The tooth of the matter
It’s official. The little man has little teeth. In fact, two
of them, both in his lower gum, both impossibly tiny and cute-looking.
They made their appearance in the early days of our trip to England. As usual, relatives made a big deal of how little fuss Jasper made while cutting them. Yes, we experienced some whining and complaining, but never any tears or crying.
Jasper’s Gunk (great uncle), Chris, bought him a teething ring and some soothing gel. These seemed to do the trick – at least, they took JD’s mind off the discomfort while he played with the boxes.
Since arriving home, Jasper’s a little off his food and makes similar complaining noises during mealtimes. He has also taken to sucking on cold metal spoons.
We’re expecting more teeth to join the others anytime now, which raises a whole new set of research to be done. When do we have to start cleaning them? When is his first visit to the dentist due?
It won’t be long before he can gnaw his way through cloth, and we caught him chewing a button on his sweater this week, so it was promptly removed. Every day raises a new set of challenges and potential dangers, it seems.
Jasper’s initial burst of forward movement seems to have abated, with his new experiments being conducted in gravity (“What happens if I drop this from my high chair?”) and converting potential energy into kinetic energy (“What happens if I hold onto something high, pull myself up and let go?”).
He is very easily distracted. If he’s holding a ball and another one rolls into his field of view, he will begin moving towards the second ball while still holding the first. The unusual sensation of crawling on a hand containing a sphere makes him stop what he was doing and examine the ball in his hand again.
Perhaps our biggest thrill is, of all the gifts he received at Christmas, JD is most interested in the books. If allowed to choose, he will reach for them first. Long may that continue! Sleep well.
