Growing molars. . . not for the faint of heart

So remember when I blogged last week about how Clara was sick and we got that antibiotic after she cried for four hours straight??? Looks like we found the reason. . .

M.O.L.A.R.S. 

No one prepped me for the craziness that is when your toddler starts cutting molars. People!!! How does no one talk about this? Or did I just not care to take notice since we had not yet hit that phase of toddlerhood (very possible)? Or maybe you are one of the lucky ones whose child didn't even notice their molars were CUTTING THROUGH THEIR GUMS. If you are that person, I do not like you right now. Maybe in a little while. . . but not right now.

The past six days have been a flashback to Clara's colicky days and thus, has brought on a teeny amount of anxiety about having a newborn again. Baby girl #2 - I will love you unconditionally, regardless of how high maintenance you are, but can I say that you would make your mommy & daddy really happy if you did not hold your older sister as the gold standard between age 6-12ish weeks? Ok? Thanks in advance for that.

Our poor Clara hasn't been eating, drinking liquids (meaning there were several days in a row she ate nothing, and drank only 6-8 oz in a 48 hour period & would meltdown at the sight of her bottle or anything that we tried to lift to her mouth), taking her beloved paci, and pretty much has been crying all the time, day and night. Nights are the worst and poor thing only sleeps 3-5 hours a night.

We even took her to the ER Saturday night (before we had confirmation that molars were the culprit). While she didn't have a fever, and I knew there probably wasn't much they could really do, we just had to be sure that there wasn't something severly wrong that we were overlooking.

These videos are from last Friday. One of our more MILD days. Things were only starting to take off at that point. How pitiful is she???? Breaks my heart.

Look at that tear mid cheek. . . sad!

Lots of snuggles in our pjs. . .

One morning after we finally got some meds in her. She crashed. And no, she never took that milk you see in the background.

My little mouth breather. . .

We have watched a lot of Baby Einstein over the last six days. More than she has watched in her entire life for sure. One of the only ways we could calm her down in the middle of the night.

This was Sunday night (or should I say Monday morning?). 2:30am she finally surrendered and fell asleep in our bed. Then woke at 7:30am crying.

Dad got lots of snuggles in as well. . . 

Yep, her face says it all. . .

Praying our girl gets some relief soon, and that these silly teeth will just make their way through her gums already.

Side note - last night was MUCH better. She slept a little under 6 hours without waking up once. She got up at 4:30 crying in pain, but that is MUCH improved from the days prior. And so far today has been going better as well. Thank you, Lord. That said, I took my first shower in 6 days. Ha!

Another side note - Turns out that kids with sensory issues, especially those with oral aversions/sensitivities/defensiveness, have an extra hard time when cutting teeth, especially the beasts that are molars. Interesting, right? Makes sense why this has been extra hard for sweet Clara. 

How did your child handle teething/getting their molars? 

Any survival tips to share?