A Baby's First Tooth

Being a mom, I know that thrill of discovering that your baby has its first tooth breaking through the surface of those little gums. Of course, being a mom, I also know the crying and fretting and very little sleep that goes along with teething.

Then, of course, there's the drooling, the chewing on everything your precious little one can get in its mouth. And, something no one tends to think about, the heat rash that can occur under your babies chin and on its neck from all that drool and the wet clothing and bibs that sometimes hang out right there until you have 2 seconds to put them in dry clothing. (Probably because they have drooled on EVERY piece of clothing that they own and they are in their last sleeper with their last bib on and everything else is in the dryer.) Yes, I've been there.

But it's a momentous occasion for both baby and parents and marked in baby books and calendars everywhere.

My kids always got them in at least 2's. Sometimes 4's. One of my boys had all 4 of his front teeth break through at once. That was an interesting time. I had 2 toddlers and a teething infant. FYI, if baby wants to chew on your finger, (after washing your hands and removing any rings, of course) don't offer the tip of your finger. Bend your knuckle and insert it sideways for baby to chew on. Believe me, it hurts less that way. That has been my little one's favorite teethers for all six kids.

This one is demonstrating what I was talking about but you can't really see how they are doing it.

This also works too, and is definitely less painful than letting them bite down on the tip of your finger. Believe me, if they get the cuticle one time, you'll understand.