Gracie Gets Pierced!

I've thought about getting Grace's ears pierced ever since she was born, and I figured we'd get it done on my birthday (for two reasons) - 1) She'd be 6 months old and would be sitting up on her own, and 2) I'd get my birthday present at the same time - get my nose pierced.

WHAAAT!

I know. I'll be 32. Why in the world would I get my nose pierced now. I don't know, okay? It's something that I've wanted to do for a looong time but could never get myself to go; but since I was going to take Gracie to get her ears pierced, why not get my nose done too?

But last week, something was nagging me to get it done sooner. I asked around, and I even Googled, "When to get baby's ears pierced?" The results were all over the place.

"When she was a newborn."

"I'll wait until she asks."

"6 months, but I wish I had it done sooner."

"Before 4 months."

"After 1 year."

So many different answers! However, I decided to get it done right away because I read that babies start to localize pain at around 6 months (Grace will be 4 months old on the 18th). I also wanted to do it before she could start playing with her ears; and I knew that if I waited, there was no way I'd take her at 1 year. We'd have to wait until she was old enough to follow instructions and/or until she asked for it.

We looked for a local piercing salon and booked an appointment right away.

Grace was asleep when we arrived, and she stayed asleep when we put her down on the exam table. We looked at the earrings and decided on a pair of simple gold studs. When we looked back over to her, she was wide awake. Fortunately, she was all smiles when the lady (Cleo) did the prep.

Ms. Cleo marking where the piercings would go.

Look at Grace's happy face! Poor thing had NO idea what was coming.

Ears are getting prepped...

Here comes the needle...!

Annnd I'll spare you from all the screaming/crying photos that Ralph took. I'll just share this one.

The look of betrayal.

But once we picked her up, she was totally fine. She was even smiling and cooing at herself in the mirror. So vain, Gracie!

Yay! We survived!

And just like that, she looks a lot older. This is equivalent to when the boys got their first haircut.

Good job, Gracie girl! We're so proud of you! As for me and my nose piercing...we'll see. Maybe I won't do it after all. (Breathe, Mom and Dad!)