'The Tumor' Revisited

I heard his cry.  I walked into his room to get up from his nap.  I found him on his back kicking his legs and crying.  Wonderful.  "What's wrong Beast?"  He response was more kicking and crying.  I checked his gums to see if vampire tooth had come through yet.  No such luck.  Then I felt around his gums to see if I could feel any other lumps of calcified structures ready to ascend.  I felt around his top gums...Nothing, well except for the teeth he already has which chomped down on my finger once.  Being a Momma sometimes requires putting yourself or your finger in dangerous situations.  Noah is actually pretty good about letting me check his mouth, but accidents do happen.  Anyway, on to the bottom gums.  I felt around one side, seems good.  I felt around the other side...What's this?  I feel a shard.  I moved my finger just a smidge over...Dang it.  I feel another shard.  I gently rubbed his gum and moved my finger around a bit more and felt a lump.  Wonderful.  What I was feeling was his first two year molar in the process of breaking through his gums.  Molars tend to be be more painful because they're bigger and more blunt.  Izzie and Noah have always had the worst time.  I've never seen a molar ascend as one whole tooth.  Right now Noah has one side of the molar in, with two tips that have broken the surface.  The rest of the molar feels like a giant lump.  Ugg, he has a ways to go.  No wonder Noah was being all dramatic when he woke up from his nap.  I can imagine him thinking, "Is this for real, another one?  Can't a beast catch a break?"  His vampire tooth is still giving him grief, although it's close.  I know I keep saying that.  

This might make some squeamish but that's never stopped me from writing before and I doubt it has stopped people from reading.  Izzie had her first teeth early and then all of her teeth came in the usual order.  Beast started teething early but it took forever for that first tooth to come and then he started going all out of order.  He had one cute, 'lil bottom tooth for the longest time then the other cute, 'lil bottom arrived.  Instead of getting his two top teeth then the smaller ones along side the top and bottom he started getting his freaking pre-molars, the two on the top.  I don't think he was emotional ready for them.  He was crabby and in pain, and so was I.  Then one day I felt two big lumps.  Actually, they felt more like giant bubbles.  What?!  During one visit to my parents, I had my dad feel his gums.  He said he had never felt anything like that before.  Great, my parents had seen nine children through teething.  Since we like to name everything, we called it 'The Tumor'.  Okay, so there was more than one but 'The Tumor' sounds so much more dramatic.  Since Noah's checkup was coming up soon I decided to wait and ask his pediatrician about it then.  Of course, he had a perfectly, logical explanation.  Noah had an eruption hematoma.  Oh, that's all?  How reassuring...In case you're dying to know the exact definition.

Eruption Hematoma:  An eruption cyst that is blood-filled, visualized as a bluish purple area of elevated tissue of the overlying alveolar ridge.

Basically, as the tooth pushes toward the surface it causes blood vessels to break and form a bubble, or cyst.  Okay, so not a tumor.  The pediatrician had me look in Noah's mouth and pointed out that the color of the bubbles were purple.  What the heck!?  That's not normal.  My initial reaction would have been to call the pediatrics if I had noticed the color on my own.  In case you're wondering, No, I don't freak out when I take the babies to the pediatrics or any other appointments.  Shocking, I know.  I am a calm, cool and collective parent when it comes to my children's health.  If I need to freak out I do it here or I call one of my sisters.  I just don't think it would serve in the best interest of my children if I lost it in front of them and/or they're doctors, going high-pitched about volcanic activity in my son's mouth and if should we cut it out.  Noah's pediatrician assured me there was nothing to worry about.  They generally leave the cyst alone and the tooth will still push through on it's own.  He said don't be surprised if there was blood when the molars did come in as the cyst would obviously pop.  I left the office with Beast and 'The Tumor' and continued to sooth his crankiness until the molars came in, which they did.  One came in during the night and there was some blood on his face and sleeper but it wasn't enough to make me wonder if Noah had massacred one of his stuffed animals.  Over the coming days all four molars came through along with some teeth and Noah very much enjoyed his new teeth as he was able to shove food down his throat faster.     

Back to the vampire tooth.  Typically, a cyst only forms over pre-molars or molars because they're bigger I guess.  Noah has never had one over any of his other teeth, but of course vampire tooth has to be a show-off.  There is a tiny bubble right over the gum where vampire tooth is about to push through.  My poor baby Noah.  He has been all out of sorts and while a lot of his behavior is just part of his nature, I know cutting teeth and molars and having eruptions in his mouth does not help his mood one little bit.

We'll see what the morning brings...

 a little under a year-and-a-half...I think

I love this picture.  I'm terrible.  He just looks so cute when he's upset and mad.  Notice the two bottom teeth and one of his pre-molars to the left.  He had the funniest smile for awhile with his teeth all out of order.