Curse You, Teeth

I hate teeth. 

Even if I put aside my extreme dislike for dentists and their pointy picks and judgey ways, teeth are just weird! Have you ever had a dream about losing all of your teeth or waking up with a mouth full of jagged edged broken teeth? (Shudder) I have. Add in that teeth are the "root" (hehe) of Grace's recent distress, and I'm one teeth-hatin' mama bear!  Her pearly whites are taking their sweet time to come in, meanwhile Grace is a red-cheeked puddle of drool, snot and tears. Her gums are angry and she whimpers in her sleep (when she does sleep) all night long.

Smiling through the pain. 

Ask any mom about teething, and I'm sure her experience will be different with each child. Honestly, Grace's first couple of teeth came in with little fan fare. I thought I was going to dodge the teething bullet, but no such luck. Basically all of the symptoms of teething are the same as the symptoms of a flu/cold. (Runny nose, fever, coughing, restlessness, crankiness, not eating/nursing, watery eyes, drooling, crying...) Teething is the usual suspect blamed if your child is experiencing any discomfort or unusual behavior. I swear. "Oh, she's walking funny? It's probably just teething!" Everything seems to be caused by teething.

"These are my teeth." 

No offense to all of you "teeth" enthusiasts, I'm sure my feelings will subside when Grace finally grows a permanent set. That should be about 15 years from now, right around the time some stuck up Orthodontist will recommend $15,000 worth of braces and head gear. I'll start saving, but until then, we're hanging in there with a lot of tylenol, frozen yogurt and baby carrots. Any other suggestions, witch craft or voodoo magic?

Chompers in the snow! Icing her gums, perhaps?

Soon enough I'll be playing tooth fairy, right?