Is it the murthur-furkin crib or the murthur-furkin teeth?

Well Kennedy is having a peach of a day today. Good times. Right now she's nodded off (for who knows how long) while listening to some lovely Baroque music (have I mentioned that I hate Baroque music -- it is definitely the least awesome of the classical sub-genres...but apparently Baroque is good for brain development, so here we are).

I've been blaming the last few nights of erratic sleep patterns on moving her to her crib, but this morning, something occurred to me: "Oh for the love of all things holy...could she actually be teething already?" It's possible...teething can start anytime between 3 months and a year...ugh.

Someone (unfortunately I completely cannot remember who) asked me the other day (after seeing something in her gums that I am incapable of seeing) if she was teething...I said, "umm, I don't think so...(insert picture of me looking sheepish for not knowing enough!)" but of course I had no idea (was hoping that maybe she was miraculously going to get through that phase without any fussiness or pain!).

I should preface this whole discussion with the point that it is completely possible that whoever asked if she was teething has just put the idea in my head, and now I'm seeing things that aren't there...but I don't think I am...the symptoms are there...the question is whether they are symptoms of teething or just being over-tired and not feeling 100%.

Here are the symptoms:
-excessive drooling (it's ridiculous...she's constantly soaking...through her bib even);
-not sleeping like she used to (for the last month, she's been sleeping between 7 and 10 hours per night without waking...well now, I'm lucky if I can get 4 hours out of her...last night, she was up every 1.5-2 hours...)
-pushing away from the boob (she's normally a big eater, but this morning, she pushed away crying...I thought that maybe she had an upset stomach or was over-tired...but apparently this can be a symptom of teething because the sucking actually aggrevates their sore little gums);
-general irritability (yup...'nuf said!); and
-chewing on anything in sight (i.e. her fist, fingers, bib, etc...unfortunately she hasn't mastered the art of grasping toys yet, so she can't chew them...but I'm sure she would if she could).

Now call me a bad mommy, but I can't tell if she has swollen or red gums, because I don't inspect her gums on a daily basis...I can't remember what they looked like before and if they look any different...so I can't tell if she has the most obvious symptom. Whoops. I can't tell if she has little white dots or whatever teeth are supposed to look like before they cut through...because I thought her gums looked weird before (i.e. it's looked like teeth were on their way for a long time...but that's probably just what baby gums look like!).

So she's either teething or she's just a major grump (or she has an upset stomach or something). Either way, it makes for sleepless nights and long days.

I'm supposed to be going to my fitness class soon, but I'm both selfish and not..."not selfish" because I want to give the poor babe a chance to sleep if she's not feeling well (though as I type this, she just woke up to chew her fist and grunt again)...and "selfish" because she's such a bear this morning that I don't see the point in taking her (she's just going to fuss and cry and I won't get a workout...so why bother with the frustration). Okay, she just fell back asleep...(after only about 15 seconds of fist-chewing)...so I'm going to skip fitness today (we'll just go for a long walk later and/or I'll get my lazy arse onto the Wii-fit thingy).

Here's the issue I have with the teething possibility. The mommies on the "interwebs" say that the duration of teething pre-cut can range from a few days to a few months!? A few monhs? Are you freakin' kidding me? This cannot last a few months...I don't have the patience!?

I guess we'll just have to wait and see...