Of Teething and Tummyaches

So last night, the inevitable finally happened.

J bit his baby brother's toe.

Oh, my poor Little C. He wailed so loudly and wouldn't be soothed even after big brother J apologized. Good thing his foot was in his frogsuit and J's sharp little teeth didn't do much damage.

It started out innocently, with J being affectionate with his little brother and kissing Little C's tiny foot, as he's allowed to do. And then.. CHOMP!

Ouch.

To be fair, J did seem to feel really bad about it. I'm sure he knew he did something bad, because when I walked through the door to see what all the commotion was about, he ran to me and said, "Mama, popo!" When he saw how distressed I was upon finding out he bit Little C, his face got this really worried expression and when I asked him if he would do it again, he immediately shook his head to say no.

On that note, J also hasn't been feeling well lately. His back teeth are coming in, and he's been cranky, and his appetite very erratic. I swear, some days it feels like this teething thing will never end. I found this diagram that tells me teething can last up until 26 months! Oh, lord.

With J, a new tooth is usually accompanied by LBM. The "What to Expect" book explains this by saying that when kids are teething, they produce a lot more saliva (and believe me, they do!) so their stools naturally become more runny. I asked my doctor about it though, and she said there's no proven link that teething causes LBM. Most likely, because the kid's teething, he chews on his fingers to soothe his aching and itchy gums and despite Mama and Yaya's best efforts, sometimes those little fingers carry dirt and germs. The doctor assured me it's most likely a viral infection and will pass in a few days.

This has happened to us before, last Christmas when Yaya was on vacation. J was also cutting a tooth and pooping non-stop, so I had a pretty good idea of what to do this time. Upon the advise of my MIL, I diluted his milk at first, then bought lactose-free formula. According to the doctor, his stomach lining is most likely inflamed already, and the lactose in the milk is making a bad situation worse. The lactose-free formula will give his tummy time to recover. We usually finish a 900-gram can, mixing his regular formula in when the can only has about 1/4 left. His appetite's also a little wonky, on account of his tummy, so we've been trying to keep him fed with Yakult, plain congee (lugaw), bread and bananas, pretty much anything that he's willing to eat and won't make him poop even more.

Thankfully, the worst seems to have passed but for the next few days, J will stay under observation by Dr. Mama.

Enjoy the rainy weekend!