Friday, September 14, 2007

Small Blessings

Tonight I went to dinner with some friends and brought Baby J. He has recently begun teething. Usually, chewing on a toy will help when we're out for short trips. The doc told me this week to get some baby Orajel, but I thought he was OK without it for a few days until I made my next grocery run. He's such a happy boy, always smiles and loves being with people and that's always been enough to distract him. This time, however, he was inconsolable. I think he may have his first actual teeth coming in -- he's never been this traumatized before. Nursing eased his pain for a short while (long enough for me to gobble half my dinner) but was only a temporary fix. He didn't just cry in the restaurant, he screamed bloody murder. You could hear him OVER the two dozen-odd other children AND the mariachi band. None of my usual soothing tricks appeased him, including old faithful -- the mirror gag. I left early.

On the way home, he was screaming in the carseat and no toy would console him. I sang to distract him (curse my broken CD player), but during pauses he whimpered loudly. I didn't think I could make a trip into a store with him like that -- the horrible howling cry of a baby in pain. I knew I needed something to help ease his discomfort quickly, but I'd already given him baby Tylenol once today and didn't want to give it to him again. Thankfully, our local pharmacy has a drive through, and I persuaded the nice night-shift pharmacist girl to get me some baby Orajel. She was so gracious and efficient, and as a bonus J was mesmerized by the lights so he calmed down long enough for me to pay her. I belted out snatches of random camp songs and lullabies all the way home and administered the stuff as soon as we got in the door. Currently, he's nursing again, but this time he's actually smiling at me. Maybe he'll even go to sleep.... Thank you, Lord, for 24-hour drive-thru pharmacies!

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