Friday, May 11, 2012

Teething with Down Syndrome

From a post I wrote last year:

"Children with Down syndrome do not get their teeth in the same order or on the same timetable as other children. Teeth usually come in much later than in other children."

I can't recall at what age children typically start teething, but Spencer has officially begun. It started out with him biting down hard on my nipple. I didn't realize right away just why he was doing it.

Then the popping off and fussing started. He'll be hungry, but nursing apparently hurts his gums. He recently had his first dose of teething tablets. They're left over from Sasha, so I need to buy new. I let him chew on my finger some, but it only helps so much.

Sasha's First ToothSasha's First Tooth - 9 months old

"Typical" babies tend to cut their first tooth somewhere around the 6 month mark. I asked some local mothers of children with Down syndrome when their children cut their first tooth. Based on the answers I got, it seems that most babies with DS cut their first tooth somewhere around 1 year. Considering Spencer is already teething, that seems so far off! Some were a bit past that. A couple of moms said that first tooth didn't peek through until 18 months. And then one or two didn't get that first tooth until beyond the second birthday!

We may have a long road ahead of us with this teething business. For Spencer's comfort and my mental health, I hope he has an easy time of it.

When did your children begin teething? When did they cut their first tooth?
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