American folklore contains a delightful character called the tooth fairy. I usually think of the tooth fairy as female, silvery, very small, friendly, and kind. She happily pays you for the baby teeth you have lost. (What a nice thing to do!) She sneaks into your house without bothering anyone and gently whisks the tooth out from under one's pillow and leaves behind whatever amount of money she has agreed upon with the parents. ;)My house has not been visited by the tooth fairy.
To describe the status of teeth in our home, I have created a new folklore character—the tooth harpy.
She is the cousin of the tooth fairy, but not nearly so kind, gentle, nor pretty.
The tooth harpy has been visiting my home with great frequency. I couldn't tell you the last night I slept uninterrupted. I could, however, tell you that last night Daniel woke up eight times. Delightful.
Today, it was finally apparent that the tooth harpy is the reason behind these night wakings. Four beautiful, pearly white specks have appeared in his top gum line. He already has two teeth on the bottom, and I think his gums look swollen on either side of those as well, so I wouldn't be too surprised if he gets two more on the bottom sometime soon.
Although all of his other teeth have taken forever even after you know they are coming, so I may still be in store of many more nightly visits from the tooth harpy.
Amazingly enough, he is very happy and cheerful during the day. He is only upset when it is time to sleep or eat. Then I guess he is unable to ignore the pain.
I love my baby. I do not like the tooth harpy.
Also of note: he may only have two stubs on the bottom and four tiny tips on the top, but he is somehow already managing to grind/clink them together. I do not like that sound. The tooth harpy must be stressing him out as well. Poor baby.
Dear Tooth Harpy: Let my sister and her baby get some sleep! That baby boy has plenty of time to grow in his teeth, give him and his mommy a break for now. Thank you, a concerned reader.
ReplyDeleteAlthough, I was always grateful that my girls got their teeth all in one big swoop, because then it didn't drag on and on and on like it sometimes does... I guess there are pros and cons!
Teething. It must be the worst, right?
ReplyDeleteUgh! Max grinds his teeth too- it's awful!! Sorry about your sleepless nights..... I can't be offering much hope though because max has not slept through the night even once yet and he is how much older than Danny??
ReplyDeleteOne day we will miss these days.