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Do you have a drooling, cranky infant at home? If so, they are probably teething! This is something we are very familiar with at First Impressions Family Dentistry as Adalyn is teething, too! She is chewing on everything! She looks like she is working on her top four front teeth all at once!

First, let’s take a look at the schedule of how your baby’s teeth will erupt!

Now, here are some tips and tricks to help your baby through the teething stage:

• Rub your baby’s gums. Use a clean finger or moistened gauze pad to rub your baby’s gums. The pressure can ease your baby’s discomfort.
• Keep it cool. A cold washcloth, spoon or chilled teething ring can be soothing on a baby’s gums. Don’t give your baby a frozen teething ring, however.
• Try hard foods. If your baby is eating solid foods, you might offer something edible for gnawing — such as a peeled and chilled cucumber or carrot. Keep a close eye on your baby, however. Any pieces that break off might pose a choking hazard.
• Dry the drool. Excessive drooling is part of the teething process. Having a teething ring, fingers or other objects in the mouth produces saliva. To prevent skin irritation, keep a clean cloth handy to dry your baby’s chin. Consider applying a moisturizer such as a water-based cream or lotion. Dr. Wells’ favorite is Aquaphor!
• Try an over-the-counter remedy. If your baby is especially cranky, acetaminophen (Tylenol, others) or ibuprofen (Advil, Children’s Motrin, others) might help, but always consult your pediatrician before given any medications to your baby.

If you’ve got  a teething baby on your hands, be patient – they really are in that much pain. Of course, so are you, having to watch them suffer. So, take a deep breath, have a glass of wine and know that, this too, shall pass. Eventually.

The talk about Hurricane Florence has everyone feeling a little uneasy.  It is not something that we typically have to deal with in the Charlotte area so it’s completely understandable as to why people are in a panic.  We have put together a few tips that can help you feel prepared before the storm makes its way to our beautiful towns.

Determine how to best protect yourself from flooding. If you are told by officials to evacuate, then that is always the safest thing to do.  You’ll want to secure loose things outside that could float away easily.  Inside your home, you can gather up your favorite photos and important personal belongings. You can actually put them inside your dishwasher to protect them!  Your dishwasher is designed not to leak and to be waterproof and would be a great option to protect your most prized possessions.

Worried about the food in your freezer?  Fill a small container with water. Freeze it. When it’s hard frozen, put a coin on top of it. Put it back in your freezer. When the power comes back on, if the coin is at the bottom of the container, your freezer thawed completely, so you need to toss your food. If it’s at or near the top, the freezer stayed cold, so you’re probably okay.  Sometimes drinking water can be comprised after a storm. That’s why people are stocking up on bottled water. But what if you can’t find bottled water at the store? You can fill plastic bags with water and then put them in the freezer. If the power does go out, the blocks of ice can melt and you can use the bags for drinking water.

Make sure you have plenty of batteries for flashlights too! You should also stock up on nonperishable foods.  There was a neat tip online that said to fill up your washing machine with ice and store drinks and cold items in there if you want.  It will hold a lot of ice and stay cooler longer plus it will naturally drain the water out.  There are many battery powered fans as well that will help you stay cool!

We hope these tips have sparked a few ideas in your own mind on ways that you can prepare for this upcoming storm.  Hopefully this storm will weaken, and it won’t be as bad as they are thinking.  We are planning to keep our normal hours of operation but will update everyone to any changes that we would have to make.  We hope everyone stays safe through this storm!