Baby's First Tooth

Baby’s First Tooth

Peanut has been feverish and grumpy and whiney lately. In short she has been an unhappy baby. It makes me sad to see her so unhappy.

However, the reason has become apparent. Her first tooth is coming out. For the past several days we’ve been fighting and struggling to get her to open her mouth and take a picture of it. It would be really neat to have a picture of her first tooth. It’s one of the bottom teeth in the front, on her left.

My goal has been an abject failure. She moves to fast. The shutter speed on the camera is to slow, even though its pumped up to the highest level. There are any number of reasons to explain the failure to produce a picture of her tooth (The most obvious one being that I am a second rate photographer).

Regardless, the point is moot now. Yesterday I noticed, to mixed feeling of chagrin and excitement, that her second front tooth is also coming in. So much for my spectacular picture.

All of this brings up the fact that teething is an awful experience for both the baby and the parent. Clearly it is more painful for her. But, at the same time, its no cakewalk for me either. There is not much to do but live through it. I’ve talked to several fathers who claim changing diapers is their least favorite thing about babies. I’ll take a stinky overfilled diaper, or ten, over teething any day.

It ranks up there with the first few weeks home after the hospital. She is waking every hour or so to be fed. The crying and whining and lack of sleep is awful.

Almost anything will set Peanut off right now. I peek in her mouth to see her teeth she bawls. I put her down to do some quick chores she cries. I put her in her swing yesterday evening to work on an article. She flipped.

My wife swears by Hyland’s Teething Tablets. Supposedly they relieve the pain from cutting gums. So we pay the outrageous price tag for a bottle smaller than my cell phone. When she takes them they dissolve into white goo. She seems to cry less afterward. Maybe the taste of them distracts her from the pain for a short while.

Peanut now has two pretty white teeth with two on the top about to emerge. They are shiny and bright. Our culture glorifies shiny white pearls. All the superstar actors have them. When they smile its like being caught in head lights. But for the average person its almost unnatural to have such a bright smile at thirty or even forty.

Even with good oral hygiene teeth wear out. Coffee, tobacco, and a host of other things render them dull and lackluster. By forty you’ve had your teeth for almost thirty years. Nothing looks shiny and new after that long.

Of course if you have several thousand dollars you can visit the orthodontist and get a set of caps. Your teeth will look like brand new baby teeth.

I had already thought Peanut’s smile was the prettiest smile by half. Now, when she smiles at me with her shiny new teeth I swear its the best smile in the world. It is warm, endearing, and full of life. People spend a fortune to have her smile. I get it every day for free.

Now I know that my fellow parents out there are thinking that its their baby not mine that has the best smile. Maybe so. Consider each of our perspectives after all. Feel free to share your stories. Either the difficulty of going through teething, for both of you, or you joy at your baby’s new teeth.