Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
A mom in the U.K. got the shock of her life earlier this month when her baby girl was born with two bottom teeth.
Vicki Griffiths says her husband Steven was the one who first spotted the chompers on their newborn, Eva Faith. After they both had a good laugh about it, she decided her original plan of breastfeeding her just wasn't going to work. (Can you blame her? Yikes.)
Of all the things you expect to see on your newborn, teeth are probably at the bottom of the list for most parents. Heck, my own kid didn't cut his first tooth until he was 11 1/2 months old, so I can't even begin to imagine my reaction had they been present from day one!
But believe it or not this phenomenon, which is known as "natal teeth," occurs in one out of every 2,000 to 3,000 babies. (That's more than you'd think, right?)
More often than not, the teeth are found on the baby's lower gum, as was the case with little Eva. And usually they are not well formed, and they typically have to be removed before the child leaves the hospital to prevent him/her inhaling one of them if they happen to be loose. (Scary.)
And it's not uncommon for natal teeth to either hurt the baby's tongue while breastfeeding or be uncomfortable for the mother, so it sounds like Vicki is definitely justified in her decision to go the bottle feeding route instead. (Why take that risk? Wouldn't you feel horrible if your baby bit her tongue while trying to eat? Poor thing.)
You have to admit -- even though it's not something anyone expects, seeing a newborn with two tiny little teeth is pretty darn irresistible. And at least her parents have a decent chance of missing a small fraction of the teething phase, which is a huge plus. (Every early tooth helps.) But if they do happen to fall out while she's still an infant, how will her parents deal with the whole Tooth Fairy bit? Yeah, you're right, they're probably off the hook. (Lucky ducks.)
Have you ever seen a baby born with teeth?
Image via Sam Pullara/Flickr
Image may be NSFW.Clik here to view.
