St. Acetaminophen, the Patron Saint of Teething Toddlers

Madeline's honest-to-goodness last tooth has been coming in over the last two days, and I'm elated! Well, I feel bad that her gums are hurting, but I'm elated that it's the last time that she'll go through this for a number of years (fingers crossed, of course). Teething hasn't been a happy time for us, really.

On Thursday afternoon, Madeline ran up to me before her naptime and said, "Tylenol, please!"  Part of me wondered if she really did have a headache or pain afflicting some part of her body because I imagine that it's not hard to become fond of her watermelon-flavoured Tylenol Melt-Away tablets, but when I asked, "Does your mouth hurt?" she nodded and pointed at the back right of her upper jaw, where her expected 2-year molar were conspiculously absent.

I figured that if my girl was being that specific, she really was in some degree of discomfort and I gave her two tablets. That night when I was brushing Madeline's teeth before bedtime, I got a peek into her mouth and there was a brand new molar poking through - in the exact position that she'd indicated to me earlier!  That meant that she was only one molar away from a complete set! Whee!

The "Tylenol, please!" scene repeated itself on Friday afternoon, except she pointed to the opposite side of her mouth, and during toothbrushing time I noticed that the last molar was threatening to erupt through her gums. It was still bothering her at bedtime last night, so it must be really close. I sooo can't wait!

Comments

[amycah]

Yay for Madeline! Cat's top two front teeth are on their way in. I can't wait until they all appear, although I will miss her gum-filled grin.

[nonlineargirl]

Oh how jealous I am.

[jmf]

My daughter has had a terrible time with teeth and from the beginning Tylenol didn't seem to do much. Someone we know recommended Camillia (made by Boiron). It works like a charm! Just an option if the teeth are tougher than the Tylenol.

[Mary P]

Yee-haw! They spend so much of their first two years teething, and if they have a hard time with teeth, that's a LOT of misery.

For my own kids, and the kids of my friends, the later molars (9-year?) were not a big deal at all. Most of us didn't know it had happened until the dentist told us! I hope it's the same for you and Madeline.

[Jaime]

Woohoo!! That is great. I love the self medicating she can do, smart girl. Tylonal = relief, smart kid!

[Bianca Jackson]

Huh, a saint for teething? Interesting. Anyway, it's great that the molars seem to be in order, poking out without much fuss. It's great that children are able to communicate and point out their discomfort like that, as that makes it much easier to help them out.

[Landon Heath]

“Teething hasn't been a happy time for us, really.”--- We face the same situation. That’s why whenever one of the family members feels any discomfort in their teeth, I see to it that we visit our dentist as soon as possible. By this, we can determine what the problem is and the dentists will be able to give us the best solution. Disregarding it just makes things worse and it will be more difficult to treat in the future.