My son EJ always has a smile for everyone he meets, we raised him to be friendly and to "mano" or bless elderlies in the family. One thing that people notice right away is his teeth, and ask why the brown tint? Nope we didn't spoil him with sweets, though I admit to being a sweet tooth myself. The brown thing was an effect of the iron- supplement when he was a toddler. It was in 2006 when he just turned a year old when we thought of bringing him for a routine under-five clinic check-up. It included a random CBC where the nurse revealed that my son was anemic, meaning he had low red blood cell counts, suddenly my world crumbled. Why? I thought that Iwas giving the best for my son by breastfeeding him, but then the nurse implied that it was an occurrence for big babies, my son fell in that category since he weighed 3.84 kgs at birth which when compared to Filipino standards would be big, almost weighing like American babies. At least some comforting over there. And so we were prescribed with an iron-supplement to correct this deficiency which should be administered for four months. This we did, but unfortunately it also coincided with the time that his baby teeth were growing out. The vitamins were too dark that it really stained his teeth to the point of making them look rotten.
People would often be taken aback when they see him smile but when asked, we tell them about it. We had brought him to various dentists and they had one thing to say, just wait for it to grow out..and so we did..lesson learned: iron supplements can only be given at a certain age of babies, so as not to interfere with the quality of their teeth when it grows.
And as i write this his second permanent tooth is growing out, it was a proud moment for us to see his first baby tooth fall out and see a new pearl peeking. Then me and hubby vowed to really take good care of our kids' pearly whites.
Luckily, our second son didn't encounter this dilemma, one of the reasons am really thankful we switched pediatricians. She was so hands on in offering advices for the kids that she even reminded us that she is prescribing the iron supplement at a time when our second son's teeth will not be out yet.Why? So that it will not ruin his tooth growth, omg! why didn't i hear this from my previous pediatrician? Oh makes me boil!! I was so mad at the incompetency or maybe just plain indifference of our previous doctor! And to think that he was oh so friendly and accommodating. Or maybe he has a growing number of clientele that he tends to skip the essentials and just go about with the routine check ups never minding the details.
As a mom I wanted to give the best for my kids and so we wanted out as his patients. And it truly makes a difference if your pediatrician has kids of her own, you know they talk about their profession well, as it is accompanied by experience. Then you know you are in the same boat. So for moms out there, be not afraid to seek out second opinions especially if it concerns your children. It won't hurt to ask, than paying the price later and blaming oneself......
People would often be taken aback when they see him smile but when asked, we tell them about it. We had brought him to various dentists and they had one thing to say, just wait for it to grow out..and so we did..lesson learned: iron supplements can only be given at a certain age of babies, so as not to interfere with the quality of their teeth when it grows.
And as i write this his second permanent tooth is growing out, it was a proud moment for us to see his first baby tooth fall out and see a new pearl peeking. Then me and hubby vowed to really take good care of our kids' pearly whites.
Luckily, our second son didn't encounter this dilemma, one of the reasons am really thankful we switched pediatricians. She was so hands on in offering advices for the kids that she even reminded us that she is prescribing the iron supplement at a time when our second son's teeth will not be out yet.Why? So that it will not ruin his tooth growth, omg! why didn't i hear this from my previous pediatrician? Oh makes me boil!! I was so mad at the incompetency or maybe just plain indifference of our previous doctor! And to think that he was oh so friendly and accommodating. Or maybe he has a growing number of clientele that he tends to skip the essentials and just go about with the routine check ups never minding the details.
As a mom I wanted to give the best for my kids and so we wanted out as his patients. And it truly makes a difference if your pediatrician has kids of her own, you know they talk about their profession well, as it is accompanied by experience. Then you know you are in the same boat. So for moms out there, be not afraid to seek out second opinions especially if it concerns your children. It won't hurt to ask, than paying the price later and blaming oneself......
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