Infants Forum - Teething and irritable


Teething and irritable

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butterfly007

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Teething and irritable Posted: 02-23-08 10:58am


My 15 month has been very irritable lately. He wants his way or no way!! It is always screaming or moaning and then he feels ill, because of his teething. I was thinking of sending him to playscool, cause I can't handle it anymore. Any advice?

mominashoe

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Posted: 02-27-08 09:54am


This is just a stage that your child will grow out of. However, sending him to playschool isn't the answer: if you can't handle him now and he realizes this, it's going to be very hard to gain his respect later on. He's only a little over a year and he needs you. You will just have to be firm with him and remind him who's the boss when he throws a fit. Be consistent with him and he will get better. There is nothing wrong with taking a break though. If you can drop him off with a friend or family for a day or hire a babysitter so that you can take a breather. As far as the teething goes, you can give him infant tylenol. Have you thought that maybe his only problem isn't teething? Is he getting enough to eat, getting enough sleep? Hunger can make a child just as irritable.

butterfly007

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Irritable baby Posted: 02-28-08 04:10am


It was the beginning of a cold and his molars is also coming out. What do you mean by firm? People have different views. Some believe in talking softly, other louder and then there are people who say you should hit him on the hands softly.

mominashoe

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Posted: 02-28-08 09:50am


No he isn't old enough to understand even a little spank right now. They usually don't get the meaning of that until they are almost 2, even though every child is different. You could hit his hand if he's touching something that he's not supposed to which will make sense to him, but I was thinking of something like temper tantrums with the "firmness". By firm I meant that you get down on his eye level and make him look you in the eye and use the deeper, soft but firm tones that make you sound very serious, because it is a serious thing for him to understand that you're the boss...and it's not a game. It's never good to yell unless he's telling and can't hear you, but then again, you're already blocked out of his hearing at that point....so it's more counter-productive and exhausting for you. That's why getting down and taking him by the arms and making him face you and listen to you when he has an episode is important.

butterfly007

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Posted: 02-29-08 02:56am


Thanks for your advice. It makes a lot of sense. Somebody told me yesterday of the eye level talking. I am not that young,28, but a first time mother and never held a baby before I had my own. I am coping very well, it's just some times people have very different views. His nose is running for nearlly a week now. I am sure it could be the teething. Cold meds won't dry it up and he has nose drops as well. The doc said it is a cold and that they don't get runny noses from teething. I am sure, because every time a tooth came out, he had a runny nose. Shame, it irritates him so much and to put the nose drops in, I nearly have to strangle him!!??

mominashoe

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Posted: 02-29-08 03:40am


If I were you I'd just do the easiest thing for the both of you: don't bother with the nose drops! Apart from the messy mucus-faced look that he's sure to have if you don't wipe his nose all the time (which causes more chapping), having a runny nose isn't going to hurt him at all. I have never used nose drops for any of my children and they are completely unnecessary! Cold meds aren't going to help him, you are right. I have been using different medications over the years and I've found most of them to give hardly any relief to my children. I did read about a study lately that said that children who took honey as opposed to children who took cough syrup did just as well and better in some cases with getting over their colds. I think this is mainly for "buckwheat" honey, which is very dark colored. I picked some up at Dillons just for this. They say that it is not known how well regular light honey that most people use would work in this situation. So try a drink of warm water mixed with honey...he's over a year now, so it's safe for him to take I have heard that teething was blamed for runny noses when it's actually something else that causes the running, but who knows really? They say that it's just a coincidence. Science has come a long way but really it has so much farther to go, and no matter how good it gets, you and your child are going to be the only ones who will know what makes you both comfortable. When my children have colds, I run a cool mist humidifier in their rooms, I use the pediatric vapor plug ins.....usually it has to be pretty bad if I do that though. The only time I actually mess with their noses is if they are too stuffy to breathe. The running is good because, better out than in, but if it's not coming out and they are too stuffy to breathe, "the solution to pollution is dilution". You take a nasal spray bottle (like the ones you have for allergy medication) and fill it with water. Give him a squirt up one nostril, let it sit a minute and then use a nasal suction thing suck out the congestion. Then do the same thing with the other nostril. You can do it without the added water for a really stuffy but very runny nose. I hope this helps