Category: Random

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Kids/Parenting Random

The Giant Compendium of Teething Tips

My son currently has six teeth: but not the six you’d think. He has three on top and three on the bottom—and not even the same three! I’m guessing the other two teeth will come in soon (one has been ‘trying’ for a while, one not so much), so we’ll be dealing with teething for a while.

It seems like a lot of moms, myself included, are at a loss when it comes to teething. It may be one of those times that you just can’t make everything all better, but there are more than a few ways to help ease your child’s pain. I’ve scoured the Internet for everything from the mundane to the unusual in teething tips, and now, for your gnawing pleasure, “The Giant Compendium of Teething Tips!”

Old Standbys

  1. Massaging baby’s gums (if s/he will let you!)
  2. Teething biscuits
  3. Zwieback
  4. Acetaminophen (Tylenol, paracetamol)
  5. Ibuprofen (Motrin; better than Tylenol because it also relieves inflamation, the underlying cause of teething pain) Note that you can stagger these two medicines and administer every 2-3 hours, alternating which medicine you give
  6. Teething rings (freezing them is old school; refridgerating them may be better)
  7. Damp rag, frozen
  8. Baby gum numbing gel
  9. Cold or frozen foods (including ice) in a mesh feeder
  10. Hard objects s/he can’t choke on
  11. Ice chips (small enough not to choke on)

Slightly More Unconventional

  1. Small dampened stuffed animal, frozen
  2. Homeopathic teething tablets (yes, homeopathy is slightly unconventional to me)
  3. Homeopathic teething liquid
  4. Apples, Asian pears, celery, cucumbers, carrots, etc., preferably cold or frozen (small enough not to choke on)
  5. Frozen bagel (small enough not to choke on)
  6. A toothbrush
  7. Carabiner
  8. Music, specifically baby disco (strange only because I’ve never heard of that as a remedy for teething)
  9. Frozen flax bean bags (I suppose rice bags could work, too)
  10. Clove oil
  11. Spoons, especially dipped in cold water or stored in the fridge
  12. Frozen corn syrup gel pack
  13. Frozen applesauce or other baby food, slushy consistency
  14. Magnets

Downright Strange (and Not Recommended)

  1. Pen

Or you could always do what I did last night: mysteriously lose hearing in your right ear and sleep on your left side to muffle the sound of his cries. (I’m kidding—I can’t sleep on my left side.)

Got more? Leave a comment or e-mail me at jordan (at) mamablogga.com !

For more tips to make your life easier, visit Rocks in My Dryer, one of the 30 most Popular Parent Blogs, for Works-for-me Wednesday.

[tags]teeth, teething, parenthacks[/tags]

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Random

Rag time

Here’s a little trick my mother-in-law taught me. I don’t remember how long it takes her hot water to get to her kitchen faucet, but it certainly takes some time for my kitchen faucet to get hot water. I can wait more than a minute (yes, 60 actual seconds) for hot water.

So, instead of waiting for warm water, I wet a rag and put it in the microwave for 5 to 10 seconds. Nice and toasty!

Unfortunately, even a warm washcloth doesn’t help Hayden accept a post-oatmeal-smearing meal face washing.

Featured on Parent Hacks

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Random

Six of one, half a dozen of the other IV

A (mostly) visual meme today. One day I’ll really try to make this memetic.

Six Things I Didn’t Finish Before My Family Arrived Today

Hayden 13 months 002.jpg
Cleaning my desk		 Hayden 13 months 003.jpg
Getting rid of the things the old owners left in our house
Hayden 13 months 004.jpg
Installing Hayden’s car seat and putting up the shadow boxes on top		 Hayden 13 months 005.jpg
Moving Ryan’s trunk and other stuff in the guest bedroom
Hayden 13 months 006.jpg
Giving our old stuff to Goodwill		 Vacuuming, showering, second load of dishes.

Half a Dozen Things I Did Before They Came

Hayden 13 months 007.jpg
Clean my room		 Hayden 13 months 010.jpg
Make cute stuff for Haydie’s room
Hayden 13 months 008.jpg
Clean my closet (and Ryan’s)		 Hayden 13 months 009.jpg
Organize the guest bedroom closet
Hayden 13 months 011.jpg
Paint these shadow boxes. They used to be white.		 Hayden 13 months 011.jpg
Get my hair cut. I look a little crazy here, though.

I’m excited to see my family! We haven’t seen each other since Thanksgiving—and five months is a long time to go without seeing your only grandson (for them).

UPDATE: Since most of this is much needed housework that I’ve tackled recently, this has been added to Tackle It Tuesday, by 5 Minutes for Mom.

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Random

Fortunes of fortunes

Fortune cookiesI’ve had some really literal fortune cookies lately:

  • “You will have a chance soon to make a profitable transaction.” (1 25 30 34 36 38) in December
  • “An unexpected event will soon bring you fortune.” (7 10 12 15 31 37) Today.

Sigh. Perhaps I just need to learn that if I don’t need a “fortune,” I shouldn’t take a “fortune” cookie.

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Random

Stuck in the car seat with you

I don’t know what the deal is lately, but Hayden’s been really impatient with car rides. Aside from his normal “Oh, please, Mommy, not the car seat!” rebellion upon opening the back door to the car, he used to be really good. When we drove down to San Diego for Christmas, he could make it almost 2 hours before really starting to lose it.

Two hours has quickly dwindled to about 10 minutes, and sometimes less. And we’re not talking simply being uncomfortable—when Hayden has lost his patience with the car, he throws whatever toy I’d given him to placate him (or his sippy cup) and, if I’m lucky, starts babbling agitatedly. (If I’m not lucky, it’s wailing.)

I assume I am not unique in finding wailing unnerving, especially while wrangling a couple tons of metal in the highway synchronized swimming routine where the penalties are death, injury or property damage.

Saturday night we were driving back from going out with a friend. The trip took, I think, 30 minutes. Hayden was put out before I even dropped my friend off at her car (about 8 minutes’ drive). We finished our conversation, wherein I encouraged her to have children, as she was planning to do, over the tormented wails of my baby. We had about 20 minutes till we got home.

I often try to raise my voice to drown out Hayden’s cries. This shocks most babies long enough to quiet down for at least a little while.

Not Hayden. He was undeterred. He was overtired, too—it was really too late for him to stay out.

Finally, truly in desperation, I tried to get him to fall asleep (something he hasn’t done in months) by singing his bedtime song, “Baby Beluga.” He didn’t fall asleep—but he did fall silent. I quickly segued into his very own song, “Bike Rider.” For the rest of the ride home (and the ride home from his aunt’s tonight, too), he was pretty calm as long as I sang.

It works for us (and it’s a good thing, too!).

This post is part of Works-for-me Wednesday: Car Edition, a blog carnival hosted by Rocks in My Dryer.

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Random Ryan/Married Life

Better than it started

My birthday ended better than it started, which is pretty good, considering how grumpy I was yesterday morning. Not only did Ryan surprise me by coming home from work at 9:30 (his work day starts at 7) and baking me a cake and straightening up the house, but he stayed home the whole day (hurray!).

I’m afraid I didn’t use our time very well 🙁 . But it was really nice to have an extra, extra long weekend and to have him home with me. Hayden wasn’t as grumpy as I’d feared, either.

Ryan got me a very sweet card and a pair of books with parenting coping strategies (which I know I need; I was very happy to get them!).

I sent him out to get rainbow chip frosting for my cake. A few minutes after I left, my sister arrived at my door. She came in and we talked for a minute before she said, “Well, go get ready.”

“For what?”

“Ryan’s taking you out to dinner. Surprise!”

Indeed. I felt like eating at Happy Sumo, so we did. I was sorely tempted to get what I did last time we were there (Fuji Chicken), but I ended up getting something different.

Before we left, we realized that the last time we were there was nearly a year ago—my belated birthday celebration. Should we make it a tradition?