Tooth and Nail

I've been fighting tooth and nail today to stay smiley. I'm finally feeling better after battling a monster headache. It's the intense throbbing and pounding pain that moves from temple to temple like with a migraine, but mercifully without the blinding nausea. I have to keep grinning and giggling, even as I grind my teeth and chomp the insides of my cheeks to offset the fear my head may implode. Michael Alexander has cut his first two teeth and he needs Nommers to be especially cheerful and patient and attentive and concerned with his pain, not hers.

Of all the baby gear people are convinced parents need, teething rings are the most useless. Michael Alexander cut his first tooth -- bottom left front -- on Thursday, the day before Rosghestvo (Christmas by the Julian calendar) and the second -- bottom right front -- on Saturday. He wants to gnaw on everything. Well, everything except teething rings. Clean socks. The diaper box. My knees. Just about anything seems to offer at least a few seconds of comfort. But the teething rings get ousted almost immediately.

Michael Alexander might be one of the happiest babies ever. He doesn't complain and rarely cries. Cutting teeth is the first thing to rattle (rattles, another useless item, as babies prefer the packaging) him. He had a fever over the holiday weekend at his Babushka's, but quickly perked up after a dose of Baby Tylenol. Now Daddy's sick with a cold, I have a sore throat and he's starting to sniffle. We can't all be sick at once.

Michael Alexander's being a champ compared with most teething babies. I just hope I'm feeling better tomorrow. This teething is tough enough without my being ill. And I'm going a little crazy as he demands much more of my attention. I've already spoiled him just a teeny tiny bit, so I am not allowed to so much as glance at the laptop when he's awake and watching. He wants to help me, pounding on the keys and striking macros I didn't even know existed. At just a couple months old, he killed one MacBook by shoving it off my left thigh as I attempted to write an article with the laptop balanced on my right thigh. He's since removed the Control keys from the new MacBook Pro and the the new PC. There is a major cost associated with focusing on anything other than his sparkling eyes.

But I'm not complaining. I know this is a major developmental milestone and I am so thrilled when he lets me peek inside that little mouth. They may be baby teeth, but they are sure sign my baby is growing up quickly. I'm so glad I get witness every amazing moment. As James Brown said, "Hair is the first thing. And teeth the second. Hair and teeth. A man got those two things he's got it all."