I've been waiting for these teeth forever...

From the time my son was 3 months old, I swore he was teething. He wasn't much of a drooler but he was always gnawing on his hands. And I thought I saw some bulges on his lower gums. Everyday I got out of the shower and my sweetie would be in his bouncer. I would stick my finger in his mouth and feel around. Nothing. I did this for a good 3-1/2 months. And always nothing.

I was about to give up. In fact, I stopped checking his gums for a few days. I noticed that he had a little cough so I didn't want to bother him by shoving my hands into his mouth. He was a little cranky but I assumed it was from the cough. He turned his head away from solids. He still took a bottle but wanted nothing to do with his baby food. Again, attributed to the cough.

Soon I decided to start checking his gums again and lo and behold, I felt a sharp little corner of something. Do you think he would let me get a good look? It was a fun game. Mommy trying to pull baby's lip down to look at his gums and he would pull it back up and clamp shut. Eventually I was able to see it. It was like a very thin line of white and it had a little texture. He was getting his first tooth! My friend's son was 3 months older and he had teeth since he was four months old. Now we were finally going to be keeping up with the Joneses.

He had the makings of his first tooth and I realized that the little cough, the crankiness, the loss of appetite was probably because he was teething. Then I felt bad because I hadn't done anything to ease the pain. But he got through it. And without a ton of drool. I was expecting buckets but only got a couple dribbles.

I was truly expecting to wake the next morning and find a full grown tooth. But the next morning it was still the thin white line. So maybe it would be the next morning. The next morning showed no growth. Two weeks of next mornings later, it was just a tiny little stub. How long does it really take to grow some teeth. It can't be that hard, right? Little did I know that he would grow a second tooth stub right next to his first one a few weeks later. Then two more stubs on top. Those came in together. He never had any major reaction to any of them and had the same behaviors each time. No drool, little cough, little crab cake, and no solids. To this day (3 months later) they are all still so teeny tiny. I wonder when they will be full grown.

The best part is looking at his silly little grin. His top teeth seem so big compared to the bottom and he looks so goofy. I didn't think I could love making him laugh any more than I already did but it is possible and I do love it more.