Say It Aint So

I'm not sure when it happened. Perhaps I've been too preoccupied with Lily's upcoming milestone -- FOUR YEARS OLD (I REALLY don't know how that happened!) -- but Anna is growing up. At a lightening pace.

In the past week she was diagnosed with her first ear infection. Poor kiddo. Like her big sister, she didn't complain about the pain I'm sure she was in. I took her to the pediatrician for something completely unrelated and, voila, the infection was discovered. So now she's on her very first course of antibiotics. And the only way I can trick her in to actually swallowing the medication is to get her to suck on my finger while I stick the dropper in the side of her cheek. Since I don't normally stick my finger in to her mouth, imagine my surprise when I discovered that MY BABY HAS TWO TEETH!!

Two razor sharp pearly whites have broken through her bottom gums. Which probably is the cause of the ear infection. And the stuffy nose. And the night time wakings of late. How did this happen? No idea. Lily didn't get her first set of chompers until she was 10 months old.

Just as I was reeling from the the thought that my sweet baby...the one that I still NURSE (ouch! I can feel the pain coming)...has teeth, then reality hit me upside the head for a second time. I set her down on the couch to quickly answer the phone and, well, she sat there. By herself. And didn't fall down.

And tonight, before starting our commute home, I tried to create a little shelf (out of my leather jacket no less) to prop up Anna's bottle, AKA homeward bound taste treat (although if you've tasted formula you know it's no treat). While trying to wedge the bottle so that it wouldn't slip, she grabbed it out of my hands and put it in her mouth.

So my no longer toothless baby can sit...and hold her own bottle. I'm stunned!

SIDEBAR THOUGHT:
I totally get that, as a country, we've taken "anti-bacterial" to an extreme for which it was never intended. That being said, I totally don't get people who chose not to give antibiotics to their kids when it is the correct protocol. There must be many of them out there since my pediatrician actually asked me if I wanted an Rx for the antibiotic. Um, hello.....suffering baby? And a little bottle of sweet orange goo is the only thing between her and no pain?? Sign us up!