Callum's first dentist appointment

Callum had his first dentist appointment last week. It happened to be on his 13 month "birthday". He still only had five teeth. The dentist said that all that really means is he will probably hold on to his baby molars much longer than other kids. But, she saw it as a good thing, given that it gives him more time to "practice" his brushing and flossing on non-permanent teeth. I have been taking the kids to the same pediatric dentist for years and this is the first time she has told me to plan for braces. Of course, I got a laugh out of that and made some comment about everyone having braces. Which is true. But, it's also true that Callum's bottom teeth are coming in both very crowded and very crooked. My bottom teeth were always much more of a problem than my top, so I can relate a bit. Other than that, she said his teeth look great. Her and her assistant seemed surprised that Callum immediately stopped crying after the exam and still liked them. Of course, that doesn't surprise me much, given his smiley and happy disposition.

Of course, fast forward a week and Callum is super sick and not his happy self at all. It's actually really sad. He never just cries all the time and that's how the past couple days have been. I have heard people referring to the sickness as "the plague" and I am starting to understand why. The poor guy is miserable. Here's to hoping he is on the mend soon...and that no one else in our house gets it!

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A Dentist Visit for Isla

After Connor's dentist appointment last week, you can imagine my apprehension going into Isla's dentist appointment. To make matters worse, I had to wake Isla up for her appointment. I HATE waking my sleeping children for anything. Then, Isla didn't want to brush her teeth. Awesome, I'll be the mom who takes her kid to the dentist with unbrushed teeth and morning breath. I even had my MIL give it a try when she arrived to watch Connor. Isla actually covered her mouth. So to the appointment we went, with completely unbrushed teeth. Just to clarify, my teeth were brushed.

When we got to the dentist, Isla didn't want out of the car. I had to carry her from the car kicking and screaming. Thankfully, once we got inside and I pointed out the fish tank to her, she calmed down. And she had so much fun scribbling on her new patient forms that the receptionist hooked her up with a clipboard of her own to "write" on.

Then it was time for Isla's appointment. They put her in a room of her own. This made me a little nervous, like they knew she was going to scream. Thankfully, while I waited for the dentist, Isla was entertained by the tv in the ceiling.

Though Isla cried during her exam, she didn't fight the exam at all and that made things much easier. The dentist was able to clean her teeth (using the uber scary scraping tool) and then coat her teeth with whatever it is they coat teeth with. As soon as the dentist was done, Isla was all sorts of clingy to me. Of course, once she was offered a sticker, she went right back to her normal bubbly self. 

And just as we entered the dentist office kicking and screaming, so we exited. Isla didn't want to leave. She was having too much fun playing in the waiting room. 

A Dentist Visit for Connor

Someone has to have that kid that freaks out at the dentist and gives the dentist great stories to tell around the dinner table. So, you are welcome for taking one for the team and allowing that to be my kid. And to think it started out so well...

Connor wasn't even scared going in. Then there were bean bag chairs in the lobby! How could this visit go wrong?! When we walked in the back, he even obediently opened his mouth and allowed the assistant to brush his teeth for a minute. Of course, as this point I was thinking "Who is this kid?!". He hates having his teeth brushed. Well, not long later, the novelty of the situation wore off and the "strong willed" and "independent" (as said by the dentist) Connor came out. 

After working with him for almost an HOUR, he had to be pinned down just for the dentist to count his teeth. He was crying hard core. The assistant was holding him. And the dentist was talking all calm and cool the whole time. I felt horrible. Next, they decided to have me go knee to knee with the dentist and have Connor on our laps. That didn't work so well. They had to bring out the tool that keeps his mouth open and keeps him from biting (and totally gave me dentist visit flashbacks from when I was a child...apparently I wasn't too cooperative either). Well, a good cleaning never happened.

On the plus side, Connor was excitedly talking about the new toothbrush they give him. And the dentist was assuring me that she is sure my daughter will do much better next week...um, sure...cause no one can have two strong willed children!