 comments:

Trista said...

An alternative name for this post could be "When Ally the Alligator strikes!"

After Ethan cut his first tooth, I realized that putting my hand in his mouth was a HUGE mistake. He was never kind ;)

Valerie said...

Hi Jennifer: I noticed your comment over at Gayla's blog. I'm an adoptive mom, too - two teenage girls (15 and almost 18 - where did the years go?) who were adopted at birth. They've known all along that they were adopted. Our adoptions were closed, however. I'm planning to come back over to your site this weekend to get to know you better! TAke care.