Bad Mother Alert

I have no idea how many teeth my child is "supposed" to have by any given age.

What's more, I haven't even looked it up now that I am aware I don't know. Haven't asked anyone. Don't know if the LGBB is currently cutting her 2 year-old molars, or.... do they get molars at some other stage? Is it 6 year-old molars? I seem to remember this phrase.

Oh, I don't know. All I know is, I am right proud of myself for working out (no thanks at ALL to the GP we saw on Tuesday) just what has made my little Blissbomb turn positively atomic since last week. I had the presence of mind to check her teeth. She's done that telltale give-away: sticking not just a finger or two, sometimes her whole fist, into her mouth and gnawing it like she used to when she was a baby. Dribble and all. After the umpteenth, "Get your hand out of your MOUTH, please" the penny suddenly dropped. Oh, cack. It wasn't an ear infection she had on the weekend that was raising her temperature and making her drop, perpendicular to the floor, and whimpering, "My eeeear!" Teeth coming through are pretty darn close to ears. It was probably something to do with her teeth. I wondered if she had some sort of infection in her jaw from an uncleaned tooth or something then. I never expected it'd be teething/more teeth coming, I thought that was all past.

When I took her to the doctor, he was as useless as they always seem to be whenever I tell myself I'll feel better and less guilty if I take her... to a doctor who always, always ends up doing jack *sorry, off my high and mighty soapbox now* And he said, "Well, if she had an ear infection, it's all clear now, I don't see anything wrong with her."

Yeah? YEAH, buddy? Well, we'll invite you to come to our place when we have a listless daughter flaked out on the couch, holding her neck behind her ear, TELLING us for crap's sake that her ear is hurting and generally being unwell in herself and an absolute terror to approach and do anything with - oh boy, didn't we have a lovely family weekend cooped up inside because of the rain, the sleet, the snow (ok, that was a bit far), getting all tetchy at each other with Mummy and Daddy taking it in turns being the soothing/good cop (but most of the time both of us considered the bad cops). Never before have we cowered, half-giggling, half-shocked, in another room while our little girl flailed about during yet another tantrum, where we'd look at each other wide-eyed and mouth, "Oh my GOD, I think she's broken, she gets this from you" like we did this past week.

So then, later that day after visiting Dr Useless, I decided to make a game of looking in her mouth to count her teeth. Lolly thought it was great. Thank God! I counted ten on the bottom, ten on the top. And then, saw two more bottom molars and one top molar just breaking through.

YEEEEOUCH!! I don't care what anyone says, babies feel their teeth coming through, how could they not!? Perhaps some don't register the pain or the sensation/s. But I cannot accept they feel "nothing".

So. How many teeth and by when? (approximately of course) That is the question.