Mega-Teething

Baby is pushing out two molars on the same side of her mouth, side by side on the upper right. What that means is that she is experiencing roughly twice the quantity of pain that she has seen at one time before, that she is disoriented at certain junctures by all of the information being sent from one little corner of her mouth, and that when she gets to the other side of this trial she will be a different, and a stronger, person. In the meantime, it is my job to remember as often as possible what she is going through – to put her distracted, anxious disposition into perspective.

I got to give her another bottle today. She fell asleep when it was nearly empty, and I put her on her back on the air mattress we’re using as a bed in my in-laws’ basement. When she woke an hour later, I gave her a few more ounces of formula and put her to sleep on my chest. Her mom came home an hour later and told us we were very cute. She was probably right.

Our Moment

The visit with my wife’s family continues. Baby is having her attention stretched in ways I might not choose, but at the same time being loved in ways I might not think to love her. It takes a village, and all that. Still, when at one point during the day today I had an opportunity to give her a bottle, it was as though I was getting my first few gulps of air after being underwater a long time. I heated the water on the strange stove, found the formula in a strange part of the strange refrigerator, mixed the water and formula nervously over the uneven (but expensive) white tile counter, and found a corner of a couch in an unused room where I could create an oasis of calm. She took more formula than usual, then fluttered her eyes a few times on her way to sleep. Then mommy came through the room on her way to help some family member, and the reality of a lot of people in a little bit of space led to another missed nap. It was no problem at all; baby and I had our moment.