At the dentist

Gabe had his dental appointment today. Unfortunately, he had to get a treatment done to his teeth because the enamel is just starting to erode.

Lovely.

In our part of Oregon, there isn't any fluoride in the water. So, during the last several years doctors started prescribing fluoride drops to babies aged 6 months and older. Our first pediatrician gave us a multi-vitamin with fluoride, but Gabe's teeth started turning grayish. Fluoride, in large doses, can cause fluorosis. And naturally, there is all this dramatic information online about the dangers of fluoride. So we stopped it, got another vitamin to take and decided we would take him to the dentist at 1 year and ask them about it.

Of course now in retrospect, I wished we'd have just gotten a separate fluoride supplement right away instead of waiting. Oh, well.

The up side is that the staff is really great and Gabe did well. The doctor showed us around the office and gave us information on teeth health, etc. The treatment itself is not invasive; just two coatings of substances that I cannot remember the names of. He sat still for it all, amazingly.

The doctor said it's completely treatable and that a lot of children his age come up against enamel problems and cavities (this didn't make me feel better, though) primarily because of diet. Drinking juices (apple, especially), canned fruit, and shockingly things like granola and honey can cause tooth decay. Even foods and drinks without added sugar can be problematic. So even with fluoride, he might have still had problems, but the likelihood would have decreased, I suppose.

One thing that surprised me was that the dentist said it's okay to brush his teeth with kiddie toothpaste (the ones with fluoride) using a rice grain-sized amount. He said the amount he'd swallow would not hurt him and this could take the place of fluoride drops. He does this for his own daughter, who is not much older than Gabe. Wow. We've been brushing his teeth with a fluoride-free paste from Whole Foods.

So, he has to get these treatments every two months, but I can't remember for how long (my mind has been sifty this morning). For now, all the fluids he'll be getting are water, plain cow's milk and breast milk.

As far as foods, I think I will rinse all canned fruit with water to get rid of that extra syrup, but try to stick with mostly fresh fruit, veggies, Gerber 3 meat meals, breads, cheese and plain whole yogurt.

Here are some photos from today:


With Craig before we left home.


At the dental office.

Teething, Cosby Show, and hot days

It's almost fall and it still feels like summer here in Portland! The temps this week might hit 90! Crazy. Since moving to Portland, I've found that the summers here are way more dry and sunny than people like to admit. The rain and overcast skies mostly occur during the winter and spring, which I don't mind at all. I love waking up to all the spooky fog and dampness.

Well, it looks like this week Gabe has some teeth coming in that I can see. His upper incisors are breaking through the gums. He is a bit cranky today; or at least has a shorter threshold for things. I have some homeopathic teething drops that work quite well; I would tell you all the name of it, but frankly I don't feel like getting up at the moment. Okay, fine. Gentle Naturals. I haven't given him Tylenol yet for pain. But we'll see when those start molars come in (!!!).

Speaking of teething, Gabe has his first dental appointment next week at Dr. Pike's office. Now, we're not getting the old Dr. Pike, but his son. I was assured that son of Pike is just as dedicated to the dental health and psychological well-being of children as father Pike. We'll be the judge of that!

I just posted an Examiner story about the 25th anniversary of The Cosby Show. It's one of my favorite sitcoms. I could watch those episodes over and over. Hope you like the story!

Walking more, eating better

Gabe is getting more comfortable with putting finger foods into his mouth, so much that I worry he is going to choke! I keep an eye on him, but I guess I'm being a worry wart mom. What he does, is puts pieces into his mouth and immediately spits it out. If he likes the taste, he'll eat some of it.

He's doing great on eating stage 3 foods. His favorites are anything with chicken or turkey in it. He doesn't gag at all on these, but will occasionally spit out a little soft carrot. He is not a fan of the ones with pasta and tomato sauce.

Gabe likes walking, though he is still holding onto our fingers when he does it. He has times during the day when that's all he wants to do. Last week, he did a few rounds of solo walking again. I think his confidence is building well and he is getting more comfortable.