Epstein Pearls

The day little Jude was born, I noticed when he yawned little white balls or cysts on the roof of his mouth.  A few days later, I was told that they could be a sign of thrush...a not so uncommon ailment in infants.  Shortly after this, I began feeling a burning sensation in my breasts following breastfeeding so I promptly began the treatment of thrush.  I could get into the topic of thrush for a long time here but I will save that for another post.  For now, let's focus on the little white bumps on the roof of baby's mouth.  (Below is not a picture of my baby but that of one found on Wikipedia with the same bumps Jude has:)

So after a few weeks of treating both Jude and I for thrush, I wondered if what I was seeing in his mouth was really a sign of the ailment.  So I decided to do a little online research and immediately found what I was looking for.  Apparently, the little bumps are not a sign of thrush but are something called "Epstein Pearls".  Unlike thrush, these spots are simply tiny filled papules or cysts that are completely harmless and eventually go away on their own.  So I guess once again I worried about nothing...

I am amazed at how much I still have yet to learn about babies even though I am doing this for the second time! 

Hope you are all having a great weekend,

Mommy Bridget