Biting Talk

I need something to get my teeth into.  At the moment, that can be anything.  Mummy’s finger is a personal favourite, especially if I can get the nail before she sees me coming.  I even sank them into Hairy Dog’s nose yesterday!  Lucky for me he’s so patient.

I don’t know why I’m getting this urge at the moment.  I don’t mean to hurt anyone, and I’m not angry or sad necessarily.  I think it’s partly because I have new gnashers coming through, but I also get pretty frustrated. I want to walk, I want to talk, and I’m not doing either quickly enough for my already exacting self-imposed standards.  It’s not that I’m a naughty baby, I’m just trying to communicate! 

Mummy is finding it quite hard to grasp (unlike my teeth that are grasping her digits with some force!) that rather than trying to hurt her, I’m just desperate to show her how much I love her.  She’s good with words, I’m not yet.  I really miss her when she goes away and I just want to to express the strength of my feelings.  It might be a little unconventional for you grown-ups, but I know I’ll find a better way to communicate soon, and once I get over my current frustrations, I’m sure it’ll ease up a bit.

Can you believe some grown-ups think biting back is the best cure?!  “See how you like it,” sort of thing.  Well, I don’t like that you have many more teeth than me, or that the strength of your jaw is many times greater.  Thankfully, Mummy has more sense.  I don’t think she’s worried yet, but I’m pretty sure she’ll step in if it continues. 

She’s pretty stern when it comes to things like that and she’s not afraid of telling me I’ve done something that isn’t appropriate.  I just know by the tone of her voice.  It’s the one I hear when I eat pebbles on the drive or lunge at Daddy’s mug of coffee.   She’ll never tell me I’m naughty, but she does explain that my action upsets people.  I’m loving the “alternative” lesson at the moment – she’s teaching me about cuddles when I need to share a bit of love and I have to admit, it’s a good option.  It lasts a lot longer for me, and Mummy says there’s nothing like the feeling of having me snuggle into her neck and shoulder.  Put like that, I’m not sure I need the biting thing at all.

Aside from all of that, I’ve got my first molars coming through, and boy does that hurt!  We’ve dug out all my old teething toys from when the first little guys cut through my gums.  It won’t last forever.

CB

Tooth Brush Wars

I wrote last week about the two-man nappy change.  This week’s battle is teeth-brushing.  Quite frankly, I think it’s over-rated and I don’t want to do it any more.  I quite like the taste of the toothpaste so I’m happy to suck the bristles, but I don’t think brushing’s for me.  I know Mummy’s desperate for me to co-operate a bit more and she’s almost at the point of paying for a secret!  Good work, even if I say so myself.

I’ve had a toothbrush longer than I’ve had teeth.  Mummy and Daddy wanted me to get used to the idea.  I think they thought if they made it ‘fun,’ I’d go for it a bit more readily.  A good idea in theory, but I don’t have to follow convention.

Some of their tactics are quite amusing.  My favourite at the moment is Mummy taking it turns with me.  I stick the toothbrush so far down her throat while she tries not to gag, we pretend to brush her teeth, then it’s her turn to brush mine.  Except that I clamp my mouth shut so tightly, nothing’s going to get past my lips!

She tells me horror stories about what will happen if I don’t brush my teeth, and some of them sound quite gruesome.  So until I’ve had enough of this sport and start brushing properly, we’ll take some other precautionary measures to keep decay at bay:

Dilute fruit juice.  Neat juice is quite acidic so adding water helps neutralise.

Avoid sugary drinks and food.  It’s obvious really!

Use a small amount of toothpaste.  You’d think toothpaste is a good thing, but until you can be sure we’ll spit, little is better because it’s not too god for our tummies.

Practice. Make tooth-brushing a twice daily routine, like your own, and even if it seems like a real chore, persevere.  Sing, dance, bribe if you need to!

It’ll all be worth it when we have a beautiful, sparkling smile.

CB

A Thoroughly Grumpy Baby

The photographer was at nursery today.  I didn’t smile for him. He looked dodgy, and besides, I just wasn’t in the mood.  To be honest, I haven’t really been feeling myself for the last couple of days.  I’ve been grizzling for no apparent reason and nothing anybody does is right.  I don’t know what I want!  Daddy says I’m about 12 years too early for teenage tantrums.  I think he should get over himself; how often do we have to put up with his sulks and grouches?!

Mummy’s playing it differently.  She’s trying hard to find out what’s wrong.  It’s sweet that she cares, but actually when I’m not sure myself, she just needs to react I’m afraid. Pick me up when I yell, and put me down again when I change my mind.  A baby reserves the right to change its mind at a moment’s notice, without prior warning.

I got up too early, that’s for sure.  I’ve got a lot on my mind at the moment, it’s difficult to sleep.  I screamed a while, but I did go back to sleep eventually, after about an hour and a half.  It took  a little longer than it might have done because while Mummy was trying to soothe me, all I could hear was Daddy grumping about how tired he is.  I think I take after him in a lot of ways.  Let’s not even mention what happens when we’re both hungry!

I might have a bit of a cold, I might have more teeth coming through.  I might be too hot, or too cold, or hungry. Thirsty even.  Tired.  Bored. Or a combination of any of the above!  It’s up to Mummy and Daddy to figure it out and act accordingly, and by the time they’re close, the problem might have changed anyway.  Ha ha!  That’s raised a smile and cheered me up a bit.  But only for a bit.

CB