First Teeth

The toothless smile that once adorned the adorable face of our wee little Evelina is no more. As of December 23rd, 2010, not one, but two teeth have emerged through her tender little gums.  

For the past month or so, each time Lina would have an abnormally fussy day I would swipe my fingers over her gums in an effort to feel anything sharp, if I didn't, I would blame her crankiness on her short naps.  I "thought" I felt something out of the ordinary a few days before her first tooth was cut but I wasn't completely sure. Being a first time mom, I had no clue what a tooth would feel like!! Then, on December 9th, I fetched her at school and one of her teachers was so excited that Lina cut her first tooth.  What an exciting day...and we were all a little shocked since she didn't have many teething signs, such as excess drooling (she isn't much of a drooler still, just more of a spitter), refusal to eat, lots of biting/chewing, excess fussiness, etc..  Her night-time sleep wasn't even impacted.  In hindsight, the only symptoms we noticed were her rosy cheeks and sucking on her lower lip.  At her 6-month well-baby visit, her pediatrician told us not to get too excited since every tooth is different.  Then came tooth #2 and night-waking commenced!!  Although, we didn't initially attribute her waking to a second tooth, I was still surprised when it made it's entrance. If her teeth are cut in the usual sequence, she will be getting four top teeth next, including her two front teeth. Selfishly, I wouldn't mind if they didn't appear for another couple of months or so.  

I'm teething therefore I chomp on my bib

In an effort to nip her night-waking in the bud and get some tips on improving her naps, I've resurrected a few of my sleep books over the past week and have been amazed that many of them write that teething is not a cause of night-time wake-ups. Personally, I find this hard to beleive.  If my gums and jaw were sore, I think it would certainly cause me to wake-up for some drugs soothing.