Five, Six and Seven

About two months ago, Oliver got a new set of top teeth to match his bottom two teeth. His smile has subsequently looked a little less like a wookie's underbite. He explored his new teeth by clicking them together from time to time. Click, click. Click click. As it turns out, he was just sharpening them.

Two weeks ago, my sister, Oliver and I drove home from a BBQ in Excelsior back to Lakeville. It was past Ollie's bedtime, which meant that he would be asleep in t-minus one minute from pulling out of the driveway. Instead, he cried and cried, a most pathetic little sobby cry. It was a pain cry. Karen held her hand over the back of her seat, and Ollie held her finger. As long as he had her, he was okay.

At home, Karen nursed a sore arm from dangling it backwards for an hour, and I got Ollie ready for bed. I ran a finger along his gums. Aha! Teeth five, six, and seven were poking through. Poor kid. I'd scream, too.

Michael was assessing the status of said teeth a day later, when Ollie bit him.

"OLIVER! NO BITING!" he bellowed.

"!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" (screaming 1-year-old).

Rewind to one week prior....

"Oliver bit Pam today," Michael announced.

"Why?" I said, with an air of, my kid wouldn't bite...

Michael shrugged. "Dunno."

My heart sank a little. Are we there already? Is Oliver at an age where the discipline starts? Sure, we say "No!" when he crawls towards the fireplace or barrels towards the stairs and looks down. But biting? I thought biting was only done by kids who have hours of TV on in place of babysitters, kids who have hot dogs, chips and Kool-Aid for three meals a day, kids who stay up until midnight. Hey, that sounds a little like me...

It hasn't been a big problem, only happening two or three times, not six or seven. He's like a little puppy. He'll "mouth" you from time to time- the kid puts everything in his mouth, why should that exclude arms and legs of other people? But on rare occasions there's the big, sharp bite. Someone pointed out that kids bite when they're teething, to tell you that their teeth hurt so, so much. Which makes sense. If people constantly had their fingers in my mouth pressing on my already-throbbing, swollen gums, I'd bite, too. It reminds me of when I get a bad sunburn. You'd be surprised how many people walk up and touch it, poking at my hot, red skin, and say, "Woooooooow, you're really burnt. That must hurt. Does it hurt?"

If you're one of the 75% of people that do this, watch out. I'm taking notes from my kid.