June's second tooth did not come as gracefully as her first. After nearly two weeks of misery for all those involved, her second tooth, right next to her first, made its grand appearance. I have read that once the teeth break through, the pain lessens considerably, but June Apple is still pretty miserable and chews on everything (including me-more on that later), so I am guessing more teeth may be on their way.
Did I mention that these teeth are SHARP? We've had to learn together how to deal with biting. And here comes the mega- shameful parenting confession. I hit June Apple. Okay, hit might be a strong word. This was before her first tooth came in, but she was definitely teething, and she bit down especially hard while she was nursing. Without thinking about it, I screamed OUCH and bopped her on the head with my hand. Her response was to look at me a smile. My response was to consider turning myself in to Child Protective Services. I felt completely awful and horrified. Now, I did not bop her hard at all (clearly, because she smiled). But what disturbs me most, is that I did it without thinking. As if it was instinctual. Oh my God, I am a terrible, unfit mother, if my instincts are to harm my child. I never thought I would do something so awful. So, I think I need to do some soul searching about what that means, and check myself before I wreck myself (and, more importantly, June Apple).
Needless to say, she has gotten better about the biting, but I don't attribute it to my head bopping episode. I think that the fact that I stop feeding her momentarily whenever she bites me, hopefully, sends her the message that Biting=The Kitchen is Closed. We'll see what happens when she gets more teeth. In the meantime, I am hoping that my bopping instincts lie dormant.
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