Teething Queen

Despite it being a little early, Willa has officially sprouted her first tooth!

My finger is just over it in this picture, its the lower right incisor

Closer shot, but it's still hard to see!

We could tell that it was coming in for a little while, with her excessive amounts of drool and uncharacteristic fussiness.  Once our sweet girl started being irritable all day, every day, I knew something was on the horizon.  To help her deal with the pain, we tried a few different suggestions from books and friends.  She was very confused by the cold teething ring and didn't really take to it right away.  I bought a vibrating teething ring, but it's activated by strong chomping, and she can't sustain a bite that strong yet, leading to me having to squeeze it and getting very tired thumbs.  

The thing that seems to have brought her back to her usual self is the necklace you see pictured above.  It's an amber teething necklace bought at a local baby boutique.  I was skeptical of this, as I usually reject all baby jewelry as silly and excessive, but after hearing strong testimonials from more than a few friends, and doing some research to make sure it isn't just "magic," I decided to give it a try.  I bought it with a gift card to a store where there wasn't much else I could use it on, so I figured if it didn't work, or I was too concerned about her safety, there would be no big loss if I tossed it out.  As you can see, I didn't toss it out!  Placebo or not, she has returned to her usual self.  She still gets crabby, but she isn't crabby all day.  I make sure she's never alone with it on, and I definitely take it off of her when she sleeps, but for the time its on (playtime and nursing) she doesn't seem to be in pain.  Such a relief for Mommy!

So far it's only one tooth, but we are incredulous that our little one is growing so fast!