Open Wide
While I can’t be sure if Henry has started teething or not (there are no white nubbins ready to break through his gums that we can see), I do know that he’s begun shoving anything and everything into his mouth and gnawing on it. He’s also been drooling a lot (something which I like even less than the gnawing), and he’s even had some crankiness when breastfeeding.
I don’t remember my own teething, but as I been reading lately, it’s not pleasant, and babies chew to assuage the pain. (Assuage is one of my favorite words, and I’m quite pleased that I can use it in a blog post.) And I’m okay with him doing this if it makes him feel better.
What I’m not so happy about is that he chews with reckless abandon. He’ll grab something and, without even looking at it, shove it into his open mouth. No contemplation. No thought of “Will this fit into my mouth?” or “Will I, when flinging it toward my head, actually get it anywhere close to my mouth” or “Darn, I just poked myself in the eye.”
He may be a little young to teach him about thinking before you plunge, but I’m going to try. If possible, I’d like to protect him from the dreaded rubber giraffe.
