Ear Piercing

The stud is the gunshot stud at the time of piercing... and the hanging is the traditional earring, the pair weighing 0.9 gms (age 6th month).

This is one thing that needs a lot of thinking before going about.. Piercing a baby girl's ears.. the right age, the right time, the model everything is a question, especially since it involves making a hole in those perfect ears, the pain that would ensue, the beauty it would add on, the tradition that is carried forward.. a lot of things.. chaala chaala untay alochinchalsinavi.

My ears were pierced when I was 11 months old it seems.. it is usually a tradition in some places to pierce the ears and do the gundu at the same time usually in the odd months once the baby's fontanel (maadu) is hard.. let me go into the gundu aspect later on. I have got quite a few things to bother about before thinking about mundan ceremony. Some get it done for the boy kids too.

The tradition my family is to get it done in a Nagendraswamy Temple or near a paamu putta where a goldsmith comes and pierces the ears with a ring type of ornament. Babies cry for a while and then forget (that is indeed a gift, I just would blow the top if something like that were to be done to me at this age).

Some people who want to be extra cautious go for piercing with a doctor, yeah even the doctors in India do that using Gunshot method, a simple method done with/without anesthesia (topical anesthesia/cream-like medicine which numbs the earlobe) and then staple of the stud chosen. Remove the stud in about a week and replace with gold earrings/studs whatever depending on the babies age. The lesser the weight, the better. I went with the doctor piercing but messed up later with changing :( which is a different story for a different post :(((((((((... which made me promise never to touch the baby's body again for beautification.

Okay coming to the point, it is called Karnavedha, a ritual performed by the priest in the temple or choice of location for piercing.

Right Age
There is nothing like it.. some say the earlier the better, some say the later the better, some like the OH would want to leave the choice to the kid after she grows up ;). I have seen people do this to 1-month old infants.

In my area/community, people get it done in odd years like 1st, 3rd, 5th at the max and that too in the odd months.

Precautions
Choose the right type of doctor/place/goldsmith.
Keep the studs/rings handy
Keep them very very light weight in case of babies.. less than a gram is ideal.
Have the markings properly.
Hold the head tightly and distract the kid by making them comfortable first.
Keep a comfort toy/food close by to get them distracted after the piercing.
Maintain good hygiene and see to it that the studs/rings are not stuck to baby's clothing initially and cause pain.

Options for piercing in US (inputs from people in US).

Done in the pediatrician's office, safe and best.

you can select 22k gold studs from Piercing Pagoda which is there in shopping malls...

Also CLAREs in JC PENNEY sourroundings.. they pierce free of cost but the studs should be bought from his store, 22 K available.They ask not to remove for 6 weeks and also an ointment for pain relief, check there.

Infected Ear Lobe
call the doctor immediately if there is pus at the site and the baby has fever.

If in case there is bleeding, wipe the area clean with saline/hydrogen peroxide or lukewarm water, do not use powders (my doc says they tend to block the view later and become hard at times), apply ointment like Fusidine or some antibacterial cream which gives pain relief... only topical application, see to it that the baby does not touch that and put the hands in the mouth.

Pain Relief

If in case, you are worried about ear piercing site pain.. annam pongu (the hot, ganji like sticky substance while cooking rice) should be applied on the site.

Coconut oil will also help relieve the pain.