Tag Archives: teething

Single Dad Powers Through with an Amber Teething Necklace

I never imagined I would be a single dad. My beloved wife passed away during childbirth, and it’s been just me since that moment.  

Of course, there’s been many challenges since my beautiful baby girl was born. The sleepless nights, crying, and wondering if I’d be able to do this with Hillary. I’ve made it through all those challenges so far, and well, I’ve been highly rewarded by all the smiles, laughter, and play times I’ve been able to have with Darla.  

Last year, Darla turned one and she started teething. She didn’t too well with it – fever, swollen gums, general fussiness, and again, sleepless nights. I was worried about her, so I took her in to see the pediatrician. She’s been great from the very beginning and ensured me she would be okay, but I may want to give her some Tylenol and Motrin to get her by until her tooth comes through.  

So, I did it. I ended up swapping the Tylenol and Motrin every 4 and 6 hours. I didn’t feel good about it, but I did it because that’s what the pediatrician said.  

And then, another tooth started coming through…. I didn’t feel too good about giving Darla the Tylenol and Motrin the first time, and I really didn’t want to do it again. I had to find another solution because the teething rings weren’t helping.  

After a quick Google search, I discovered amber beads for baby teething. I read that many parents have been using it to reduce fever, inflammation, and pain. I also found that Europeans and Middle Easterners have been using them for centuries to treat everything from arthritis to the flu.  

All you have to do is keep the amber on the skin for most of the day, so that the warmth of the body can warm the beads. This releases the Succinic Acid that then seeps into the skin and into the bloodstream. What’s great is that it’s completely natural – Succinic Acid is found in foods like bread, cheese and milk. It can support the metabolism and immune system. All these benefits really made me want to try it.  

My Experience with Amber Teething Necklaces 

While I was searching for amber teething necklaces, I realized there were two types – Baltic amber and regular amber. I decided to investigate the Baltic ones and found that they are more potent with Succinic Acid (the treatment oil) than the regular ones. I wanted the necklace to be effective, so I decided on Baltic Wonder for the necklace since they source their beads from Lithuania – the best place for Baltic amber.  

It only took about three days for me to see a difference in Darla. She was happier, and her fever was gone. I decided to keep the necklace on her (removing it only at night) and she’s never had another teething symptom. She’s been cutting teeth like crazy too, so it’s been great.  

I really feel that the Baltic amber teething necklace helped us power through teething. Hopefully, my experience will help you if you’re going through something similar with your baby, and you don’t want to give him/her pain relievers.

More Teething and The Fort Returns

Last July, I excitedly constructed a fort with the baby jail gate we setup in the living room for Avery. But not just any fort, it was a Ninja Turtle fort and I was quite proud of myself. It was a story worth sharing with the network of professionals from book blog tours to craft an exciting book about it!

I know, this is the Nickelodeon version; I work with what I have!!

I’m not fond of the Nickeldeon version, but this is the only blanket I had with my favorite teenage terrapins, so I made it work. I thought it was pretty cool, but Avery, on the hand, not so much.

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She eventually warmed up to it, kinda, but we ended up taking it down after about a month.

Back to current day, we just took down the entire gate setup in our living room giving Avery a wider range of freedom throughout the house. The dog, Abby, is still stuck behind gates, but even she has a little more freedom than before.

Look, Abby, more room!!
Look, Abby, more room!!

I prefer Abby to keep in one main area since sheds so much and gets a little too crazy around Avery. She’s a sweet dog, but for some reason I get annoyed by her too easily. Sorry, Abby.

With our living room back to normal, I decided to make it not normal again by tearing out the cushions and taking a shot at building a couch fort. Of course the Ninja Turtle blanket had to come back out, but my plans were quickly thwarted by our apparently hungry toddler.

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I don’t blame her, it was a pretty weak setup. I wouldn’t trust crawling inside either.

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I think Avery tried to make me feel better by pretending to enjoy putting her face into the pillow next to the fort though.

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Or maybe she was cursing and trying not to let me hear. After messing around with the arrangement a while, I brought part of the baby gates back in hopes of making a better fort. Once again, Avery was there to derail my hard work.

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Guess she’s had enough of the gates after they’ve been between her and freedom for literally her whole life. So who can blame her? Instead, she took to doing her crazy spin dance with her toy kitty after taking down the fort.

I wish I could say she gets it from her mom, but that would be a lie. Instead, I think I owe my mom, G-Ma, a huuuuggggeee apology. Sorry, mom.

The fort will make a comeback soon. Hopefully bigger and stronger than before and one she actually wants to play in. After expending so much energy in fort destruction, I was positive Avery would sleep well, but when my wife discovered an incoming tooth right before bedtime, that thought quickly went the way of my couch fort; crushed.

Sure enough, right before midnight, Avery woke up screaming. My way of dealing with this is to let it go most of the time unless she has a distinct “I pooped” scream. This sounded like that scream, but I wasn’t getting up yet. Instead, Going Mom came to the rescue to soothe our screaming child.

I came in a few minutes later when the screaming didn’t stop and found that her diaper leaked, but no poop. I changed the sheets and Kelley nursed Avery back to sleep.

The screaming returned at around 2 a.m. and this time I went to see what magic I could work. Turns out, no magic. I held her constantly squirming body and rocked in the chair as she re-enacted the Texas tornadoes we’ve had around us. Gone are the days of that little baby that fit so easily in our hands and calmly rested on our chest like this…

Avery and Daddy_Thanksgiving 2013

With the screams still going strong but I could feel her wearing out, I just laid on the nursery floor with her in hopes that she’d settle down. At first she stood up and cried some more, but finally she crawled on top of my chest and fell asleep in minutes.

It was sweet, and something I don’t want to forget, but my airways were also blocked making it hard to breathe. I passed the time by thinking of different book ideas I want to write some day before using my Turkish Get Up skills to stand and lay her in her crib.

Poor girl, she didn’t move an inch through the process and slept through the rest of the night. Hopefully this tooth pushes through and we don’t have another night like that, but only time will tell.

I want to write a series of kids’ books called “Avery Eats” where each book is centered on one food that Avery learns about while trying it out for herself. There’s more to it than that, but with the help of book blog tours and the vast network of publishers and authors, I could definitely bring it to life!

Are you good at building couch forts? Any pointers?

Have any aspirations to write a book of your own or have you already? Again, any pointers?

Recovery Mode From Boob Milk Magic

After two days of a roller coaster fever and lethargic toddler, Avery no longer has a fever and seems to be on her way to recovery. I attribute much of her recovery from her Mommy’s boob milk magic since it’s full of antibodies and nutrition that’s hard to find anywhere else.

Avery was refusing most solids, so Kelley nursed more in place of the food. Not only did this give Avery vital nutrients to fight of the sickness inside, but it acted as a the perfect way to provide soothing relief from her ailment.

If I wore a hat, I’d take it off for my wife for being so bad-ass when comes to breastfeeding and just being a great mother all around. Actually, maybe that’s why I never wear hats, because they’d always be off anyway since she’s just great all the time. Well, besides when…nevermind….. 🙂 I love you, Kelley!

We were supposed to go to a good friend’s house for their son’s 2 year birthday party, but felt it best not to bring Avery out quite yet. Despite the healing properties of nursing, Avery is still not eating well and has had a case of “the runs”. Here’s a pic I took 5 minutes after I gave her a small bite of something soft.

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Yeah, she simply refuses to chew and will end up spitting whatever it is right out on the floor after it sat in her mouth for 10 minutes. Damn teething, and poor little girl!!!!!

Yesterday morning was a slow start and Avery just wanted to be held most of the time, but she eventually became mobile and started playing with her toys. She even attempted to dance a little, always a good sign!

But right as I busted out the camera to capture our daughter feeling better, she went into a slump. At least her Catch-Me-Kitty was there to help comfort her in the box.

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Such a depressing photo, huh? She never lets me put the camera in her face and will just turn around or be too squirmy resulting in a blurry image, but this time she kept still with a blank stare.

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Double depressing! I kept thinking I was pushing my luck with the camera in her face, but she acted as if nothing was happening. Or maybe she simply did not care.

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Just as my broken heart broke further into tiny pieces, she gave a glimmer of hope with a halfsie-grin-like-thing.

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I must of scared whatever excitement she was working on away because the next shot had her back in slump mode.

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That was too much, so I put the camera away and just read several of her new Sandra Boynton books. It didn’t help to get her to smile, but she sat snug in my lap the entire time and will hold on to that sweet memory for life. Just as my wife has the same memory from cuddling with our sick baby in bed the night before.

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I wish we had our normal toddler back and we were celebrating at a 2 year old’s birthday party today, but Avery has a little more recovering to do first. The good news is that we’re going to find another time to go down and visit with our old friends and see how grown their kids are now.

Not much happening this weekend, just a trip to Costco and getting our little girl back to normal. By normal, I mean the crazy, rampant and overzealous toddler that she is!

Do you have any plans for the weekend?

Have you nursed or witnessed nursing that helped your kid recover from illness before?