while in his bath. He will handle a rattle at six or seven months, and
shows delight in such toys.

DENTITION

In both the upper and lower jawbones of the newborn infant there are
hidden away in snug little cavities two sets of tiny teeth; the first
set, or milk teeth, and the second set, or permanent teeth. These
rudimentary teeth grow as the baby grows and push their way up or down
from the jawbones until they finally make their appearance through the
gums. The milk teeth appear in a definite way and in five definite
groups.

There should be no physical disturbance at the appearance of the
teeth, which is a physiological process, and it is to be deplored that
all of the ills of babyhood are laid upon the teeth with the careless
remark: "Oh, its his teeth!" Many, many illnesses are neglected
because our inexperienced mother has been told that she can expect
"anything to happen when the baby is cutting its teeth." Now, it is
true that the babies of many families do have trouble in cutting their
teeth, but the majority of babies cut their teeth comfortably and the
first knowledge anyone has of it is the appearance of the tooth
itself. As the teeth push their way nearer the surface of the gums,
there is a broadening and a hardening of the gums themselves, and it
is the exception rather than the rule that the baby needs any help in
cutting his teeth.

Usually by the time the baby is seven months old it has two central
teeth on the lower jaw (the central incisors), which constitute the
first group. The second group of teeth to appear is the four upper
central teeth which are all through by the time the baby is twelve
months old, and are often through at ten months. Then there is a pause
of from one to three months before the next teeth appear--the four
anterior molars. As these four anterior molars come in, the two
lateral incisors appear on the lower jaw, which now gives us, by the
time the baby is fourteen or fifteen months old, four central teeth
upper, four central teeth lower, and the four anterior molars, which
make twelve teeth.

Another pause of two or three months and then we get the four canine,
which fill in the space between the first molars and the front teeth.
The canine on the upper jaw are commonly known as the eye teeth, while
the canine teeth on the lower jaw are spoken of as the stomach teeth.
This brings us to the age of eighteen to twenty-four months, when
there is still another pause of two or