Teething and Your Baby

My cousin gave birth 17 months ago to a beautiful baby girl. My cousin and her husband were first time parents so everything was completely new to her. She told me some of her experiences in regards to teething that might be helpful to some parents out there. I am sure many mothers and fathers out there are able to relate.

My cousin first noticed that her baby girl's teeth began appearing when she was around 7 months old. Her daughter had began acting extremely uncomfortable and she was restless and cranky a lot of the time. Her daughter also began to lose her appetite and wouldn't consume her regular intake of milk much to my cousin's dismay. She did buy a rubber teething ring but this probably wasn't enough. It became difficult to feed her as the baby would constantly cry so she had to do something about this.

My cousin took her baby to the doctor to find out exactly what she should do. The doctor told her that the first stages of teeth development for babies can begin as early as 3 months up to a year old. The doctor then prescribed multivitamins that contain fluoride for her daughter. A baby should take this when a parent first notices teeth are beginning to develop and can continue giving the baby multivitamins with fluoride up until the age of 2. Her doctor also prescribed a teething gel in order to ease any irritation that the baby might be experiencing.

So my cousin gave her baby the multivitamins with fluoride every single day and also gave her the teething gel when she appeared to be uncomfortable at times and cried for no apparent reason (her diaper was changed and she was fed). The baby really enjoyed the teething gel (which was a bubble gum flavor) and she would stop crying as soon as her mother applied it.

The first two teeth that she saw in her baby's mouth were in the very center at the bottom. These two teeth are called incisors. The next set of teeth that appeared were also in the center but at the top which are called incisors. The next set of teeth to develop was at 10 months of age and were on both sides of the upper center teeth. These again were called incisors.

The fourth set of teeth that began to show was at 12 months (the age they should be appearing) and they were on both sides of her lower center teeth which were, you guessed it, incisors. The fifth and sixth set of teeth developed together and they were located on top in the back which were the molars. The molars seemed to be the most painful for the baby out of all the teeth that had developed so far. The seventh and eighth sets appeared when she was 15 months old and were also molars and these appeared at the bottom towards the back of her mouth.

As of right now, her baby is 17 months old and still does not have all of her teeth. Her doctor has stated that it could take up to 2 years of age and possibly 2 and a half years of age for all of her teeth to appear.