ear peircing

well.. my daughter will be 7 months old on saturday and i've just recently decided that i wanted to get her ears pierced, but i don't know where! any suggestions? i mean, i know i can get it done at the mall, walmart or a tatoo place [so i've heard], but i don't want to! i want to get it done by a professional! like a doctor or something. i'm just worried if i get it done at like a store or the mall she might wind up with some kind of infection. i've heard that you can get a pediatrician/doctor to do it, but i always forget to ask her doctor if they can do it. so anyways.. anyone have any suggestions?? please and thank you!

[alaysha]

If you took her to a tattoo place it might actually be the most sanitary place other than if you got your doctor to do it. Doctors/walmart/mall people aren't actually trained in doing piercings so I personally would go some place that I was sure they wouldn't mess up.

[rubyolivia]

I agree with Alaysha!! Tattoo parlors usually have people trained piercing artists and if you go to a good studio, it will probably be the most sanitary place to do it. Next choice for me would probably be the pediatrician's office if they do it! :)

[kjbutcher]

actually i used to work at piercing pagoda and claires and they are really sanitary and you will end up with a better job there than the doctors.  i can not tell you how many times the doctor messed it up and parents would come to me to line them up.  it is also more sanitary and less painful than at the doctor.  the earring come in sterile packages that arent opened until you purchase them.  they are put into a gun that you can request be cleaned before the packages are opened.  the guns do not touch anyones ear or earring and no blood is ever exposed.  the ears are pierced by the earring itself that has a plastic cap over the part that touches the gun.  it is really sharp and it is a really quick process.  it also cant be messed up in the middle.  there is almost no chance that if your child moves once the piercing has started that it will go through wrong.  (it generally would get messed up if they moved just as the piercing was about to get started, however with the doctor and needles, it can get messed up during any part of the process)  if you go on a saturday you can usually get two people to do it at the same time.  they put dots on the ears so you will get the same result as if one person did it.  (also please dont argue too much over dot placement.  it is a really hard thing to do and the WILL look uneven but the person doing the piercing, most likely, will know what it is going to look like once the earrings are in)  if you follow the directions and loosen the earring after an hour and clean it twice a day WITH THEIR SOLUTION, and turn it,  you should not have a problem.  i recommend getting the titanium earrings over anything, but 14k are also good.  there is almost noone allergic to titanium.  i would not recommend the plated.  i would also go with a stone that is at least 3mm or a ball that is at least 4mm.  they will look a bit big for her ear but the 2mm  stone and 3mm ball can imbed in her ear.  it will also be easier to turn and clean.  i would also give her a bit of tylenol about an hour before.  she will cry a bit but really it is loud in her ear and the noise will make her jump.  i really dont know about the tatoo studio.  i never had anyone come to me to fix something that they messed up, however i cant imagine people taking the child to one in my area.  if they dont do it the same way as the mall with the guns then you are putting your child through two extra needles that are unnecessary and the process will take much longer.  please, for everyones sake, get her ears pierced now.  once she turns 1 1/2 or 2 you will have a dramatic screaming child on your hands for the rest of the day and you will have a really hard time with her letting you turn and clean it properly.  also by doing it now, by the time she is aware she has earrings they will be a normal thing for her and she will not pull and tug at them as much.  that being said...i would recommend piercing pagoda or silver and gold connection over claires.  i can tell you piercing pagoda i was VERY well trained. good luck!

[kjbutcher]

please keep in mind that a doctor is a professional, just not a professional ear piercer.

[chiromom]

I can't imagine your daughter asking to get her ears pierced at this age.  How about waiting until she wants to get them done, and then use it as a bargaining tool?  "If you get A's on your report card, you can get your ears pierced."  I remember asking in 5th grade, I remember getting them pierced, and being responsible for making sure I turned them, so they wouldn't get infected.  I felt so mature.  I will never forget that day.  Just another opinion on the matter for you to think about.

[Kim1989]

i had always wished my mom had gotten my ears done early on. i was in kindergarden when i finally told her i wanted them done.. because if i had them done when i was little...and didnt want them in later on. i could just take them out and let them close up. but now i have 5 in one ear and 4 in the other. but we went to my regular doctors office to do it.. thats where i would recomend getting it done. if her doctor cant do it. i would then say go to the mall and try and get it done. then if all else fails then the tattoo place.

[rubyolivia]

I also just happened to think of another place. We have some very nice, clean privately owned jewelry stores in our town that offer ear piercing with the guns. That is where mine were done when I was 2 (not that I remember it lol). I think sometimes at the mall, kids tend to get intimidated because alot of times there are so many people around where the private, smaller stores tend to be a little less packed!

Like kj said, I think that having 2 people do it with 2 guns at once is a great way to go! That way you don't get one done and she starts screaming and you're too heartbroken to do the other! lol

[chellybeans]

actually, i worked at a dermatology practice, we were trained to pierce ears and we did not use needles. we sanitized, marked, had the child and parents approve and adjust if need be, then used disposable single use sterile guns that were preloaded with the earring before opened. we had multiple materials and stones the parents could choose from. it was much cleaner than the ear piercing i got at the mall.

there was no needle, no blood, no screw ups(parents approved the dots before we proceeded) and if anything went wrong there was a doctor on hand to deal with it immediately.

i won't get my girls ears pierced until they are older and can decide if they want the holes or not, but when i do, if they choose, it will be at a doctors office. i'm too scared of infections.

i've had to remove embeded earrings from ears where the earring was put in to tight or the wound was infected. that is no fun. i suggest you make sure the place is clean. once it is done check to make sure they aren't too tight and turn those suckers as often as you can think of it.

[amberd5191]

I had my daughters ears pierced at 14mths (after everyone calling her a boy). I did it at Claires and the earing fell out over night they not only gave me my money back but they also repierced her ear and gave us free earings. They did an excellent job, no infections or anything. Good Luck.

[cmroark]

thank you everyone for your opinions! i will definately be going to the mall this weekend to get her ears pierced at the pagoda, but only if two people can do it at once! i'm very nervous for her!!! and to chiromom.. i know she's too young right now to decide these kinds of things, but i think she will thank me later on! haha.. i don't know. i just think baby girls with pierced ears is just the cutest! i was going to wait until she was 5 or older so she could be the one to decide if she wanted to get it done or not, but i just don't want to wait that long. i think it'll be easier on the both of us to do it while she's young instead of older. i don't know.. my nanny got my ears pierced when i was 2 1/2 months old.. don't really see the big deal in getting them done this early.

[NewMommy08]

Honestly I DO NOT recommend you pierce her years at such a young age, I think it is very unsafe at that age.  They can pull them out or they can fall out and your baby can choak!  Just my two cents!  But anyways I don't know if your doctor will do it but I think that is the best place!  Either a doctors office or a tatto parlor because I think that would be way more sanitary and safe.  Good luck!

[babywillowmae]

I would recommend a tattoo parlor because of the fact that they do not use a gun.  The gun's can cause bruising, or pierce it to tight.  At a parlor, they will know how tight to put it and still leave room for swelling.  Also, after they are healed, most parlors will let you come back in with a different pair of earings and they will help you change them out, and show you how.  Good luck, we plan on getting our daughters ears pierced young also.

[cmroark]

thank you, but i think i'll be going to the peircing pagoda. one of my friends works there and she says it's the best way to go. i know all the goods and bads about the gun, but i just want it to be done in one shot! so it'll just be like she's getting one shot instead of 2 very painful ones! when i braught her in for her 6 month check up the gave her 4 shots and it was so heartbreaking and i just don't want to go through that again ya know! so one shot! i hate seeing her cry.. it makes me cry and it's just so unbearable. i just think it's best to do it while she's young because she might chicken out or not want them in anymore once she's older and play with them and wind up getting an infection. so.. my friend who works there told me everything i need to know and so i plan on following her strict instructions in doing what she told me to do! thanks again for all the opinions!