Weaned!!!

I've been exclusively breastfeeding Nina since she was born and it has been a source of pride and joy for me to be able to do that.  When she turned 2, her pediatrician felt that she was underweight and needed to gain more pounds especially with her forthcoming surgeries so we were forced to supplement with formula milk.  But, it was always a given that come night time - it would be her time to directly feed from mommy.

Lately, I've been having some health issues that required my intake of a certain medicine which was not advisable for breastfeeding moms.  Of course, I initially chose not to take the meds so I could continue to provide milk for Nina.  But, their dentist had recently advised us that we needed to make sure that her night time feedings are lessened and that the last thing she does before going to sleep was to brush her teeth.  If I continued to breastfeed this would not be possible because aside from the fact that she's latched on to me until she falls asleep, most of the time she's latched throughout the evening!  It's come to a point where in these past few evenings it has become harder for me to pry her away.  I often have sneak out of bed to sleep on the floor so that she wouldn't latch on and also so that I can get some sleep.  But then after just a few minutes, she wakes up and cries for me and I have to go back to our bed.

So, I finally decided it was about time to wean her.  We tried to condition her about it the first few evenings but it didn't work.  I tried placing Calamansi but the taste didn't seem to bother her at all.  Eventually, we were able to find a solution that worked.  I started last night but wasn't quite as successful.  But tonight, it worked perfectly.  To top it off, Nina now sleeps while hugging me!  And that's one position that I can't and will not even complain about.

Yes, I think she has been weaned.  Aside from finally being able to take my prescribed medication, perhaps now, I can sleep better :)  Come to think of it, with a baby as sweet as her hugging me, how could I not?

Teeth Care

When Nina was born, she had two lower incisors’, one of which was moving.  It surprised a lot of people (us included) but it did not really bother us.  However, the doctors cautioned us that because one tooth was unstable, there was that danger that she could swallow the tooth and/or choke on it.  So we were advised to see a pediatric dentist.

just a few days old, her teeth showing  at the lower gumline

At that time, we had not brought kuya to see a dentist yet so we had to rely solely on the dentist that was recommended to us.   Imagine our shock when that dentist simply pulled down Nina’s lip, took a peek and told us, “yes, that has to be removed”  -- and then subsequently charged us P1,000.00 for that 1 minute diagnosis.  Geez, even I can do that!  Besides, even the untrained eye would be able to tell that the tooth needed to be extracted.  When she extracted the tooth (which only took 5minutes since the tooth was very loose) she charged us another P1,000.00.  If we hand known it would be that simple, I would have just asked my sister-in-law, who graduated from Dentistry, to do it for us!  Talk about highway robbery.  After that incident, we stayed clear from any pediatric dentists.

As Nina grew bigger, we noticed that her teeth were not as nice as Kuya’s.  They were beginning to show some stains although we weren’t quite sure if these were stains or cavities.  It was only after Nina’s cranio surgeon (Dr. Tansipek) requested us rather hesitantly, to see a pediatric dentist that the alarm sounded off.  He explained that because there may be a need for him to do cranio work on Nina around 7years old, it was important that her teeth are kept in good condition since the cranio work would affect her teeth as well.

Nina before her recent visit to the dentist

Upon the recommendation of Dr. Tansipek, we headed off to Dra. Fina Gupit-Lopez of the Pediatric DentistryCenter along Banawe Street in Quezon City.  We were greeted by a young and cheerful doctor who was perfect with the kids (such a far cry from the 1k dentist we previously went to).  Both hubs and I (as well as the kids) immediately warmed up to Dra. Lopez.  Not only was she great with the kids, she was very patient with them even if it was obvious that she wasn’t exactly having an easy time.  To top it off, the fees charged by the clinic were so much more reasonable than the fees charged by 1k dentist.  Thank God we found them!

So now, Nina’s teeth have been treated with fluoride and sealed to prevent any further damage.  Our next step is to wean her from the night time feeding so that the last thing she does before going to sleep is to brush her teeth.  We’ve been trying and for about a week, hubs was able to put her to sleep without her asking to feed from me.  And then suddenly, we were -- and still are, back to square one again…  hopefully, we’ll be able to figure out a way to wean her with minimal resistance.  Perhaps it's because generally their facial construction has been affected by Aperts but we find it difficult to get her to open her mouth wide enough so that we can thoroughly brush her teeth.  It's especially hard for us to get to cleaning her front teeth because there doesn't seem to be enough skin for us to pull up/out to expose the incisors.

This is what Nina's teeth look like now.  The pink stuff is the sealant that the dentist applied, the green stuff is what she ate ;-) and the small peg of a tooth seems to be part of what the 1k dentist pulled out (yup, she did a miserable job despite the fact that she charged an exorbitant price for it).  There are times life throws you a curved ball and you don't necessarily get what you paid for.

well treated and protected teeth