Rough day

I think I mentioned in an earlier post that Alessia is apparently teething. It's been rough. I don't know if the teeth are actually coming soon, or what's going on, but this sucks...for both of us. Poor baby is so uncomfortable and just chomping away at her fingers and anything else she can get in her mouth. She's drooling like a fiend - I have nicknamed her "droolymonster". I don't think she has a fever...she fusses like crazy and whenever I think she feels warm, it's not a great time to take her temp - she either just finished eating, crying or sleeping. Plus I'm totally freaked out about having to take her temp the correct way and refuse to do so while I'm home alone with her. My aunt asked if she had diarrhea, because both her girls had that when they were teething, along with a runny nose, but honestly how do you tell if a breastfed baby has diarrhea? What's the difference? I just feel so bad. And then on top of it, I'm freaking out about the toys she puts in her mouth. Mark keeps letting her chomp away at one in particular, and I'm like "Is that plastic BPA free?? Is it safe??"

Today she is being such a fussybutt. She won't sleep if I put her down...she starts wiggling her tush like someone shoved a pepper in her butt. Then the only thing that soothes her is nursing, but she keeps spitting up. Is that part of teething? I can't figure out if it's something I've eaten in the past few days or if it's a side effect. I had to hold her earlier while she napped, so I sat in the glider and finally finished reading Belly Laughs - which I started reading when she was first born and totally forgot about. Then I thought she was in a deep enough sleep that I could put her down, but nope! Cried and cried and cried, then nursed, fell asleep again, then woke up and spit on me. Fun!! So right now she's in her Mobywrap, passed out and I'm finally getting to type.

We had a pretty good weekend with the family. On Saturday, Mark and I took her to the park for a bit and took some cute pics.

Yesterday we went to my parents' to say goodbye to my brother who's heading off to Italy for the fall semester to study architecture in Firenze. Since it was another beautiful day, we spent as much time outside as possible to get some fresh air. We sat on the swing with Nonno, then after dinner went to a local park with my brother for a stroll. And as usual, Alessia didn't last in the stroller very long. Luckily I never go anywhere without my Batik ringsling. We walked back, with Uncle Larry pushing an empty stroller. It was a funny site.

When we came home, Alessia was a wreck again. Screaming and fussing and not wanting to go down. She nursed forever, making the weirdest noises...kind of like "Mmm hmmm" and a grunt combined. But I managed to finally get her down and she only woke up once during the night. This morning she woke up in the best mood and was a pleasure on our daily walk with Danielle and Eliza. I was like "Who are you and what did you do with my baby??" And now I'm like "where did that baby go??" Oh well. I'm praying Mark will play with her a bit when he gets home so I can have a few moments to myself to shower and maybe a little yoga or meditation. When do mommies get a break??

Any advice or wisdom regarding the teething?