So as the drool pours out of her mouth and she howls with the pain of her to-be-teeth, I think what did our parents do? Oh yeah, that's right, they rubbed booze on our gums and sent us on our way! Seriously, I love a good drink as much as anyone, but the idea of breaking out the bottle of Peppermint Schnapps or Blackberry Brandy, that were so "judiciously" used by mine and Michael's parents, to ease my little ones suffering seems, in most ways, very wrong to me. (sorry parental units).
I realize that we all survived - some of us with brain cells that we opted to kill off on our own in later years - however in this day and age, alcohol on the breath of an infant equates to a call from social services so we're sticking to the orajel, anbesol, childrens acetaminophen and ice pops. Slightly more work than just rubbing booze on the gum line but just as effective, without the jail time.
Tonight she cried so long and so hard that I ended up holding her and rocking her in my arms for 45 minutes just to get her sobbing to subside. As she drifted off to sleep she did that gasp for breath, silent sob thing that makes your heart break a little with every breath. Even after her eyes were closed and her arms went limp against my chest I continued to stand in the middle of her room with her in my arms, breathing softly, unable to lay her down. After a few more moments of watching her sleep and feeling my fingers go completely numb from holding her in the same spot for too long, I laid her down.
So here's to little Miss and her swollen, sore gums...your asleep now, I'll drink to that!
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