Things Parents Have To Learn For Themselves- How to Handle Loose Teeth.

        Josiah (our oldest) has his (aka "the") first loose tooth. That's right: we're entering the "all-I-want-for-Christmas-is-my-two-front-teeth" stage. This tooth is one of his lower bottom ones. At his dental visit last week we learned he had three other loosies, but this one is way looser. Break out the string.
         A child's first loose tooth is something not covered in those "what to do now that you are responsible for this tiny human" videos you watch at the hospital. It's not covered in Nurturing Parenting Classes, or even behavioral ones. Preschool and Kindergarten teachers are not even equipped to give parental advice regarding this subject. Unlike pottying, there aren't volumes of books written on this subject. This is one of those "uncharted territories" that every parent must (or should-something's wrong if your child's baby teeth don't come out) navigate on their own. And this was how we ended up handling it....
        See, I have this "problem". This "gift" if you will. I call it an over-active imagination. I'm not sure if it's really my imagination or if there is some other term for it, but I have the ability to imagine a situation and feel it-the emotions & whatnot. Go ahead, call me crazy (that's my nickname, afterall) but when my 6yo is wiggling his loose right in front of me, I too feel it wiggle. I feel the gums moving back and forth as he touches it. I feel it stuck pointing forward, hitting his lower lip. I feel it.
        And I want it out. It gives me the heebie-jeebies watching him wiggle it back and forth, unwittingly imagining how it feels to be wiggled-the gums moving with each touch, the roots jiggling up and down....
        So I was in the bathroom, freaking out about Josiah's now super-loose tooth. I begged hubby to pull it out and he agreed. After attempting the not-so-easy feat of using tweezers, he grabbed his pliers. They did not do the job either. During this event, the rest of the children have accumulated in the room, begging us to spare Josiah's life. (Dramatic, I know, but these are my children). It was starting to become as dramatic as that epic scene in Castaway (You know-the one where Tom Hank's character takes an ice skate to his infected molar).
       Needless to say, nothing ended up coming out of his mouth except wails and pleads of not being tormented again.
       Fast forward two days and after bathtime, hubby tried using his fingers to pull the tooth out. Aside from screaming and crying from Josiah, nothing else happened...for 10 more minutes. Next thing I know, Josiah's running downstairs with a bloody mouth an a bloody tooth in his hand- he finished pulling it out by himself!
       And here he is looking all proud of the moment:

          Just one more thing we've survived ;)

Comments

  1. Good for Josiah! Love these stories!

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