Oral Hygiene

Look at that sweet little mouth. It's the proud owner of two of the cutest pearly-whites you ever did see.

Being a bit isolated from other mothers of infants, I occasionally find myself not "in the know" about baby do's and don't's. For example, it was recently brought to my attention that I should have been brushing her teeth after her last feeding of the night. Who knew that the moment the teeth made their appearance they were already in danger of tooth decay?

As soon as I found this out, I went in search of a baby toothbrush. Little did I know that Penelope wanted this particular toothbrush so badly that she became the youngest known shoplifter. Yep, that's right. Shoplifter. After I gave my sweet little girl this toothbrush to keep her occupied while getting the rest of the groceries at the store, she proceeded to devise a plan to steal it. Penelope expertly hid the toothbrush in the depths of her stroller while we were in the store. Only after paying and loading the stroller down with groceries did I discover her little misdeed when I was putting her coat and hat on. The impish grin on her face was a dead give away. (Don't worry. I did promptly march back in the store and pay for it, scolding her all the way.)

As you can see, Penelope is very proud of her new toothbrush. In fact, when I bring her into the bathroom at night and pull it out, she immediately perks up and breaks out in a smile.

She loves watching herself in the mirror during the process. Sometimes she can't help but giggle in delight when the bristles rub her upper still-toothless gums.

And, of course, she is only too happy to hold the toothbrush herself and give it a whirl.

Let's just hope this love affair will last!