By the skin of her teeth

Last week, Ella got her first tooth! Two days later, it had a twin. Within two days, Ella’s two bottom front teeth had poked their way through her gums, explaining what had been quite an irritable and grumpy couple of days! For the previous few weeks, I had suspected that Ella’s constant gnawing on my fingers, her clothes, toys and well, anything she could shove in her mouth, was indicative of the so called ‘teething’ phase. It’s funny, around 5-6 months, any sign of a grumble or sad face is coupled with the question / statement – ‘oh she must be teething??!!’. People had warned me that this period could turn any ‘good’ baby into a crying nightmare with the pain of little teeth peep through their precious little gums. I didn’t like the sound of the idea – both for Ella and for her Mummy and Daddy – but we are pleased to report that she has come through relatively unscathed. Whilst she certainly showed us her greatest impression of a sad little baby for a few days, we think we got off pretty lucky.

That said, people have also said that it’s not the front teeth that cause the problems, its the molars at the back of the mouth. During those few days, I cracked open the famous ‘Bonjella’ to see if it would help sooth any aches and pains. I have to say that the taste was pretty strong, even for her Mum, and you would have to like liquorice to be a fan! Ella’s face was priceless as she instinctively spat it out. Hmm…I guess it will be a work in progress for the next teeth to come.

Teething has also brought about a whole new obstacle to Breast Feeding. Yep. The girl has a good bite, and it hurts. Before Ella had teeth, she had a liking towards biting down on her Mummy’s nipples using her tiny little gums. Her Daddy would always respond to her Mummy’s cries with ‘oh…she’s just a little baby’. Daddy doesn’t say this anymore.   Man, it really hurts. It’s funny how many breast feeding mums have told me that they have started to think about weaning after their little ones decided to chomp down a few times. I’m going to try to keep going and just keep my eye out for those little choppers…..

Getting teeth has also made me think about that famous Tooth Fairy. Being a Primary School teacher for over ten years, I like to think that I am up to date with the latest fads and trends, but one thing is for sure…I have no idea what the going rate is for a baby tooth. I remember waking up to a glass of water with a shiny gold dollar coin at the bottom and thinking that the Tooth Fairy was the best thing ever! I wonder if the going rate has suffered from inflation in the last twenty five years or so. Here’s hoping some things have stayed the same!

For the mean time, I think we will work on getting through the rest of the teething process! Wish us all luck!