the teething diaries, part 20

We have quite a few things worked out to make travel as breezy as possible. I have packing down to a science, and you'd be surprised with some of the things that are totally indispensible to our well-being (like the plastic storage box that I transport Alice's bottle in, that doubles as a wash basin). Be that as it may, sleeping in the same hotel room as your 11-month-old baby can be tricky in the best of circumstances. And even though I knew, on a basic level, that Alice was teething-- when she decided this week to pull some of the craziest Sleep Antics I've seen from her, like, EVER, I couldn't figure out what was going on. Tuesday night she woke up no less than 6 times between 9:30 and 2am--- and they weren't easy wake-ups. They were the stand-up-and-cry wake-ups. The kind that have me standing in the middle of the room with Alice in my arms, swaying back and forth, hoping I won't collapse from the sheer exhaustion. The crying only sort of stopped around 2am because I brought Alice into bed with us, knowing that having Chip and I close would help her to calm down. Wednesday night was a similar drill-- this time I was up every 45 minutes or so, always putting Alice back to bed, laying her down, giving her paci and blankie and reminding her that we were right there GO TO SLEEP NOW, MMMMKAY? All of these sleep interruptions have left me rather touchy. And let's just say it: CRANKY WITH A CAPITAL C.

It wasn't until this afternoon, when Alice was crying and hiccuping and crying and finally breaking into that heartachy SCREAM, I stuck my finger into her mouth to figure out just what exactly was going ON in there. And that's when I saw that she isn't just getting one solitary tooth. She's getting two: one on either side of her Dinner Plate/Iceburg top front teeth. So I can imagine she's not just dealing with the pain and pressure of the two teeth coming in - she's got those two teeth pushing her Dinner Plates more toward the center of her gums and ouchy ouchy ouchy it must HURT. Her gums are purple and swollen, big bumps for those Incoming Chompers. It made me feel a lot more sympathetic toward her plight. I mean, seriously OUCH, right?

When we first started to become acquainted with the whole Teething Concept around here, it struck Chip and I with a mixture of gratitude, glee, and (yes) confusion that people were so sympathetic about our situation. Chip especially was struck, and he realized that it must really be an actual Big Deal because so many mothers would nod and give that half smile/half crazed animal look when we mentioned teething. Now that we've had some time to contend with the teething, we totally know what they mean. And I think we should take it a step further. I think, as mothers, WE have the right to tell people that WE'RE teething, because dude. No one can tell me that I'm not suffering through this with Alice. The sleeplessness, the irritability, the short temper. And quite frankly, I've had a constant headache since November. I'm blaming the teeth.

My patience is short beyond reason. I'm blaming the teeth.
I snapped at Chip today when he closed the door too hard. I'm blaming the teeth.
I can't focus on anything that reqiures actual brain cells. I'm blaming the teeth.

I'm in desperate need for this weekend. I plan on sleeping for longer than a 2-hour stretch. I plan on trying to find my sense of humor (again). If I can't, if I don't, I'm not sure what I'll do. Somehow, I don't think that The Teeth Made Me Do It is an excuse that is going to hold up in court.