My normally pretty cheerful 5 month old is super cranky the past several days. He has been drooling and chewing on stuff for well over a month, so not much new there. He has a stuffy nose and is very irritable, and constantly has something in his mouth. His gums aren't swollen or red, though, and no obvious fever (the poor child got his mother's lower-than-normal body temp, so unless it's an obviously high fever it's hard for me to tell). Also has had horrid gas and light constipation despite eating peaches, plums, prunes and pears and switching to oat cereal from rice.

Is he starting the teething process? Is there anything I can do to ease his discomfort and crankiness?

It does indeed sound like Boo is teething. This process can take several weeks to even a month or more before the tooth actually breaks the surface. Rest assured though, that these symptoms do not last that long, only a few days to a week or so.

What can you do? Baby Orajel, or better yet, frozen teething rings. Or tie a washcloth in a knot, wet it and freeze it.

I hope you are feeding him veggies as well as fruits. There is a study that says that children who are given fruits as first foods rather than veggies tend to have a "sweet tooth" and become picky eaters as they get older.

Bah, got to spread the rep.

Yup, we alternate fruits and veggies, So far the hands down favorite is prunes (yuck!) followed closely by green beans. He actually doesn't like the peaches :) I actually started him on avocados and bananas at the suggestion of the doctor, and mush them down and mix with breast milk. Until constipation hit I was trying not to use commercial baby foods, just what I could make easily at home. But I wasn't boiling prunes and pears to soften them!

I have some of the teethers you put in the fridge and have been using them. Time to see if I have Orajel in the baby medicine cabinet! I'll also try the wash cloth trick, since he likes playing with and chewing on them anyway.

Thanks, J. The crankiness was getting to me and it's good o know he probably won't stay this crabby.

I know you want to go natural, remember bananas actually cause constipation ;)

If the symptoms are too much for him to handle, you might want to look toward some pediatric Tylenol or Motrin so that he gets a break from the discomfort. They do make it for his age.

Yeah... we've cut the nanas. He's chewing on a teether now, and I'm hoping it helps him feel enough better so he sleeps. I'll run tomorrow for some baby Tylenol. I've also got a wet washrag in he freezer for him now too.

Thanks so much. I hate seeing him crying, especially since he doesn't actually cry much. He whines sometimes, but not this heartbreaking crying.

Poor baby. I just hate it when they are sick like that and there is little we can do to help. A warm bath with Lavender lotion may help at bedtime along with the Tylenol.

All you can do right now is just hug him and love him. Give Boo a hug and kiss from Auntie J.

Hugs and kisses given, along with some Orajel. He seems a little calmer, but that might be partly from a full belly.

Now if we could just get some sleep...