The Night We (Almost) Lost A Tooth (51/366)

Thursday February 23, 2012

**WARNING - NOT FOR THE SQUEAMISH!!!**

So... I'm a bad mom.

Hannah hasn't lost a tooth yet (she'll be six years old in 2 weeks).

She's had a loose tooth on the bottom for what seems like forever!  We have just told her to keep wiggling it and eventually it will be ready to pull out, or it will fall out on its own.

So tonight she came to me and asked if I would pull it out for her - she's done this 100 times in the last few months.  And, unlike the other times, I told her I thought it was finally ready.  She said it was annoying and she was ready for it to be out.

I started slowly, just wiggling and checking things out. 

Then I started pushing it.

First one direction. Then the other.  As Ava looks on, mouth open, fingers on her chin...

Of course, Hannah was ready to let me know when it "hurt".  So, I stopped and she would run to the bathroom mirror to make sure her face was still in tact, and then she'd come back and ask me to try again.

After repeating this ritual 3 or 4 times, I told her that if she wanted to wait, it will eventually fall out on its own and we could stop at anytime she wanted.

She told me to continue.

So I did.

And the next time I pushed that tooth, I felt it S-N-A-P!  I could feel it pulling away from the gums.

I thought for sure I would have a tooth in my hand, but I wasn't so lucky.

Then started the wailing.  OH! The wailing!

Hannah started wailing and crying and went on & on about how it hurt and oh my goodness.

She ran to the bathroom mirror to make sure she still had hair and a nose...  and came back out, still whimpering, and told me that her tooth was bleeding everywhere! 

(It wasn't).

I went to the bathroom where she was literally 1/2 inch away from the mirror, wiggling her tooth.  She was done crying now and telling me how she liked the way her blood tastes (ew).

I said, "What, are you a vampire now?"

She laughed.

I said, "Hey, does it really hurt or is it just uncomfortable?  Because I remember when I had loose teeth your Grandpa or your Bumpa would tie one end of a piece of string around my loose tooth, and tie the other end of the string to a doorknob, and YANK!" (I don't know if they did or not, I just remember being threatened with it).

She looked up at me with pure horror in her eyes.

She said, "It is just uncomfortable, i-i-i-i-t-t-t doesn't really h-h-h-u-r-r-t..."

I think she was just a little overwhelmed by the sounds and the feelings in her mouth.  I remember it well, actually.

I looked back at her and said, "It's just like a bandaid. You just gotta yank it and then it's over.  Quick and dirty.  Wait till you have kids. Now that's pain!"

I was kidding.

Sort of.
She looked up at me again with the same pure horror in her eyes.

**Now this is where I must interject a quick side story.  I don't do pain.  Obviously, I've had kids.  I got my epidural when I was dilated to 1 cm.  My doctor exclaimed that in his 25 years of being an OBGYN, he'd never given one that early.  I insisted.  I don't do pain.  So, for me to talk about how painful childbirth is, I only know how painful the contractions are until you're dilated to 1. Yeah, I'm a wuss.**

I put my arm around her and told her that I was totally kidding.  I would never do anything to hurt her on purpose, and losing her first tooth should be a very special occasion - not a traumatic one.

She decided she wanted to wait until tomorrow to try again, and I'm totally okay with that. But all it needs is ONE MORE GOOD TUG!

Someday, when she does finally lose this tooth, I'll make sure to tell that story - I'm sure it'll be good.

Ava eventually looks up at me and says, "Mama, I has a loose tooth too. But I's don't want you to pull on it, okay?  It will fall out all by itself.  All by itself."

Today, I'm thankful that I'm able to be here with my kids for their firsts.  This is fun.