Thanks, Duracell

My baby is teething. The end.

I don't really need to say more than that, do I? No, but I'm going to.

With my son, teething was a breeze. I'd notice him sucking extra fervently on his binky for a while, and then, presto! A tooth. I was really surprised one day to feel a molar poking out of nowhere one day. That kid birthed a molar and scarcely complained.

Not so with baby number two. This week she's produced one tooth but is working on about three more. For a couple weeks she's been fussy and waking up at night. Oh, and she has a cold. Try a coughing teething baby. So this week, after two truly awful nights, I took her to the doctor, certain she had an ear infection. There must be something causing this ruckus, right? The nurse agreed with me--she's got classic signs of earache. Long term runny nose, fussy eating, fussy sleeping, scratching at the ears.

Her ears are perfect, the doctor said. He sent me home with a prescription for lidocaine for my troubles, which I felt pretty good about as I paid the pharmacist 95 cents for it. Then I remembered the copay. Maybe if I sell it on the street for five dollars an ounce I'll break even. I'm sure there's a big at-home dentistry crowd that would really enjoy some good lidocaine that comes with impossible directions. Because you tell me what baby is going to let you stick something in her mouth and hold it in place for sixty seconds. Sixty seconds is like three years in baby time.

But I did pick up something else at the store that really helped. New batteries for the swing. It's the one place she'll sleep reliably. Thanks for the needed rest, Duracell.