Brushing Baby's Teeth

Seraph's trip to the dentist today went well.  She has NO cavities!  Her mouth is very dry (partly from her meds and partly because she doesn't eat much orally). The dark spot was just a spot!...and it's gone now. The yellow stains are gone, too. Her smile is back to normal :)

Seraph has a HUGE oral aversion.  Yet, the dentist did quite well with her.  He also taught me how to brush her teeth. I'd been doing it the hard way--lots of tears and wrestling.

This is how it should be done:

1. Sit on the (comfortable) floor with baby between your legs.  (Her head is closest to my tummy and her feet are stretched out towards my feet.)
2. Baby's arms are under my legs (her arms are out like a T.  her hands played with the outside seam on my jeans while I brushed her teeth.)
3. Use a dab of floride toothpaste that's no bigger than a grain of rice. (Super important because teeth need the floride but if the baby swallows more than that much, baby can get a hurt tummy.)
4. Brush front side of teeth.
5. If baby won't open mouth, put your finger back BEHIND her molars. (Baby opens her mouth and you won't get bit!)
6. Brush everywhere else
7. Floss (you only need to floss between the teeth that are touching)
8. Done  -  let baby play with toothbrush (I have a small cup of water that I dip the tooth brush in repeatedly and then baby sucks the water out of the toothbrush)

Seraph has crazy oral aversions, but she let me brush her teeth like this.  She let me sit on her arms.  She did NOT even try to turn her head away.  She only cried when I was brushing the backside of her teeth and that part was over quickly.  There was no fighting.

I cheated a bit - I turned on the overhead fan so she'd have something cool to look at besides her mama!

I brushed and flossed Angel's teeth using this same method.  It worked like a charm.  Fast and painless.

You should start brushing as soon as that first tooth pops through.  (Some moms even wipe baby's gums with a damp washcloth).  You should visit the dentist around 15 months (or when the first teeth have popped through).  Remember, cavities are more expensive AND more painful than wellness visits.  Root canals are expensive and painful!!  Fillings have to be refilled.  So, it's actually cheaper and easier to take care of your teeth and your kids' teeth before problems happen.

Visit the dentist every 6 months.

Silly Mommy

Angel discovered how to climb up and over the couch to go visit Seraph. Seraph is more awake/alert than ever. She isn't sleeping all day like she used to and gets bored when no one plays with her.

So, we removed the furniture barrier between Seraph and the rest of the kids. All the kids LOVE being all together again. Angel has been gentle with Seraph....only swiping her toys sometimes.

Seraph loves being able to see everyone all the time. The other kids go over and play with her more.

Thanks, Angel.

The twins like playing near each other again.

I'm a little worried about Seraph. Not super worried. It's

just that she has these crying fits. Nothing really helps calm her down. It happens mostly at night which kills sleeping time for mommy and daddy.

Mostly I just feel bad because I can't figure out how to make it better. I can't tell if it's gas (which we can vent) or leaking g-tube or teething....or withdrawl from the meds we just finished weaning.

It's probably teething (molars + eye teeth). She forgets to cry when she's distracted. Sometimes she wants to be held! She doesn't cry when we're going on walks in the stroller.

We try everying! ...and she calms down, but only for about 10 minutes. Eventually she zonks out for the night. I can't figure out what's going on.

A New Tooth!!

Angel & Seraph's cold is all but gone.  They're both doing much better.  Seraph's oxygen is still on 1.25 L (.5-.75L is normal), but we expect that to come down soon.

Seraph has a new tooth!  I'm crazy happy about it.  When Angel's first teeth came in, the doctors told me that Seraph's teeth weren't coming in because her body was soooo busy taking care of healing her that it had nothing left over for building teeth. Seraph ended up getting her 2 bottom teeth 2 months after Angel got hers.

I'm not worried about Angel - she's busy crawling everywhere and trying to figure out the walking thing.  She spends her calories like crazy!

I am dancing happy for Seraph getting her first top tooth.  She loves feeling her teeth.  Her oral aversions have gone way, way down since she got teeth.  I'm so happy for her :) 

Ya & Hoo!

Angel's sharp gums...

Lil Angel is teething!  All month she's been drooling like crazy.  Finally she has something sharp going on - 2 on the bottom.  No teeth showing yet.  Hopefully she's close. She deserves a break.

Sometimes Daddy's left shoulder is the only comfy place in the whole world!

So close to dinner...

For a few blessed minutes, I thought I'd come across a dinner that the whole family would eat - beef stroganoff! Alas, Delightful Finch (who isn't that picky and usually loves everything pasta) wouldn't touch it. I might try again in a couple months. Delightful Finch is teething something awful tonight. She did like the lime jello I'd made for dessert. As usual, she ate half of it and painted the floor with half of it. She even opened the snow peas so she could throw a few peas across the floor. I think she's training for the twins arrival. It'll be up to Finch to teach them everything about everything!

Yesterday was awful. I felt sick all day and had a horrible headache. Today was better. So, I organized all the kids' clothes and labeled the drawers so people who aren't me can figure out how to dress the kids.

We watched the last episode of Witchhunter Robin. I'm sad they didn't continue the series. It had a good ending. So, of course, I wanted more. Beautiful Rabbit is learning how to draw people. She actually declined a walk to the lake because she was busy with drawing stuff. I'm glad she likes it.