Why You Should Take Your Baby or Toddler to a Pediatric Dentist

Today was one of those days that every parent fears. We had just gotten home from playing at the park and it was right before lunch time.

I was walking up our wood stairs carrying Harper (with her back to me) and I tripped and fell forward. I tried my hardest to protect her as we lunged forward, but it all happened so fast and her face hit the step. 

I panicked. I felt the force of the fall and I knew it wasn't good. I picked her up and immediately knew she had hit her mouth because the area between her nose and mouth was already red and then she started to bleed/cry and I was absolutely terrified. 

We were able to stop the bleeding and I frantically placed a call to our dentist's emergency line. I talked her through what happened and she instructed me on how to examine Harper's mouth and teeth and what to look for (bleeding at the gums, loose teeth, etc). Harper was crying, screaming (rightfully so) and exhausted from playing at the park. We were able to look inside her mouth just long enough to check that no teeth were loose and that her gums weren't injured or bleeding. Our dentist told us to give her some Tylenol and watch her closely.

It appeared that her teeth had cut the inside of her lip when she fell. She was so tired that we laid her on a blanket on the couch and I sat with her and watched her sleep. Her lip began to swell more and more and the area between her nose and lips was already starting the beginnings of what is sure to turn into a black and blue mess. My poor baby :(

To my total surprise, when she woke up about an hour later, she was smiling and acting totally normally, as if nothing had happened. Her lip was so swollen and her upper lip looked so battered, I couldn't believe it. I gave her some yogurt and fruit to see if she would eat and she did.

She continued to act normally for the rest of the day/evening and we noticed that the swelling on the outside of her lip began to subside. The inside of her top lip is still pretty red and swollen (I will spare you the photos I texted to the dentist). The dentist told me that the bruises and swelling will likely take a couple of weeks to completely subside. She called me later in the day and texted with me which was so reassuring. Above and beyond for sure.

(my poor sweet baby�)

I'm so glad Harper is okay, but I have just been beating myself up about what happened. I know it was an accident, but I feel so terrible that a) it happened and b) how much worse it could have been. I just feel so awful that I caused her so much pain and discomfort.

I'm so glad that we saw a pediatric dentist about a month ago for Harper's first check-up. I got a card in the mail from our insurance company right after Harper's first birthday saying that I should make her a dental appointment. It seemed really early to do that, (because she only has like 8 teeth), but I asked around and was recommended a local practice. 

We had such a fantastic experience there. Our first appointment was more about discussion and education- what is our current brushing routine?  does she drink juice or eat candy, etc? It was more of a conversation about how to prevent cavities and how to brush correctly to encourage your child to develop a good oral hygiene routine.

After the initial talk with the dental hygienist, we went to meet the dentist and she actually looked at Harper's teeth, did a very quick cleaning (as Harper screamed) and reiterated the importance of twice-daily brushing.

At the time, she also reminded me that she is on call 24/7 for dental emergencies. I remember her saying that and the moment I turned Harper around after we fell today and saw the blood coming out of her mouth, I knew who to call.

Anyway, I guess my point is that even if it seems silly to take a 1 or 2 year old to the dentist, it's  a good idea to have conversations about oral health early (and get tips on how to encourage kids to enjoy brushing---we're still working on it). It's also wonderful to have a pediatric dentist to call in the case of a dental emergency. Ours even offered to come into her office to see Harper tomorrow if things started to look worse. It saddens me to realize things could have been much worse--- but it would have been incredible to have immediate access to a pediatric dentist to perform and exam and do x-rays, etc.

(bruised and swollen, but happy as can be)

I'm still very shaken up by what happened and with time, I'll have to forgive myself. Hope you are all enjoying your weekend�here's to a better tommorow�

If you are local, I cannot more highly recommend Pinnacle Pediatric Dentistry. This isn't a sponsored post, just a PSA that this can happen to anyone, no matter how careful you are and having access to a dentist for your child is very comforting when something like this happens.

Harper Reese-16 Months Old + The Houston Zoo

Yesterday, Harper turned 16 months old. As she gets older, it's nearly impossible to get photos of her (especially if you ask, she will laugh and run away) so I'm sharing photos from our trip to the Houston Zoo today as part of her 16-month update.

This month Harper's language really exploded. I remember being a little worried at her 15-month checkup that she wasn't saying many words (to which my pediatrician replied "don't worry, my son didn't talk until he was 3, and now he works at Google). Thanks for the reassurance, doctor.

About a week or two after that check-up, it was like someone flipped a switch and this girl started to say new words practically daily. It's awesome. She even talks to herself in her crib in the morning. If she wakes up earlier than usual we just let her hang out for a bit chatting and flipping through books.

Favorite Moments, Memories & Milestones:

new words:

"wawa" for water

cheese

bubbles

open

purple

oh no!

uh-oh!

this

ba ba ba for sheep

up up!

staaarr (said drawn out, just like that)

hi

bye

baby

all done
"nay nay" for horse

She also started to say "I don't know" (but it sounds like one word)--- she shrugs her shoulders and puts her hands up by her sides. It slays me, it's so cute.

Loves the song "wheels on the bus." It is now part of our bathtime routine. To keep it fresh, I make up new lyrics to the song and sing about things that wouldn't actually be on the bus�like a cow. I also sing that "the star on the bus goes twinkle twinkle twinkle" and "the spider on the bus climbs up the water spout" because she loves those songs too. She looks at me all the time and does the "wheel turning" motion with her arms and says "buh buh buh" so I will sing the song. It's adorable.

At night when she is ready for bed, she goes to the gate at our stairs and turns around and waves and says bye to Lulu.

She knows her shapes. One week at daycare they learned aboout shapes and I try to reinforce what she learns there while we play. You can watch a video here and here.

She knows some of her colors and is getting great at puzzles and matching them correctly.

She cries hysterically if you take away an eating utensil. If this girl has a spoon, she uses it, even if it means most of her soup ends up in her bib pocket

One day she saw a mom holding her newborn baby on the blacony on the house across from ours and now whenever she goes to the window she points and says "baby baby" even if the baby isn't there. Sometimes, the baby will be there and she will alert me to it. I hope our neighbors don't think we're staring.

Harper had her first pigtails in her hair this month. Her hair was finally long enough!

She loves stickers--- she likes to put them on herself, windows, books, toys.

She loves to color- you can check out some of our favorite coloring tools here.

She likes to put laundry into the laundry basket and put things in the garbage�sometimes she tries to take things out of the garbage can and now we have clear packing tape on it so she doesn't try to dig in there. My husband is thrilled I taught her that.

She knows most of her body parts and will point to them when we ask on her own body, or ours. She likes to dig inside my bellybutton. Laughs really hard when she does it. It kind of hurts, but it's cute.

She is very playful and mischevious. Always testing boundaries and playing little games with us.

Likes to play a game where she offers us food and then is all "psych!" and pulls it away and laughs and laughs.

Has been a total daddy's girl for the last few weeks. It's always "dada dada dada."

She answers questions with yes or no all the time now.

She still loves to dance. We regularly "get down" to some tunes. She's got moves, y'all.

She often brings Lulu his octopus toy and laughs when she throws it to him. She loves watching him run around the house.

Harper's dress- baby gap  |  bow- happinessliveshere

I hope you had a great weekend! We had so much fun at the Houston Zoo, definitely check it out if you're ever in town. We bought a membership so we can go all year, especially when the weather gets cooler. We got there early enough to see the elephants get baths, including the baby elephants and it was adorable!

ELARI Diaper Wallet Review + Promo Code

When Harper was an infant, I became easily overwhelmed at just the thought of leaving the house with her. Maybe it was the round-the-clock pumping and fear of diaper blowouts (and there were many)...or maybe it was just the sheer amount of STUFF I thought I needed to have with me just to get her out of the house. First time mom, all the way.

Nowadays, leaving the house is easy and we aren't as crazy about brining so much stuff with us. I'm even planning to add a box to my trunk with some essentials like extra diapers and wipes, a change of clothes and changing pad so if we ever forget something we will have backup (seriously, how have I not done this already?)

Oftentimes we'll leave the house for a short amount of time (like when we head to Little Gym class or go out for lunch) and lugging around the diaper bag is such a hassle for those quick trips.

So when the ladies at Elari (based in my hometown of Toronto!) reached out to me to try out their diaper wallet, I took them up on it wondering if It would be that "in between" baby item we needed---better than nothing at all (duh) but not like a larger diaper bag (which I still need, but not for quick errands).

I selected their limited edition "pick me a peony" diaper wallet. I liked the bold color and that it was navy blue on the inside. The changing pad design is also a really cute pattern.

Inside there's an area for diapers, a zipped waterproof pocket for wipes and another pocket with three slots on the front for various items.

I keep two diapers, wipes, boogie wipes, the changing pad, hand santizier and a mini sunscreen in mine. Though I bring it with us for shorter errands out of the house, I've never had to use it because we haven't had any incidents yet. 

It's been packed for weeks and the wipes are still moist, which is great. You could also put a smaller pack of wipes into it, but I just used the special pouch to store them.

The changing pad is thin (not padded) but for quick changes it will get the job done. There's velcro to keep it neatly stored when not in use.

Overall, I'm really happy to have this for those quick trips out of the house---it's so easy to just grab it and go. I talked to the founders of Elari about adding more colors/designs/fabrics and possibly offering a personalized monogram as well as having gold hardware on some styles instead of silver. Maybe I'm just trying to turn this into a clutch for myself, haha. It doesn't hurt to have something super chic and incredibly useful, right?

Elari is offering a promo code for my readers if you'd like to get rid of the weight in your diaper bag too. Use the code "VJRFRIEND" for 10% off of your order.

Harper Reese- 15 Months Old!

Harper's 15 month update is way late�but I love documenting her progress each month and sharing all of the new things she's up to.

The days of Harper crying when I leave her class are over. Now, she happily runs inside and is all "see ya, mom."She just loves her little class, her teachers and her friends. She's learning so much every day and I'm always surprised by new things she's doing. The other day I was singing "twinkle twinkle little star" to her like I often do, and suddenly she put her arms up in the air and started making little "twinkling" movements with her hands as I sang. Sure enough, the theme of the week in their curriculum (we get a curriculum emailed to us each week) was shapes, and they used that song when they were learning about stars. It was just so sweet and unexpected when she did it. Love those moments. The next day she used her arms to make a rolling motion for "wheels on the bus." Too. much. cute.

She's up to so much these days that I've started to keep a list on my iPhone so I can remember everything for these monthly posts.

Something I've struggled a lot with this month with feeling overwhelmed that some nights that I don't feel I get enough time with Harper. Traffic has been terrible and it's definitely gotten me down more than a few times. I've started having my husband pick up Harper from daycare most days because it helps to shorten my commute a bit when I don't have to stop. I really love picking her up and seeing her notice me when I walk into her class, but I think Kevin getting her brings us all a little more sanity.

I can barely get photos of this little lady anymore. Our upcoming family photos are sure to be a disaster with the way this girl won't stop for a moment! I've all but given up and I'm sharing some iPhone photos in thist post because they capture some sweet moments.

Height + Weight:
Harper had her 15 month appointment two weeks ago!  She weighs 25 lbs which puts her in the 92nd percentile for weight. She's in the 53rd percentile for height (31.5 inches) and the 61st percentile for head circumference (18.1 inches). She is still wearing size 4 diapers.

Favorite Moments, Memories & Milestones:

Can point/touch every area of her face and body when we ask "where is your head? where are your eyes? where is your belly button? touch your feet! etc)

Kisses pages of a book when she likes what is on the page

Can correctly identify/point to items on a page 90% of the time when asked (where is the pig? where is the ball? where is the duck?)

Love to share sips of my water from the big Starbucks cup

Imitates everything, gives high fives

Still loves books and being read to, loves pointing at the "wild things" in "where the wild things are"---she just wants to go to those pages. My little weirdo.

"Dances" with her doll (makes her doll dance by holding her arms and moving her around), still loves tea parties and giving all of her stuffed animals zips of tea

Loves dance parties--- I play music and pick her up and we dance like fools in the living room

Can sign "more," "milk," "eat," and "all done." Please note these are all food related. Go-figure

Tried peanut butter and shrimp for the first time this month

Learned to blow kisses and use her finger to make a funny sound with her lips (my mom taught her on FaceTime)

Loves FaceTiming with grandma---huge grin as soon as my mom pops up on the screen and she's totally engaged with her, it's so sweet!

When feeding herself with a spoon (working on it), throws a FIT if you try to help. She wants to do it by herself, folks. She actually hysterically cried as though I was hurting her when I tried to help. Oh boy!

Throws arms up for "hooray!" and "up above the world so high, like a diamond in the sky"

Does the actions for "itsy bitsy spider," "wheels on the bus," "if you're happy and you know it" and "twinkle, twinkle." She will start doing the actions when she wants me to sing the song too!

Can say mama, dada, woof woof, quack quack, moooo, something that sounds like apple, up, NO, uh-oh!  more�and a few other things I can't understand. She also said bubble and purple recently. She says "wawa" for water, too.

Nods her head yes and shakes it no. She loves shaking her head yes lately. "Do you love mama?" (shakes head) ha.

Still HATES having her diaper changed most of the time. I try to tell her how it's better than sitting in your own poop, but I don't know that she's fully on board. My mom keeps telling me to buy a potty to "let her practice." In Slovakia, where my mom grew up (and where I was born), they potty tain babies very young so I guess it's a cultural thing. 

Harper is still absolutely frantic about food. She stands in front of the fridge and screams/cries regularly, even if she's just eaten. Doesn't want anyone else to eat if she's not eating. Tries to eat your food when she's done hers. Bottom line: girl likes to eat. Any other mamas with babies who are frantic about food? She has been this way since she was an infant when she was bottle fed her breastmilk. The moment she saw the bottle she would flip out until it was in her mouth and sometimes when she finished it she would scream, even though I knew she was satisfied (if I tried to feed her more, she would spit it all up). 

Harper + Olivia hugging�I seriously got teary. They were so sweet with eachother during our last playdate/mamadate.

Harper in her gifted Splendid for Stride Rite shoes. The collection is so cute! Check it out here.

Thanks for reading!