ARHHHH........

Since my last entry about little girl's teeth in June, it's time for an update!

Little girl now has six teeth! Two at the bottom and four at the top. Other than the bottom central incisor, the top central incisor and lateral incisor is on-the-way. When she smiles, you can see the top and bottom central incisor most clearly! :) 

So here's a snapshot of when I could feel the little bits of teeth poking out from her gums! The dates are approximate because I dare not stick a finger into her mouth everyday to check! She bites really HARD!

Ref: http://www.diyfather.com/files/baby_teeth.jpg

When two of her teeth cut at the same time, she would get really cranky. Other than placing everything she can get her hands on into her mouth (including her fingers), she will have a hard time drinking her milk and of course a hard time trying to fall asleep.

Being a curious mum, I read up and found the reasons for those difficulties. Apparently, sucking milk from a bottle would cause blood to rush into the gums, thus causing extra discomfort! The solution is to increase the teat size or flow to allow the baby to drink comfortably without sucking too hard for the milk. The baby might have a hard time falling asleep because of the discomfort from the gums. As they are trying to get to sleep, there are lesser distractions hence the gum discomfort would get more apparent! 

After doing some reasearch, I found that the following can be useful:
1. Cooling the pacifier in the fridge (to act as a cooled teether)
2. Give the baby a cool teether or a piece of chilled fruit (such as apple)
3. Wetting some small towels and placing them in fridge (to act as cooled teether)
4. The medical option: Dentinox (this is widely debated since it works on some babies and not others). I usually use this together with cooled teethers for better effect
5. The soothing touches of the mother/soft soothing songs which reassures the baby can help placate them too! :)