Five, six, gnaw through sticks.

Jonathan goes through periods we call "chewing frenzies." They last about twenty minutes and they're quite scary at times! During a frenzy he becomes desperate to chew on things. If I am lying down on the floor playing with him, and a frenzy hits, he will come crawling over and launch himself onto my arm or face. I will start pushing away his head so I don't get a painful little nip, and he will grunt with frustration and push right back. I usually hand him a chew toy or pacifier. He sits upright and starts gnawing on the toy as though determined to reduce it to a pile of plastic shreds. He'll use both hands to cram it into his mouth. And he bites so hard that the toy usually pops right out of his mouth and goes flying! He really needs to settle in with a firm object for about fifteen minutes before he's calm.

We've had a fair number of chewing frenzies these days, and I finally figured out what's been going on. Jonathan was leaning back to smile at me, so I got a good view of his upper gum. Another tooth has poked through and the tooth on the opposite side is very close. More teething! I wasn't expecting teeth numbers five and six for some time. They got a good workout yesterday evening. Jonathan and I went to Wild Wings with some other nephrology fellows. Jonathan really enjoyed the little shreds of chicken I kept giving him. I managed to take most of the shreds from the inside of the wings, where the hot sauce doesn't reach, but he did get a little taste of barbecue. He made a funny face and then - of course - kept on chewing.