OW...2 year molar!

Sydney has started BITING again... and chewing on EVERYTHING! We pulled out the "Teeth are not for biting" book from the library, as well as the baby teething rings for his urges to bite. Also, we remind him that "BITING HURTS" by reminding him of the day that he was helping Mike plant flowers and the beetle bit his finger... and how much THAT HURT!

Sydney also has been over-using the word "OW!" He yells it loudly when you try to hold his hand, when you attempt to lay him down to diaper him, or when you try to get him to do ANYTHING he doesn't want to do. He yells "OW!" whenever something doesn't go his way... for example, if his toy horse gets stuck inside the barn, he yells "OW!"

Mommy is TRYING to teach him: we only say "OW!" when we are hurt.

Don't get me wrong... the new (upper) 2-year molar that just poked through the surface probably DOES leave him in a near-constant source of pain and discomfort, but this is NOT what the word "OW!" was intended for.

NOTE: During the night, late Tuesday/early Wednesday of this week, Sydney started yelling "Ow! Ow!Ow!" and Mike went into the nursery to find Sydney SOUND ASLEEP... and dreaming! Hmmm, not only does he over-use "Ow!" during the day, but now, it seems that he is TALKING IN HIS SLEEP, too! (Funny!)

Tales of the tooth with fussy butt and drooling fool

We have a fussy boy on our hands. (To clarify, Sydney is almost NEVER fussy so, this little bit of whininess and fuss is out of character for our little man, but is certainly still manageable; colic would be MUCH WORSE, I'd imagine.) Sydney required A LOT of attention today. He was best when entertained or distracted. 

He slept HORRIBLY last night. He napped for only 1 hour this morning. He napped for less than 30 minutes this afternoon when Mike's footsteps to retrieve his ringing cell phone woke Sydney up. His bedtime has been pushed back a little later each night. 

I felt as if he wanted to breastfeed MUCH MORE OFTEN than normal, feeling as if I would soon start to shrivel, like when you spend too much time in the bathtub. Ibuprofen and Tylenol got us through the day, as well as near-constant attention or playtime.

He kept indicating that he wanted to eat, but as soon as I would bring food to his mouth, he would swat it away. (So, you KNOW that his mouth was hurting him.) Cheerios were our lifesaver today - as he ALWAYS loves those! He has been searching for his teething toys and has been biting and chewing on those a lot today.

Here's what we have so far...

On the top, he has 4 teeth.

On the bottom, he has 3 teeth.

Then, on the bottom, he has a SLIVER of a tooth just starting to poke through the surface, which is one of the front 4. Then, we noticed that one of his 12-month molars is visible just under the surface of his frontal gums, which is his lower left molar.   He doesn't really let us investigate too much inside his mouth anyways so, we're not sure if he has any action going on in the upper deck or not.

And, to go with the slight fuss, he has a stuffy nose, red right cheek and has been DROOLING LIKE CRAZY!!!!! So, yeah... we're pretty sure that TEETH are the culprit!

His loose stools have also gotten better since we discontinued almost ALL FRUIT from his diet for a few days. (He was sad, I'm sure because he LOVES FRUIT!!!) Still soft, but getting a little better each day.... hoping to be back to solid, big boy poop in no time again soon.

Thankfully, tomorrow, we'll have plenty of action to entertain him when we have our 2nd annual July 3rd party. We'll have 9 adults and 4 kids (under the age of 3) and it should be LOTS OF FUN!

Changing daily

We watch each day, in awe, to see Sydney's advancements and achievements. He changes SO QUICKLY; sometimes, it seems, right before our eyes.

Looking back:

• December 19th, he had just figured out crawling.
  
• January 2nd, we noticed his first tooth. 
  
• February 7th, Daddy discovered Sydney's fifth tooth.
  
• February 8th, he started climbing up the side of the playpen.
  
• February 12th, he took a few first steps without holding onto furniture.
  
• February 17th, he walked alone from one person to another and would attempt short distances on his own.
  
• March 1st, Sydney walks by himself; looks like Frankenstein with his arms extended.
  
• March 12th, Sydney is starting to give up the Frankenstein-style walk.
  
• March 18th, he adopted a new (goofy) laugh.
  
• March 20th, he started to point.
• March 21st, Sydney can stand up without holding onto anything and walks 75% of the time. 
  
• March 22nd, his SIXTH tooth (another upper) broke through his gums. 
  

Sydney also plays Peek-A-Boo, Pat-A-Cake, claps his hands or sways his body to music, and proudly throws his arms high into the air for SO BIG. This past week, he also figured out how to drop the ball(s) into his tunnel toy - causing the toy to giggle; hence, his new goofy laugh was born. He also likes to push his baby-approved cars (or other toys) across the floor.

Thankfully, he still likes to hold onto our hand(s) sometimes.

Sydney LOVES Sesame Street! We watch it a few times a week and he is fascinated with that show and its puppets. (We think it is helping him to be so smart!)

On more than one occasion today, he was signing the word MILK while he breastfed.

We're working with him to establish a better bedtime and naptime routine. He has NOT been napping well for us for quite a while now, but everywhere we read, he SHOULD be napping TWICE daily. We are now ATTEMPTING an afternoon nap, to lay down between 2-3pm and sleep for more than 20 minutes. (Yesterday was 2.5 hours in the afternoon!)

As for bedtime, we are working to make that better, too. We hope that he will eventually be able to fall asleep on his own and will (hopefully) go to bed willingly.

Daddy discovers a 5th tooth!

Sydney had an awkward day as far as napping is concerned. He had just woken from a nap when Daddy was getting ready to crawl into bed. (He starts the early shift again tomorrow... bright and shiny early in the morning.) We gathered together, as a family, on our bed. Sydney reached over and grabbed Mike's hand, pulling one of Mike's fingers into Sydney's mouth.

"You have a third tooth up there, big guy." Mike announces.

Puzzled, I say "No, he only has two teeth on top."

"Feels like three to me." Mike confirms.

So, here we sit, in a room lit by dim lamplight, trying to coax his little mouth open (which he HATES) so we can see inside. Sure enough, tooth #5 is here!!! (Sydney has his two uppers, left of center and one right of center.) Good discovery, Daddy!

Mike was proud that HE found the tooth despite being gone to work for 62 hours this past week; our upcoming vacation sure will feel good.

I'd swear he said...

It appears that tooth #4 (top right) is on the verge of making it's appearance.... in the quick glimpses that we get, it looks as if there is the faintest white line on the edge of his gum. Also, he has been having a harder time sleeping at night, leading us to believe that his mouth is what is bothering him. (Last night, he was up almost every hour, which makes for A LONG, LONG NIGHT!)

While Grandma & Grandpa Olson were visiting, Sydney was giggling and chatting up a storm. In his chatters, it sounded as if he was telling them about our cats - Eddy and Otto. (I'd noticed in the past that he has made an "Eh, eh, eh" sound as well as an "Ahh" sound, which I would like to believe are Eddy and Otto, as he certainly knows - and loves - our cats.)

Tonight, on our way up to bed (where Sydney climbed the stairs himself) he was crawling after the cats in the upstairs hallway. After Eddy ran down a few stairs (for safety), Sydney peeked at him through the rungs of the railing and uttered what sounded an awful lot like EDDY.

On his own terms, he says MAMMA and DADDA. He also waves BYE-BYE. I think our baby is starting to turn into an adorable little boy more and more each day.

You know it must hurt when

As I was ready to stop blogging and sneak downstairs to do dishes, you started to cry. I tried to give you tylenol so that you would be comfortable throughout the night, but you fought it. (I think I got a little into your mouth without you spitting it out!) Then, you nursed... FOR OVER AN HOUR before I pulled you off to return you peacefully to your bed. (I'm convinced that you simply find comfort in it and I'm OK with that.)

As assessed from our past few days, here's my take on teething:

• You know it must hurt when you want to chew on your blanket (or hat) while riding in the car.
  
• You know it must hurt when the mere thought of the Tylenol wand inserted into your mouth makes you scream.
  
• You know it must hurt when the icy cold gel teethers (straight from the freezer) are not allowed into your mouth, but instead are held in your hand while you cry uncontrollably.
  
• You know it must hurt when you wake up crying every 30-60 minutes throughout the entire night and can't go back to sleep unless nursed or snuggled.
  
• You know it must hurt when mommy and daddy can tell the time by the next dosing of infant tylenol - since it seems to wear off with an hour to go before we can dispense more.
  
• You know it must hurt when it takes exactly 28 minutes before the tylenol kicks in and all fussing instantly stops.
  

To remedy the pain, you are given a free pass to nurse whenever you need to - regardless of how tired mommy is from getting yet another sleepless night. You will be given tylenol to make life more tolerable, especially during the night (since we are having an alright time occupying you with playing and climbing the stairs during the day). In the morning, you will find your monkey rattle has been soaked in water and thrown into the freezer; hopefully, you will find this comforting to your sore mouth.

It looks like tooth #3 should be poking its way through at any second... WHAT A BIG BOY YOU ARE BECOMING!