Golden Pig Tales

For months and months, -v- and I have been having few to no issues getting Ezra to brush teeth, but that tooth brushing was Ezra sort of moving around a tooth brush in his mouth while he sucked off all the tooth paste then asking for more tooth paste. Ezra’s cleaning was followed by Valerie or me trying to help Ezra actually brush his teeth. This forced attempt to help Ezra brush his teeth only succeeded in making Ezra fussy and making Ezra tense up.

For a month now, -v- and I have had no problems helping Ezra brush his teeth after we have shown him the fun of making bubbles with the tooth brush and teeth. Now Ezra is more than happy to open his mouth before a mirror while -v- or I brush his teeth to create bubbles.

I don’t know if Ezra likes the cool mint baking soda and peroxide toothpaste more than the silly strawberry calcium and silica toothpaste, or if Ezra has finally just started to like to brush his teeth and actually brushes his teeth and not just suck the toothpaste from tooth brush.

I do believe he likes to brush teeth more because Valerie and I always smile and brush teeth with him and tell him what a good job he does brushing teeth. And the smiles are not fake smiles, because I do still feel joy when seeing him brush teeth and smile at me in the mirror.

He does good brushing teeth. He does do more of a chew/brushing, but he does move and bite down on the bristles throughout his entire mouth and not just his incisors.

He is now trying to spit toothpaste out of his mouth to the sink like -v- and me, but hasn’t quite got to the ability to brush fast enough to create lots of toothpaste spit. -v- and I keep telling him that he needs to brush more before he can spit.

Ezra once liked the idea of brushing teeth. He even use to go into the bathroom and want to brush his teeth. Unforturnatly his idea of brushing teeth was him sucking off the toothpaste from toothbrush then tossing his tooth brush in the sink.

We tried singing and smiling about brushing teeth. We tried showing him how to brush teeth by brushing our teeth and how it is fun by smiling and dancing while we brushed our teeth. Nothing worked. He would suck the toothbrush clean of toothpaste and hold it up. If we didn’t put anymore toothpaste on the toothbrush he would toss it into the sink.

What has worked is holding Ezra while one of us brushes his teeth, so he doesn’t hurt himself. He fusses and shouts. He squirms. He shifts and moves. He shouts, which only helps us clean the teeth in the back of his mouth. He doesn’t like it at any time, but his teeth are getting clean, and what else are going to do? Let his teeth rot? No, then he really would be in pain, and that would be bad.

Ezra woke in fuss I haven’t seen for some time. We are still awake. I think the last time it was this bad a fuss was with teething, which feels to be the cause of the fuss. He has the signs: rubbing jaw, lots of saliva, wants to put his entire hand in mouth, pain. Lots of pain. Lots of fussing. It took a while to calm him. We looked at books. We listened to Johnny Cash. He had a snack. We went to go look at cars, but at 11:20 P.M. there aren’t many people driving. Now he is near calm again. We will try to see if we can get him to bed, to sleep. I feel sleep will be something that we won’t get. That is okay. As longs as Ezra feels some comfort during this pain.

Ezra has been super clingy to -v- as she as written. He becomes so clingy once in a while he wants to cling his teeth to -v-, which has never happened to me. Though I am at times jealous of the fact Ezra is clung to -v-, I am not jealous about his clinging with his teeth to her flesh.

During these past days while we have all been trapped inside the house Ezra has walked Valerie and I to the bathroom four or five times a day to brush teeth.

He won’t exactly brush his teeth, but rather he wants his tooth brush topped off with a kid friendly toothpaste, so he can suck the toothpaste from the tooth brush and sort of move his tooth brush over his teeth as he watches Valerie and I either brush our teeth or act like we are brushing are teeth.

We are able to help him actually brush more than his front teeth throughout the day, so it is worth the time. And it is kind of cute and a good habit for the future if he wants healthy teeth and gums and fresh breath.

Teething is pushing Ezra to not want to sleep for more than a few hours at a time. Teething makes food more of a tool to help Ezra bite down on the gums. Teething makes Ezra want not to eat. Teething causes obvious pain that a pacifier can’t sooth away.

Ezra stuffed self with milk last night then spit-up. Soon after I brushed his teeth. While I was brushing his teeth, he put the toothbrush he was holding in his mouth in my mouth and began to brush my lower incisors and tongue.

I with held the desire to gag or spit out the bile covered tooth brush until I set down on to the sink the toothbrush I was using to brush his teeth, and then I helped guide Ezra to move the toothbrush he put in my mouth from my mouth to his mouth all with a smile and an after taste of stomach acid and -v-’s breast milk, so Ezra would still see the smile on my face and how much I love brushing teeth!

Before slipping to sleep tonight, Ezra had bouts of fussy fits and long strings of drool slowly dripping from mouth to ground and chest.

For the past days, we have suspected some of the pain he has experienced was a result of molars pushing from his gums. And a couple of days ago Valerie claimed she saw what she believe to be a molar in Ezra’s mouth. While we both tried yesterday to see inside Ezra’s mouth, we were both unable to verify this belief for Ezra either didn’t open his mouth wide enough or was moving his tongue blocking any view from the upper gums, the location of the suspected molar.

Tonight, during a fussy fit, I think I was able to see the molar.

Since Saturday, brushing Ezra teeth continues to be easy. Even tonight with a tired and fussy Ezra brushing his teeth wasn’t that difficult when compared to many many many other times when he wasn’t fussy and I tried to brush his teeth. Sure, I have to sing and perform the Brush Teeth Song, which goes some like…Brush, brush, brush. Brush, brush, brush. Brush, brush, brush…while I hop from one foot to the other with a big smile on face.

EZ-O has become so easy to brush that he even leaned his head back last night with mouth opened wide, so I could brush his upper teeth.

To better show and tell Ezra how to brush teeth, and to distract Ezra with entertainment and props while I brush his teeth, I give Ezra a tooth brush when I brush his teeth. This has never helped me brush his teeth until tonight when he stuck the tooth brush he held in my mouth and brushed my teeth. Then he opened his mouth, and I was easily able to brush his top and bottom teeth. Then he brushed my teeth. And he smiled and kept smiling while I brushed his teeth.

I can only hope this happens more than just to night.

…Ezra’s brushing of my teeth was light brushes and chaotic movement that made me gag when he brushed for the molars. Even if I have to choke to brush Ezra’s without Ezra becoming fussy having tooth brush in mouth then I will choke.

Ezra still has some resistance to having his teeth brushed. He resists by covering his teeth with tongue, shutting his mouth and grabbing the tooth brush and fussing.

He does still have resistance to teeth brushing, but -v- and I have found ways to show him brushing teeth is fun or at least something not to cause fuss. We have shown him by giving him own tooth brush to hold while we brush his teeth with another one. This allows of him to grab a tooth brush and feel like he is resisting. I have also begun to brush my teeth while we brush Ezra’s teeth. I open my mouth wide and smile and brush, brush, brush away. Sometimes I do a teeth brushing dance. Even if this means brushing my teeth two times more a day that is OK for the act of me brushing teeth before Ezra while -v- brushes his teeth seems to be working because he does open his mouth for longer and stops using his tongue to force the tooth brush out. We now also brush his teeth twice a day to make sure those teeth are clean, so Ezra can avoid cavities and teeth problems that will only cause more fussing and pain.

Brushing Ezra’s teeth has been a process that results in a fussy Ezra nearly every time it is.

It could be Ezra when tired doesn’t like the tooth brush in mouth during his tired/cranky phase of the night. It could be he is teething and anything in the mouth that can rub the gums should be replaced by something he can bite down upon. Or maybe he wants control and just hates having his teeth brushed. Usually, I can only get a good brushing on the top or bottom teeth. It all depends on if I begin with the top or bottom. Then after that he will use his tongue to push the brush out. Or he will grab the brush with a fist and not let the brush get in mouth. Some times he fusses with loud shouts, which allowsfor me to brush his upper front teeth, so I usually begin with his bottom teeth.

We have decided to try to brush his teeth at different times during the day to see if we can give Ezra a good teeth brushing without resulting in a crying fussing Ezra full of tired confusion.

For the past week Ezra has pretty much slept through the night. For the past couple of days the issue has been getting him to sleep for his fussiness level near bed time has exceeded the bounds of my sonus tolerance of screaming. In fact, last night was the first night since he was born that I actually hoped Ezra would shut-up (in a moment of helplessness, confusion and pain deep in my ear). I was holding him and trying to calm him from his crazed state of screaming and flapping around and felt pain in my ear. It took a few minutes of walking around and talking calm and then strapping him into the Ergo-baby to walk around for many minutes to get him to calm then to sleep. Then his sleep was like the sleep of the past nights: through the night with an occasional cry or shout that would settle back to sleep.

This unto itself was not cause for alarm. We seen tooth number eight coming through and we attributed some of the fussiness to that at first, but the we seen him rubbing the side of his head against the ground and we seen him pulling at his hear. -v- and I seen this and assumed Ezra had yet another ear infection. So, -v- took Ezra to his doctor, and the doctor found no ear infection. Rather she found swollen gums around the molar area meaning molar teething is.

I am happy that he doesn’t have an ear infection, but I am hoping that the molars will push through the gums before ten days which is the time it takes for amoxicillin to take care of an ear infection. I am not getting my hopes up that the molars will be pushed through, and Ezra will be beyond the pain of the molar teething, because molars are big, but for the sake of Ezra and the pain of molars pushing through gums and for the sake of my hearing I hope the molars are set sooner rather than later.

-v- and I thought we seen Tooth #8 yesterday. And after waking Ezra this morning, and after spying into Ezra’s mouth as he yawned while I dressed him, I can confirm that Tooth #8 still appears to be making its slow and steady journey from Ezra gums.

I can’t quiet confirm -v-’s sighting of what looks like a very big Tooth #8 or another tooth journeying from Ezra’s gums by Tooth #8 for every time I look for Tooth #8 he puts tongue over gums unless I look at gums during a yawn or a scream or lots of loud talkie noises.

I can confirm there is a Tooth #8. Now my minor worries of him not having a Tooth #8 can focus on something else minor.

They are now showing signs of growing. The teething has been. Or the teething is.

I was able to sooth Ezra from two likely fussing moments caused likely by teething before 11 P.M.. The third instance of Ezra fussing was near or after Midnight. During third instance, Ezra was beyond my ability to sooth for he was standing and crying and stressing about teething and detachment and tiredness at night, and that usually means -v- will need to sooth Ezra from the teething and the detachment and the tiredness and the fussing fit that is keeping Ezra awake. Ezra slept soon after the sooth of -v- near or after Midnight.

Teeth #8 and #9, #10 Are. They are probably causing pain as they push through the gums, so Ezra can fuss, and we will help sooth for sleep.