Buddy is now at the age where he can drink out of a sippy cup.  Can you believe it?!  And it's about time too, since he always wants more than the maximum eight ounces the bottle can hold. 

It just so happens that he is also teething; big time!

In preparation for the switch, I started offering water in a small sippy cup several month ago.  He didn't drink a whole lot but he was getting used to the whole idea.  I know Sitter was giving him water-filled sippy cups too.

The other day, when we went to the park before dinner, I took juice for BG and water for Buddy in a sippy cup.  I packed his cup in the bag but it was visible.  He saw it as I was putting him in his seat and asked for it.  I handed it over and drove to the park.

We got to the park and I pulled BG out first, then Buddy.  He smiled coyly and handed over his sippy cup to me with that "look what I did" look in his eye. 

He had used it as a teething ring!

I learned an important lesson that day:  Never, ever put your fingers inside the mouth that did that!!  That was a brand new lid! 

That's my tip about teeth.

Here are a few tips about sippy cups and Q-tips.

Sippy cups are harbingers of gunk!  No matter the type, they manage to amass gunk in the many nooks and crannies of the lid and the bottom of the cup.  In order to make sure you're not passing this gunk to your child, use a Q-tip (or several), warm water, and some dish soap.  Once all the gunk is removed, you can put the lid in the dish washer for washing or sterilize it (however you clean your baby accoutrements) as usual.  After it's run through the dish washer I usually run a Q-tip around everything one more time to remove all soap residue.  I can't tell you how many times I've gotten soap out of there.


The good and bad thing about Q-tips is that they're so malleable.  Their flexibility allows you to get into all the little bends of the folds.  But Q-tips also fall apart easily and becomes hard to control.  So, you end up using more than one. 

Not only do I restock the bathrooms with Q-tips, but also the kitchen cabinets.

And finally, the most important tip about Q-tips is to keep them away from your kids.  They see you use them, they know they go in the ears.  You don't need them bursting an ear drum with a  stray Q-tip.  The ears are very sacred in my book, nothing should go in there, period.  So don't give them an opportunity.

So, remember, beware of sharp baby teeth, be vigilant of what's lurking around in those sippy cups, and keep Q-tips safely away from small children.

It's important to keep kids well hydrated and cool, but it's also important to keep them healthy and safe!

Here's to baby teeth, the sippy cup and the Q-tip, *raises glass high to clink with yours* Hurray!