Teething

Olivia and her teething buddy Sophia

Olivia has begun to get teeth at the end of her 9th month. This may explain why she has not been herself for about a month. This was a surprise to us as the doctor had told us that she would most likely not get teeth until about 14 to 15 months. But he did say that every child with Down syndrome is different, and that Olivia would get teeth when Olivia gets teeth. So he was right.

We cannot see the tooth, but we can feel it and we can hear it clink against her glass when she drinks. The first tooth to painfully break its way through is on the bottom in the middle left. It appears as if the middle right tooth will be next.

We had one semi-bad night followed by a bad day, but we now have some Little Teethers gel and this is helping.

It is hard to see her suffering with the teething, but we are thankful that it is just teething and just a natural part of life for all of us. There are certainly much worse things than teething. Olivia has always responded well to soothing, so we just do extra soothing and are not pushing her too hard during therapy time. Some of the harder therapies are on hold for now and we are concentrating on the more fun activities that still help her development. The therapist helped us find some positions to hold her in to work on the standing. Olivia likes this much better and is doing some really decent putting weight on her legs for more extended periods of time. Olivia is an observer and is cautious, so these positions that help her feel more secure are a God-send.