This and That

Today was Garrett's return trip to the dentist to fill his 2 cavities.  At the last visit, no one told me how the process for filling cavities in a 3 year old would go, so I wasn't sure what to expect.  But the hygienist came out and called for Garrett, then she told me that I could stay in the waiting room and he would go on back with her.  They would give him nitrous (aka laughing gas) to numb him and then get his teeth filled.  I'm not really sure how an inhaled gas actually numbs your gums, but maybe it makes you loopy enough to not care if you're in a little pain.  I don't know, I've only had the big needle of Novacain shoved into my gums.  That just seems like the sensible way to do it.  But I never heard any screams during the 30 minutes or so that he spent in the back, so I guess it worked.  The hygienist came out to let me know that Garrett was done and she raved about how well he did and what a good patient he was, etc.  Of course he then turned off the good behavior and refused to leave the waiting room with me.  He wanted to stay (and who wouldn't, he was in the middle of watching "Bolt" when they finished the fillings).  I tried explaining to him that there was nothing more for us to do there, but he was having nothing to do with any sort of rational thoughts, so that meant I had to resort to physically picking him up and carrying him to the car while he screamed.  So much for being the good patient.  (And don't tell Keith.  He doesn't want me carrying Garrett around right now.  But, honestly, what else was I supposed to do, except stand there until I wore him down.  Or spanked him.)  And fyi, laughing gas does not make my child funny or even remotely so.  He spent the rest of the day being grouchy and irritable.  

Switching gears.

Lately I'm feeling every bit of the 30 years attributed to me on my last birthday.  I know being pregnant has everything to do with it.  But seriously, if what I'm feeling is how I'll be feeling when I'm 70, yikes!  I'm sorry to both my grandmas if you're feeling the aches and pains that I am.  (Which obviously are not accompanied by internal punches and kicks.  Atleast, I hope they aren't.)  I think every joint and muscle in my body has hurt in the last few months.  And while Cooper isn't the active baby Garrett was, he more than makes up for it by making every movement as painful as possible.  On Sunday and again today, he has been doing something that hurts nearly as much as a contraction.  I haven't figured out what he's doing exactly, but I'm more than ready for him to knock it off.  Thankfully laying down and moving from one side to the other seems to stop him.  But that's not an option when you're driving down I30 when he decides to do whatever it is he's doing.  I feel bad that I'm not enjoying my last pregnancy as much as I should be, but I really am ready to move on to the next stage.  I know that will involve a lack of sleep, but I'm already dealing with that now, so I might as well have some company.

Garrett's room is thisclose to being finished.  We have 3 more things to hang on the wall and then Keith and I have to decide if we want to rehang the wooden letters that spell his name.  I spent the afternoon earlier this week repainting those letters and Keith was not too thrilled with my painting expertise.  To quote him "These will never be dry!  How much paint did you use, exactly?"  He's threatened to dunk them in paint stripper and redo them, but I told him that Garrett's room does not need to have his name in it.  So I'm not sure if these will end up in the trash or if they'll get redone by the "pro" and hung up at that point.  But he did threaten me with bodily harm if I even attempted to paint the letters for Cooper's room.  (Not really, but I know he wouldn't be happy with me if I tried it.)  So as soon as all of this is done, I promise to post pictures of the completed room.  Of course once Cooper's room is done, I'll post pictures of it also.  But we still have a drop cloth and a ladder in there, so, even though the painting is done, it may still be awhile before the furniture makes it way in there and things get hung on the walls.

To finish this, I wanted to share the music video for a song that I'm really enjoying (aka crying with) right now.  If you listen to country music or live in Texas where you can't avoid country music, you've probably heard the song already.  But for the rest of you, the song is called "It Won't Be Like This For Long" and the singer is Darius Rucker (aka Hootie from Hootie and the Blowfish.  Yes, he is now a country singer and a good one at that.)  

Off to the Dentist

Garrett had his very first dentist appointment today.  I know I'm a terrible mom for not having taken a picture of the momentous occasion, not to mention a terrible blogger for not hauling my camera with me everywhere to include snapshots in my blogs.  To be honest, I'm too tired.  

Anyway, I had been prepping Garrett for today's appointment for about a week now.  We've discussed the idea of going to a doctor who will check his teeth, take pictures of his teeth and clean them to look nice and pretty.  Then, low and behold, Sesame Street's episode this morning was all about teeth!  One more bit of reinforcement for my dentist discussions.  

First off, I know most people/parents fall into one of two camps.  Camp 1 includes parents who find any dental visits when the child still has baby teeth to be a tad ridiculous considering the fact that those teeth will eventually end up in the trash (or a jar for safe keeping if you're that mom.)  I know these parents would of course take their child to the dentist if something were noticeably wrong, but otherwise, they wait until permanent teeth are in place before making this trip.  Camp 2 consists of parents who take their small child to the dentist, but this group is actually divided as well.  There's the group who takes their infant to the dentist before they even have any teeth and then the group who figures, hey, the kid is already on our dental insurance and it probably wouldn't be a bad idea for them to go before they get too old to develop some sort of weird fear of the dentist.  I'm in that last group.  Dental insurance for our family versus for just Keith and I is exactly the same, cost-wise.  So Garrett has had dental insurance for as long as I have.  (I didn't have any while teaching.  And we never had any growing up.  A perk of being a PK.  That's why my first dental appointment wasn't until I was 13.  And I lied and told the dentist it had only been a year since my last appointment.  I'm sure he thought I hadn't brushed my teeth once in that entire year, since I had 4 cavities and a plaque problem.)

A friend of mine gave me a recommendation for a pediatric dentist, I called and made the appointment, and there we sat this morning, in the waiting room, watching "Toy Story" on one of 2 wall-mounted TV's.  If you know my child at all, you know that this movie is one of his favorites.  A positive to seeing a pediatric dentist instead of a regular one.  The hygienist gave me a quick tour to show me where exams take place (a huge room with ceiling and wall mounted TV's, a large aquarium, and tons of toys), the room for x-rays (with yet another TV), and finally, the room where I met the dentist and got a quick overview of today's appointment (this room also had a TV along with several books and toys).  Every TV was showing the same movie, so no matter where the child was, they were able to keep up with what they were watching.  I only wish my dentist would invest in something similar, except maybe showing "Friends" reruns instead.  

The dentist told me they would do x-rays, a cleaning, fluoride treatment, along with an exam.  Then he asked Garrett if he wanted to come with him and let Momma go to the waiting room and read a magazine.  Garrett happily went along with him without a single backward glance towards me.  The way this office is set up, parents are invited and allowed to watch the exams through a window in the hallway, but I chose to read "People" in the waiting room in the relative peace and quiet that accompanies other moms waiting for their kids.  

45 minutes later, I was called back and told that Garrett was finished.  I sat down to pay our co-pay and schedule his next appointment, when I hear his voice.  He walks around the corner being followed by 3 ladies who worked there, who were treating him as if he hung the moon.  They gave him a sticker and a balloon (which are protocol) and then every single lady came up to me to tell me how great he did and how fun he is and how friendly he is, etc.  He somehow managed to charm them all.  If he feels like being charming, then he is, it just depends on his mood.  Thankfully today was one of those days.  

He has some nerve damage to one of his front teeth, which I suspected, because he fell and hit his mouth about a month ago and the tooth has been changing colors since then.  He also has 2 small cavities on his back molars.  While I do find myself rolling my eyes about filling baby teeth, knowing they will fall out in the next 4 years, it's not that big of a deal and atleast this way he will learn early on what a filling is all about.  

Now I get to try and figure out how to floss his teeth.  It's not something we've been doing, but apparently it's something we're supposed to be doing, so I'm going to give it a shot.  But this is the kid who randomly snap his mouth shut while we're in the middle of brushing his teeth, so the first time he bites me, I will probably be tempted to quit, among other things.

And how weird is it to think that at his next cleaning appointment in October, I will have a 3-4 month old with me!