You Know Your Baby's Teething When...

...you have to change her clothes several times a day because there's a constant wet ring at the top of every shirt, dress, and outfit she wears. Bibs don't even come close to preventing or helping it.

{get these things out of my mouth!}

...she's drooling so much that it comes out the front of her paci.

...she's drooling so much that she develops eczema on her face, unbeknown to you though, causing you rush to the doctor {last week} for fear it's another strange disease!

{notice the rash starting on her face}

...everything goes in her mouth!

...you've had to replace all 4 sippy top spouts because she's chewed through them but refuses to chew on teething rings or cold washcloths.

{check out that eyebrow-wrinkled glare}

...she gags several times each meal because she's swallowing her food whole in an effort not to have to chew it no matter how tiny you cut it up.

...you're fearful of the amount of snot your child might be consuming because 1.) you can't get her nose wiped fast enough and 2.) she hates having her nose wiped or booger bulbed more than anything and you don't want to make her cry anymore than she already is/has!

...your baby snores more than your husband anyone you know!

...you end up holding your baby on your shoulder while she naps in an attempt to make the nap last longer than 15 minutes; oh, and so she can breath!

...you hear your baby crying at 10pm only to find that she's bazooka barfed in her sleep, all over her bed, due to the large amount of drainage caused by the stuffy nose she has as a result of the overproduction of saliva from teething! One word: "ewwww!"

...you miss Bible study, Mother's Morning Out, and a play date because of fever, which may or may not be due to teeth or a fever virus.

...you've completely switched from almost solely cloth diapering to almost solely using disposables because you can't stomach washing out 4-5 diapers a day when you usually only wash out maybe 1 a week. (the flushable rice paper usually catches it, which means you just flip it and flush it...no rinsing)

...you've gone through an entire bottle of Children's Motrin and half a bottle of Children's Tylenol and you're not even giving it every 4-6 hours.

All four top teeth and all four bottom teeth are in. This 1 molar has been worse than all 8 of those put together!!! Happy Teething!

The Last Few Toofless Smiles!

Well...after several months of me proclaiming that "it must be her teeth...", they are here! We can both see and feel the 1st one coming in. They do apparently hurt...given that she was up at 11:30pm, 1:30am, and 4am (refusing paci, food, and screaming for 45 minutes) the other night. So...I though I'd post a few (not that we don't have pleeeenty, of course) pictures of her last few toothless smiles!

Thanks to Julie and Savannah for the too cute outfit! It was finally cool enough here today (at least when we dropped Daddy off at 7am) to wear long sleeves!

Tires, Teeth, Tylenol, Tablets, Toes, and Tests

so what do these things have in common? Tuesday

Tires: Paul got a flat tire while I was in Kentucky. It didn't much matter then because he could drive my car (and with all the rain, it was good that he didn't have to change a tire). So on "labor" day, he got out in the heat and changed his tire, realizing that the belt was showing (meaning to us who don't change tires: he needs a new one). That means at least 2 tires (because they don't usually just replace one). WELL...given that Paul drives a 1998 Buick Regal (bought 5 years ago to put miles on going back and forth to Auburn when we were in grad school), we decided we'd better get it checked out to see if it was even WORTH putting new tires on. (more about this later)

Teeth: Addie is definitely getting teeth. They are outlined on her gums, she's drooling more than usual, chewing on her tongue, fingers, and lovey (and anything else she can get in her mouth) more than usual, pulling at her ears, refusing to eat, and being cranky as all get out! It's the pulling at the ears that worried me (and the refusing to eat), having been on a plane and wanting to avoid the huge number of ear infections that I had as a child. So we head to visit the pediatrician. Clear ears and a clear throat! Yeah...but the pediatrician said she would have made me come in anyway given Addie's symptoms, so it wasn't a wasted trip. Bottom line, she's more attune to her surroundings (the nursing strike (test #1) and she's getting teeth (test #2). Ahhh...thank goodness for Tylenol and Teething Tablets

Toes: Not our toes, my mom's dog's toes. Really their toenails. They needed clipping. So after dropping Paul off at the doctor (remember, we're down to one car because his is being checked out), I go to my mom's to get her dogs. Long, long story short...they are running around the neighbors yard. They had broken out of the fence and were having the time of their lives! After wrangling them into the car (test #3), I take them to the vet (test #4). As I'm attempting to tell my mom what all is going on, I'm carrying on a conversation with the dogs: "sit", "no", "off", "sydney root", "no ma'am", "austen wamsted root", "i told you no", "quit slobbering on me", "you're in big trouble!" ...you have to understand, these dogs like to stand with their front two feet on the center console of the car panting and throwing slobber all over you (part of test #4). We get to the vet, and I cant figure out how to hold both dogs and get Addie out (without them ripping my arm off), so I put them BACK in the car, get Addie out, get them back out, and Sydney pulls her leash out of my hand. So I'm carrying Addie and the diaper bag, Austen is dragging me, and I'm trying desperately to step on Sydney's leash to stop her (because I can't lean down to grab it!) Thank goodness the vet tech saw me coming and came to my rescue. Successful nail clippings (no pottying on the floor). We head back to my moms to this:

So instead of getting to stay outside, they were banned to their crate!

the partners in crime!

Tires (part 2): As I'm checking out at the grocery store (in between Addie and Paul's doctor appointments), I get the call. It's about Paul's car. The list: the engine and transmission need to be flushed out (to the tune of $300), there's a crack in something (the engine block, I think), the windows no longer roll up/down, the breaks are bad...and to top it off, it doesn't just need 2 new tires, it needs FOUR! Ummmm...I don't think so. (test #5)

So...in order not to pick up another car payment, we're considering sticking with one car for a while. We did it once before (yes, without a baby), so we're giving it a trial run. Paul's even considering riding the bus or getting a bike (we'll see about that!).

Anyway...since this blog IS about Addie...
I thought this was a cute picture of her (after her doctors visit, grocery store, and vet run as I'm banning the dogs to their crate!):