The trauma that was the tooth...
A few weeks back, we had taken a walk in the BOB because Addie had gotten her first cold ever and couldn't nap. Collins asked if she could get out and run once we got to the neighborhood, and I said yes. She took off on the sidewalk as carefree as could be, a huge smile on her face, and then BAM. She hit the sidewalk hard...I pulled her up and saw the blood around her mouth and knew it was not good, but didn't realize till we hobbled home that her front tooth was loose.
With dread, I called the dentist and went to the first office that could get us right in. Unfortunately, I hadn't taken her to the dentist before so this was her first-ever trip, and it was a doozy. They confirmed that the tooth had been cracked in the fall and that the crack went up into her nerve....i.e. bad news. We had two choices- she could have a baby root canal (a long, painful procedure that probably wouldn't work and the tooth would eventually rot), or we could extract the tooth. I wanted to cry when he delivered the news. I had to be brave because I didn't want Collins to be scared, but what a tough moment that was for me as a parent. I knew what we had to do, and it just made me very sad. That precious smile would be changed for at least three years (till the permanents came in), and how was she going to handle them yanking out her tooth?
Turns out she was a very brave little girl, and thank goodness they played "Frozen" on a TV above her head. It was hard to watch them give her laughing gas, to numb the area, and to watch her fear as they actually pulled it. But she was a trooper, and we took her to get a large cupcake afterwards to celebrate that.
She was excited to put her tooth under her pillow for the tooth fairy (she had read about this in her Berenstain Bear book). She woke up the next morning excited to find that the tooth fairy had left $1 AND she got to keep her tooth. She was momentarily confused but excited to have something to show and tell!
Collins amazed me the next day. She bounced back so quickly- confident as ever- and wondering, "Will people think I'm older than 3 1/2 because I've already lost a tooth? Because I'm actually only 3 1/2!". She thought it was cool that she had lost a tooth.
She also told Gigi that if she ever wanted to watch "Frozen" she just needed to run really fast and fall and then go to the dentist and you could watch it. :)
And who knew a lost tooth would get you presents? She promptly spent her tooth fairy money on a new Cinderella Barbie, and then got adorable Halloween pajamas from Alli, a fun Halloween book from Gigi, and some popsicles from her friend Margaret in the neighborhood. So losing a tooth does have its perks!
Important parent lesson learned- accidents happen and kids are resilient. It will be okay. :)
