The Long Dark Night
September 23, 2006 by kate baggott
Filed under Baby Care
In Emily of New Moon by L.M. Montgomery, one of the books I read in childhood, the main character calls three in the morning “the white hour” when insomnia strikes with creative impulses that must be expressed. Emily’s white hours were not unique. Throughout literature and philosophy, the small hours of the morning are rife with sleeplessness and internal dialogue over questions about the nature of human experience.
These days I, too, find myself making a deep query of my soul and the universe when I should be resting in preparation for the next day’s work. 
Will I survive teething? How long can a woman go with so little sleep for so long? Why do babies cry so much louder, so much more inconsolably, at 3 a.m.? Why do teething gels and soothing homeopathic remedies from Europe work for about 15 minutes?
I’ve found that holding an ice cube and letting my baby suck on the edge, seems to help most with my baby’s pain in the gums and teething fever. The trouble is, few things wake me up more than a walk to the kitchen and freezing fingertips. The only remedies helping me get through the day are cups of coffee and glasses of ice water, quick fixes that help for fifteen minutes and then contribute to making overall anxiety, exhaustion and sleepless nights even worse.
What I have realised is that sometimes, we just can’t win. We have to throw all ideas about striking an ideal balance and healthy living out the window and just accept that there will be times that are difficult. Teething, is just like having a brand new baby all over again. Every day feels like it is about a million years long, but just like a growth spurt, colic or any other period of physical adjustment, there will be an opportunity to rest in a few days.
It really only feels like I haven’t slept in years.
Oh, I definitely feel your pain lol… both of mine had major teething pain. I can remember keeping a supply of dampened face cloths in the freezer (much like your ice cube trick) and they would chew on the face cloth to sooth their gums. It worked, but there were times when I thought that I would never sleep through the night ever again. But those days do pass!
Yes, they pass, but take away a mother’s sleep for a night and it feels like month!
Something not quite so icy is cloves, the dried up little spice – oil of clove is a natural topical anesthetic and numbs the pain. The pediatrician thought it would be okay – but we are not there …yet!
Here is a like on how to use it from wikipedia, FYI:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oil_of_cloves