Houston, We Have A Teether

Well, it looks like we have a teether in our house. :( It's been a rough past couple of days (and nights), which is a new experience for us. Even as a newborn, Lucy had been quite an agreeable and easy baby. I always say she makes us look like we know what we are doing, so it came as quite a surprise when she became nearly inconsolable on multiple occasions throughout this week. I started suspecting she might be teething about a week ago for various reasons: crying more frequently but not due to hunger or tiredness or needing to go potty, sucking on hand and fingers or anything else she could get in her mouth and wanting to nurse more frequently, and then not wanting to nurse and crying when I knew she was hungry. I went ahead and ordered an amber necklace for her on Tuesday since they were on sale just in case. So glad I did. I can't wait to get it in the mail. Amber is a natural pain reliever (we like natural) and has had rave reviews from friends who have used them to soothe teething. At this point I'm pretty certain we're dealing with teething. Those oh-so-cute bubbles she's been blowing could be from extra saliva, which is a symptom. She's had a couple of substantial if not the most substantial blow out* diapers we've seen, which could also be a symptom. But the crying...the crying is what has convinced me. She woke up multiple times in the middle of the night crying, which is so unlike her. Plus wiggly and wanting to nurse all through the night, and then today *deep breath* today she cried all day, wouldn't nap, just would wake up and cry, cry, cry. Each time I thought, "oh, she must be soooo tired from missing those other naps, surely if I put her down now she will fall asleep." Nope. My poor baby. Mama just didn't know what she was dealing with.

So after comparing notes with more experienced mommies, I've resolved to take the following courses of action:
~Hold my aching baby. She slept so soundly when I just put her in the Boba baby carrier this evening. So tomorrow will be more baby wearing, carrying and holding. Will be loving on that baby all day tomorrow.
~Offer frozen wash clothes and teething toys throughout the day (I love the wash cloth idea, can't wait to try it out)
~Buy a Nuk Healthy Start Training Toothbrush to massage the gums for her
~And of course, try out the amber necklace when it arrives in the mail (which I think may not be until Monday)

I'm certainly open to any more advice you may have. Please post thoughtful comments below.

(Please note that the baby does not chew on the amber necklace; rather, analgesic oils are released from the amber and are absorbed through skin contact. Click on the hyperlink above for more information on how amber necklaces work. Also, note the shoutout in the title for the final shuttle launch today. Jonathan said they even stopped class to watch it on TV. Aviators.)



*I say blow out, but they weren't actually blowouts, yet another reason we love our cloth diapers, I can't imagine if that was a disposable. Yuck.