Baby Milestones: Baby’s First Tooth #smilehood

Post created in partnership with Orajel.

Kaya is headed to her very first dentist visit soon. We are talking about what going to the dentist means and what will happen so she’s prepared. We played dentist a few times but she didn’t seem to like it haha. She’s got a mouthful of teeth to clean so I’m excited about this milestone. I remember when she got her first two little bitty teeth on the bottom. That was an exciting milestone.

I was ready for her though. I had been through the whole teething thing with Rohan and was all prepared with my tools. I had an amber necklace, cold teething toys, Orajel teething tablets, and two arms ready to snuggle a cranky teething baby.

Rohan teethed with a fever, and was drooling everywhere and chomping on anything he could find, like a little puppy. We were breastfeeding on demand so I was nervous about what would happen when his teeth came in. I had images of chomped up nipples in my nightmares. Luckily that wasn’t the case.

With both Rohan and Kaya I loved seeing that first tooth poking through. It came in earlier than I expected and while I was excited about the milestone I was also sad about how fast time was flying. We changed a bit of our routine when the first itty bitty teeth broke through. Here are some of my tips for handling this baby milestone:

Wipe after every meal

Wiping baby’s mouth and all around that new tooth is key to keeping little mouths healthy and clean.

Be extra extra gentle

Those gums are swollen and super sensitive both before and after the tooth pops up. The tooth itself is extra sensitive to touch. Be sure to wipe and clean the mouth as gently as possible. Use the softest washcloth you have or one of Orajel’s gum cleaners to be sure you don’t cause any further pain to baby’s little mouth.

Have soothers on hand all the time

Wet refridgerated washclothes, a chilled “sophie,” frozen teething soother thingies, teething tablets, amber necklaces…whatever you can find….have it on hand. You want to be able to quickly dull the pain for your little one and keep them as happy as possible during teething time. It’s good to have a variety of options because some things will work well at certain times, and then not at all during other times. It depends on level of crankiness.

Oh yeah…Be ready for crankies

Nuff said. Be ready!

Keep babies hands (and toys) extra clean

Those hands (and everything else) will be in their mouths more than ever it seems. Try to wash their hands and favorite toys to chomp on as often as possible.

What did you do when baby’s first tooth came in?

I’m excited to partner with Orajel™ as a Smilehood ambassador for 2016. Orajel is one of the most trusted brands of pain relief and oral care solutions for babies and young children and we have used it exclusively for Rohan and Kaya from the teething tablets, to the finger toothbrush to the toothpastes they fight over. I’m joining forces with several moms to share about oral hygiene for out little ones as well as our experiences with the brand.

This post was sponsored by Orajel but you already know everything above is 100% me. Visit Orajel’s website to peep their extensive product line and get tips on keeping your children’s teeth healthy.