Teen Dad Series

Teething (Ashton & Kadia)

ahh at last an Ashton story!

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Someone (probably his mom) had told him multiple times how hard it would be to raise a kid on his own. But after a bad breakup, he felt like he had no other option. Not that it was a bad option. He loved Kadia with all his heart. It was true that he thought the first month was hard, but Ashton felt like it couldn't get any more challenging after that. 

He was wrong.

At six months, Kadia started teething. It was literally a nightmare. She was up late into the night, screaming her head off for hours. The pain was unbearable for both of them. She was so fussy during the day and by the time her third tooth began to grow, Ashton was too sleep deprived and running on autopilot. Lots of nights were spent pacing around the apartment, cradling her close and holding a toy for her to chew on. He felt like a zombie. 

He'd been lying on the couch for about half an hour, watching her watch TV, when he heard the first signs of her about to have another tantrum. Kadia was eight months now with three teeth fully grown in and one poking out just slightly. It had been a whole five days since the last tooth had broken throught the gums, but the next one was already on it's way. Ashton sighed and rolled off the couch, going to the freezer. There were more teething toys than frozen foods at this point, and Ashton lived off of frozen foods. 

He gently pressed it against her mouth, holding her tightly in his arms. He was lucky enough to distract her quick enough before she started crying. She chewed on the toy and made little whimpering noises that sounded much more like a hurt puppy than a baby. That didn't make it any better.

"One day, this will all be over and we won't have to worry about teeth for a while." Ashton grumbled, gazing down at her. "I mean, we'll probably have to deal with cavities and wisdom teeth and all of that, but the teething stage will be over." He started bouncing her lightly, walking in circles. "You'll be all grown up." He looked forward to what the future held for Kadia, but he had to admit he liked her at this age too. All she did was eat, sleep, cry, and poop. She was so low maitanence. "Hopefully I don't screw you over too bad, right?" It was actually a big fear of his, messing up this kid's life. Considering hif life wasn't exactly on track, he didn't want her future to be the same way. 

If teething was the worst thing that happened to them, they'd be lucky.