When/where to Pierce Ears of 6 Month Old Babies?

I had my 5 month old daughter's ears pierced at walmart. I bought the 24 karat gold earrings for $20 and they did both ears at the same time. We have had no problems with them and she has had them pierced for about a month now. There was only reddness immediately following the piercing. Oh, and it was done using an aseptic (almost sterile) technique. Good luck.
A.

I have heard Claire's is a good place, I always just went to the mall. The redness would depend on the person. I personally do not consider my self old fashioned. I was about 12 or 13 years old when I got my ears first pierced and for me it was some fun bonding time with my mother. Later on down the road after infections and soreness I found out that I had to get gold or sterling silver. I plan on my daughter (now 4) just asking me and us doing it together. Also you can think of the possibility that there are some girls who don't want their ears pierced. I did have a friend growing up that refused to get hers pierced. On the other hand my sisters who between them have 5 girls had all of the girls ears pierced before they were 6 months old and they look down on me because I did not do the same.

I had my 3 yr old daughter's ears pierced at 6 months at Walmart. She cried shorter than at her vaccinations! She never messed with them. I dont remember any redness a day after. I am now kicking myself that my 1 year old daughter hasn't had her ears pierced earlier!! I have a feeling she will be the one to pull on them

Since you have your heart set on it......and not creating drama...

check out the previous posts for LaLobe or a highly reputable tattoo/piercing salon if you do not want your pedi to do it.

My daughter CHOSE to do it at 10 and then again at 12 and has since said no more. She will be 14 in Dec. She has 1 ear that just acts up, gets inflamed, hurts, etc. Both times were at Claire (once at Collin Creek, once at Stonebriar) in the mall. IF she were to ask to try again, of course I would take her and I would go to one of the places I mentioned above.

Your request infers that you already know what I think personally........her body, her ears

Good luck and Happy holidays!

I would definetly have a doctor pierce such a young child's ear. I don't have a daughter and certainly respect your choices for your children, but what if they don't want their ears pierced as they grow older?

I had my daughters ears pierced when she was about 4 months old and it was great. She is now 2.5 years old and doesn't even really know that they are there. She never played with them, never got infected, they have been a dream. It was nice at that age because I was able to take care of them for her, cleaning and such, because I know as she gets older she would not take care of them the way she should.

We had hers done at Claire's and they did a great job. The piercer said that she did not recommend both ears at once because babies move to much. She was right, we did one at a time and they turned out great. She cried for about a minute after the first piercing, then we gave her a little break in between for about 5 minutes.

Good luck

I had my done as an infant and did my daughter's at 10 weeks. I took her to Southlake's Sweet & Sassy, and the girl did a great job. She used a marker first and redid her practice dots several times before she did the piercing. She acted like she was not in a hurry and wanted to do a good job. You do have to call for an appointment.

I buy the vinyl backs in bulk at Claries (in the buy 2 get 1 free rack). They come off on their own occasionally, but also I can get them off when it is time to clean her ears. I can never get the twist ones off fast enough. I remove them once a month to clean the earrings and her ears with hydrogen peroxide. I have waited to long between cleanings and it is yucky. Also, stick with gold for now. I just buy the cheep balls for $8 a pair at Wal-Mart. We have lost too many to spend more than that, and you can't leave the silver in my daughters ears very long before they get discolored. I need something I can leave in because she hates me changing them.

I took my daughter to Claire's when she was about 5 months old. They did a great job and she never messed with them. Pictures should be fine 2 days later, dont' worry about that. I do have to warn you that I did have a woman outside the window shaking her head at me and I about lost it. I was already nervous as it was. I would just suggest going during the week when it is not so busy. Good Luck!

A.,

Good luck! I waited until my daughter was 6 YEARS old - and felt like it was a lot of work and she was old enough to do most by herself! I have triplets (boys) and I can't imagine having to add to the daily care - HOWEVER, you wanted suggestions on locations, not opinions!!! ;) :)

We had my daughter's pierced at Sweet & Sassy in Frisco - not sure if they do babies or not. Pedi might be your safest bet?!

OH and I would say within a couple of HOURS the ears weren't red anymore!!

Good luck!!
T.

My daughter was 8 and my granddaughter got hers as a baby. When she came to live with me at 5 one came out and she never put it back in she did not want it. My neice had them at about 8 and she did nto clean them well. She even had one come forward with the ball going through the front. Her dad let them grow back in. Another gal I knew her daughter got an infection and it took over a year to get it cleared.It also cost her hundreds of dollars with $200 antibotics several times. Then when they were clear the daughter put more in. Not sure what happened after that. Some girls are clean and keep them clean others are not. Right now I have a 23 mo in my day care that is a dirty little girl. She will eat poop I am told and the min you get her washed up she is dirty in 5 min. So these are stories to think about and I am not sure where you would get them pierced. G. W

After reading everyone elses responses, I now realize that my daughter was an exception to the rule. I got her ears pierced at 6 months and she pulled and picked at them so bad that they were bleeding. I even tried taping them at night to keep her off of them but she kept pulling. I finally took them out. I tried again at 2 years and the same thing happened. She kept telling me that they were itching. So I pulled them out and we didn't try again until she was 8. That time, she was big enough to understand that they may cause a little discomfort...but girls have to learn that beauty sometime comes with a small price...lol.
Anyway, the first time we had it done at the pedi and the next 2 times at the mall. I don't think it matters where you go...they all have to follow the same state guidelines. Good luck with the earrings and picture day!
By the way, 'single mom of twins'....you go girl! :)

My daughter was 2 months old when I had her ears pierced and she never pulled on them. I had her ears pierced at Claire's. I would just put a little rubbing alcohol so it wouldn't get infected and it was just the first day.

Well, I am just going to echo that of many other moms... I am a mother of two girls and had both their ears pierced before 6mo. They did great. Some crying but otherwise it was not problem, they never messed with them. I went to Clairs in the mall, they did a great job. My only advice is to pay before you pierce so after the deed is done you can just walk out with your babies and focus their attention on something other than their ears. With my first my husband was with me and he finished paying while I walked around with her and with my second I went by myself and my girls, so I paid first and then the girls and I walked around for a few minutes until Maddie was happy again, it will just save you the emotional pain of having your babies crying while you are paying. :) And as for the redness and pictures, it kinda depends. My girls weren't red after a day or so, but you might wait a little longer to take pics, just in case!

I had my first daughter's ears done (now 10 years old) when she was just over a month old. I had it done at Wal-Mart and then had her pictures taken there not even an hour later, luckily there was no redness. My other daughter (4 years next week) was about 3 months old and also Wal-Mart. I followed the cleaning and turning instructions and have never had a problem with the piercings. Mine were done when I was about 2 or 3 years old by a doctor, and I remember the pain and running around the room after the first ear and not wanting the other one done. When they're young, I noticed if the earrings are left out for a while, there's a thin growth within the hole when trying to push the earrings through. Hydrogen peroxide works great for that, I just dab some on both sides of the piercing and then on the post of the earring, in my experience it goes through alot easier and they don't act like it hurts then.

We did my granddaughters when she was 6 months old... we did it at Walmart in McKinney, she is now 7 and has never had any problems with them.

Hi, I have b/g twins and had my daughter's ears pierced when she turned 1. I took her to a place in the mall because I did not know that my pediatrician did that. It only took a few minutes and she cried a little. I cannot remember whether or not her ears were red, but I am glad that I did it while she was little.

I did my daughter's ears at Walmart, never had a problem with them. She's 10 now. I don't think there was any redness soon after. She screamed so bad for about a minute and then she was over it. It should be fine.

Please call your pediatrician or other pediatricians in the area that actually do piercings in their office - do NOT go to the mall or other shop like that. My pediatrician does that. Dr. Leon on Matlock & Mayfield, phone ###-###-####. Good luck!

Good morning A., my daughter got her ears pierced right after she got her first set of shots and I had no problems with her afterwards. I have even taken cousins, god babies, and friends girls to get theirs done although my daughter is 20 years old know the place I took her was called rings and things but now I think it is called claires boutiqet and it is located in the mall their good thats where I take my sweeties and I think they are good. I just took my stepdaughters baby 2 months ago and she is doing just fine and it was done right after her first set of shots. Good luck.

When my daughter was 3months, I went to claire's and at first I thought they did a great job. When one earring fell out, and I was kind of scared to put it back in i had the lady at walmart(jewlery dept)put it back in...she said did i notice that one piercing was higher than the other one. I never noticed. I went to Libby Lou's(i think thats how you spell it)in the mall and had them redo it. They did an awesome job. I also asked if they can do both ears at the same time, not one at a time. So when you have it done, ask if they can have two people each have one ear. Your babies will scream and carry on, but it only last a couple of seconds or minutes. As soon as I stood up with my daughter, she was fine. Good Luck!

I worked at Wal-Mart Jewelry counter for more than my fair share of years - and pierced two babies a week on average. No, shouldn't be red two days later - unless there's an infection. No, I wouldn't go to Wal-Mart. The training there took less than 3 hours. Compare that to the piercing courses that I took to become "certified" to do body piercing... I would go to the pediatrician.

Not a judgement - just a fact: although the piercing guns make it much easier to get both ears done at the same time, know that they are not sterile - and look to make sure that, at least visibly, they are clean.

I would either do it very young (6 months or younger), so that by the time they have fine motor control the piercings have healed, or I would wait until they were old enough to make the decision and care for them by their selves (11 - 16).

S.

I know you didnt want any opinions but I just wanted to say that my mom got my ears pierced when I was young and I ended up snagging my right earring on a blanket and it tore my ear piercing hole. Now I have that straight line and it looks awful when I try to wear dangly earrings. So I pretty much never do. And with studs I have to make sure I "tuck" the stud in the line with an upward motion so it doesnt look crooked from the other side. I wish she would have let me just do it when I was ready. Like when I had my 2nd holes in 8th grade. But good luck!

do it young. My Mom took me and my sis when we got our 6m shots she gave us tylenol and took us to the dr and then to the mall.
My sister didn't get her daughter's pierced and when we took her in to ask q's they told us that she would mess with them now and they might get infected. So go now. Good choice and good luck.

A.,

I got both of my girls done at 9 weeks after their first round of shot and never had any problems. Neither of them have played with them or tried to take them out and they are 3 years and 10 mths. We went to Claire's in Cedar Hill.

Have a great day,

Kim

Hi A.,

I know you've received responses telling you not to go to the mall - but I has my DD done at Claire's in the mall. They are very sanitary, and we have not had a problem with them.

Good Luck

What's the rush? If you decide to make this decision, here are a few things I've seen happen with ear piercing in young children. The pain they experience is of course what happens first. Sure we can stick a bottle, etc.. in their mouths to hush the crying until the pain subsides, infection is always a risk and I've literally seen babies that have had to have ear reconstruction after infection or having had it caught on blankets, clothing, and completely ripped throught the ear lobe......thus, more pain, plus plastic surgery. I've seen the stem of the earring embedded into the neck of a child. Last and I'm sure not least is what if they remove one and swallow it, or it falls out during sleep then they find it and swallow it, OR what if one takes it from the others ear and swallows it? Remember pointed objects in a baby's intestinal tract can be fatal or poison. Okay, I have said a lot on this subject and none of it is positive. If I were you I would ask myself why YOU want to do it. I have three daughters that I feel had the right to make that decision themselves when THEY were ready. Good luck to you and your little angels.

Dear A.,
The younger you have their ears done the better it is on them and easier for the person who is doing them. I don't know about where you live but here Wal Mart does them over in the jewerly dept.I use to work in a beauty shop and did them for years. Iv'e had them to bring them in as soon as they came home from the hospital.Some beauty shop may do them just have to call and see.
good luck
J. G

I had my daughter's ears pierce when she was 6 months. She is now 16. At that time about the only place to have it done at such a young age was the pediatrician. We did not have any problems and I am happy that I had her ears pierce at an early age. Around age 14 she wanted to have double piercing. Though she did not have a problem with infection, it did seem to take a little longer than her original piercing for the reddness to go away and not to mention she has a memory of the process.

My step daughter wanted her baby's ears pierced when she was only 2 months old...

I ended up having to hold her while the did the deed. It was horrible! But, she didn't cry for long, and all went well.

We went to Claire's in the mall. Call them and ask when there will be two people available so they can each do an ear at the same time.

You SHOULD be safe for pictures in two days...

We went to Claires also, my daughter was 7months when we did hers. There was actually two ladies there and they did both ears at the same time so it made it really easy on Addy believe it or not. They were very sanitary there and the ladies were really nice.