Teeth

In life, there are quirky little things that scare each and every one of us. For some people it's flying in airplanes. For others, it's being alone. My man and I happen to share a fear. The fear of teething babies.

The afternoon we found out we were having twins, we stumbled around the mall shell shocked on our way home from our ultrasound. Other couples in that situation might have discussed the risky nature of the pregnancy or worried about having two kids in college at the same time. We looked at each other and said, "Oh no! Two babies teething at the same time!"

And that is exactly what has happened this week. One hears tales of parents who suddenly notice that their little one has a tooth or twenty. "It just appeared!" That is not how teething works in our house. Teething is this hideous, dramatic process. All week the poor little guys have been miserable. They are producing gallons of drool. (And we still haven't found their bibs. Maybe this weekend...) Their cheeks are red and puffy. Even eating hurts, and they struggle to finish bottles or finish nursing. Because they are so miserable and cry so much, they often spit up the food that does go down.

Teethers do help, as does Tylenol. They are actually pretty funny about 45 minutes after getting a dose of Tylenol. They turn into the happiest little creatures. You can just see them thinking, "I feel good! This is great! No more ouchies!" This is the time they spend happily playing on the floor. And "talking." They have become soooo noisy lately. R never made this much noise. L is especially a chatter box. It doesn't even stop at night. He woke us up at 4:00 a.m. yesterday morning because he was babbling in his sleep.

Nights are the hardest, both on the little guys and us. We have been lucky so far. All three kids, when they get up at night, just eat, get clean diapers, and go back to sleep. But, since their eating is erratic right now, both guys get up a lot to eat. Tuesday night set the record for worst night ever. We got up with them seven times between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m. I'm not even sure how that is mathematically possible, and I prefer not to think about the short little bursts of sleep I managed to get between the cuddles and feedings.

We hope the teeth come in soon, to end the misery of everyone in the family. At this point, I'm pretty sure even the dogs are suffering. At the very least, we don't have time to play with them outside in the evenings, and they have to listen to the crying. (Because if the boys aren't crying, it's because they are being held, and then R is crying because we are holding the babies. The joys of sibling rivalry!) Then we can move on to unpacking and trying to find our stuff. I'm hoping to at least find the bibs before the next round of teething!