Ladan's First Dentist Appointment... and My Birthday Present

Ladan had his first dentist appointment on Monday afternoon. We had talked about it on Sunday, so when he woke up on Monday morning, the first thing he YELLED was, "Mommy, I'm ready to go to the DENTIST!!!!!!!" (with his arms pumping in the air as he jumped from his bed). Of course, we had to wait three hours before our 1:15 appointment (that's right... he woke up at 10:15). We killed some time around the house, and he practically flew out the door when it was time to go. All the way there, he talked about how the dentist was going to clean the sugarbugs off his teeth.

We walked into the waiting room, and he was doing great while I filled out his paperwork. He was reading books and saying "that lady isn't going to brush my teeth" every time a new female patient walked in. When Andrea, our hygienist, called his name, we walked back, Ladan almost skipping with excitement.

Then he saw it... the big dentist's chair. And he screamed in terror. I got him calmed down. He refused to sit in it. I sat him in my lap. We showed him the pointy instrument used to count his teeth. He refused to open his mouth. We counted our fingers using said pointy instrument. He opened his mouth. He has 20 teeth. So far, no new discoveries. He started crying and screaming again. He got a sticker (tell me how this works, and I can't tell you--it doesn't happen this way at home, but this was "different"... apparently). It was Thomas. More crying. I prayed with him. He calmed down. Until Andrea came to introduce him to Mr. Thirsty (the thing that sucks slobber and water out of your mouth). He freaked! She moved on to the next activity.

He got to choose a flavor of toothpaste. Pink was his choice (bubble gum flavor). Andrea turned on the toothbrush. He freaked again. Now keep in mind that I'm holding him this entire time. I had my arm around him, and his little heart was beating just as hard and fast as it possibly could without causing some kind of cardiac arrest. She backed off again. We talked about trusting Mommy, God, and the dentist and about how we're trying to help him get the sugarbugs off his teeth so they don't fall out. He calmed down again (his heartrate confirmed this) and opened his mouth. Andrea was able to clean a tooth. We celebrated... for precisely 0.2 seconds before he realized what had happened and started crying again. He calmed down again and opened his mouth. She cleaned a second tooth. Celebration. Then crying.

Andrea decided it was time to stop. She said it's completely normal to have this experience the first time at the dentist. We'll try it again in six months. She gave him a hand balloon (she blew her glove up and tied it in a knot). He chose a toothbrush. He gave her a high-five with his hand balloon and thanked her for her time. Literally, he said, "Thank you for your time." She left the room.

And yet the drama continued. I stood up from under Ladan and went to sit him down in the chair so I could take his photo at his first dentist appointment. I was obviously not thinking, because he screamed with terror and looked at me like I had just slapped him across the face. I tried to explain that I just wanted to take his picture and that we were all done. When I realized he heard none of that, I quickly helped him down from the chair and took his photo standing up. He walked out of there as quickly as he could while still staying beside me.

When we got home, Ladan ran to Chet, and shouted, "Daddy, the dentist cleaned the sugarbugs off my teeth!" I clarified a little bit.

Chet went off to campus to study, and I stayed home with the boys eagerly anticipating the arrival of my birthday present! My birthday isn't for another week and a half, but the boys bought my present early, and IT'S AWESOME!!!!! I've been doing my walking/jogging routine with the boys quite a few times each week, but using the regular double stroller has been killing my back. So they bought be a double jogger. I cannot describe the difference. I can push and steer the thing with a finger, and because it's a double, I can spread my hands out a bit on the handle bar and open my lungs to breathe. I've found breathing to be a helpful addition to my workout routine! The other great thing is that the boys LOVE sitting right next to each other. They rest their heads on one another or sit forward together looking all around and giggling.

I have to say that this is one of the best presents I've ever received! It's right up there with the little bath bench that Chet got me for Valentine's Day one year so I could use it as a desk surface in the tub. I was in the middle of my student-teaching semester, and I kept telling Chet how great it would be if there was some way I could rig something up so I could grade papers in the tub at the end of the day (without risking dropping them right in the water). He and his best friend, Joey, went searching for just the right kind of thing... and they found it! What a creative gift!!! I can only imagine that I will look back on the gift of this stroller with equal or even greater gratitude.

To wrap up our Monday.... Before bed that night, Ladan prayed and thanked God for the ride in his new blue stroller [emphasis mine], for the dentist and for getting his teeth brushed. He told God that he yelled at the lady and said, "NO!" The next morning, he woke up and said he was ready to go to the dentist again! I knew he would forget the terror of this day by the time he was 10 or 12, but I didn't realize he'd forget it by the next day!!! Apparently, there IS hope for the next dentist appointment!