The little man's teeth continued to wreak havoc on many household items since my last blog post on the topic. I had been sad that he weaned earlier than Lainey, but at the moment I am very glad he is not still breast-feeding!!!
* One morning Lainey and I went in to see him in his crib after hearing the sweet sounds of baby babbling from behind closed doors. When we walked in, Lainey said, "Look, mom! Clouds!" There were clumps of cotton batting on the floor and in the crib. He had bitten the head off his "Baby's First Doll" that was supposed to be baby-proof and safe for all ages! Well, I exaggerate a little: he actually ripped open the back of the baby's neck, I'm assuming with his teeth, and proceeded to pull out clumps of batting and throw them around. Needless to say, he no longer has any baby-doll privileges unless supervised.
* This incident was not a purposefully destructive use of his teeth, but destroy they did: he climbed up in the swivel office chair by my computer and leaned his full weight against the back of the chair, sending himself crashing face-first into the corner of the coffee table. I was in the room with him -- boy, is he quick -- but just could not navigate my 9-months-pregnant body around the coffee table and across the toy-strewn floor fast enough to stop his fall, so I saw it all happen and arrived at his side just as he hit.
Blood was flowing! He had a nosebleed that stopped quickly, but the main source was 2 gaping holes inside his lip where his teeth went in, 1 apparently as deep as the tooth could go. I immediately called a nurse friend from church who assured me that unless he had bitten through or almost through the lip, the doctor would not stitch it, that there was really nothing I could do except avoid salty foods, and that it would heal remarkably quickly. We saw her that evening and she looked at it for me and assured me there was no need to take him to the doctor. She was right; although he had fat top and bottom lips for a few days, it appears to be healing rapidly. Thank goodness for the anti-bacterial properties of saliva, and that the coffee table has rounded corners!
Although not related to his teeth, I cannot help but add that the next day he wiggled slyly out of his seat belt in the grocery-store shopping cart and, in a mere instant, stood up and threw himself headlong toward the ground. I thank the Lord I was standing right beside him and caught him by a leg (or maybe it was around his waist; I was too stunned to remember) mid-air, a few inches from impact: impact between the floor and the top of his head, that is.
When I got him right-side-up, he was panting in a panicked way I have never heard before, so I hope it scared him enough that he won't try it again, but I'm afraid it was simply because he had the wind knocked out of him by my miraculous catch. Someone involved (Jackson, myself, Lainey, or the cashier who witnessed) must have cried out, because once I began to recover, I noticed the whole grocery store -- or at least everyone within eyesight -- was staring at us. This child is a MONKEY and knows NO FEAR!
* The best (or "worst," depending on how you look at it... perhaps I should say, "most impressive") use of his teeth was today as he woke from his nap. I suppose in hindsight the headless baby doll should have been foreshadowing for this waking destructiveness, but I did not see it coming. He surpassed even my expectations for what kind of impact he could make with his teeth. Up to my elbows in dishwater, I heard him talking in his crib post-nap but let him babble cheerfully for a few minutes. When I went in to retrieve him, Lainey and Helena (our visiting 13-year-old friend) were immediately summoned: "Come quick, you have got to see what he did!"
Somehow -- I am assuming using teeth, but it could have been fingers -- he managed to pull the sheet off his crib mattress and RIP the COVER off the entire top of the mattress, exposing the cottony stuffing inside, which he then began to pull out in clumps. When I walked in, he was sputtering and spitting, trying to rid himself of a mouthful of it; evidently it was a lot dryer and less flavorful than he anticipated! I don't think he actually ingested any of it.
For tonight, Ron duct-taped the mattress top securely back on and turned the mattress over where he has no access to any of the compromised area, and I will be vigilant at any noise I hear from him during the night or in the morning. Tomorrow we'll be going mattress shopping. Hope we can find an affordable but sturdy mattress! (On a side note, the mattress was borrowed from aforementioned nurse friend!! So they'll be getting a new mattress out of the deal.)
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