Part of being the "Big 3" is having to do some very big boy things, and one of those things is going to the dentist for teeth cleanings. I know what you're thinking, "Oh no, I bet this was a nightmare." Believe me, the same types of thoughts swirled in my head for days before.
If you've read my blog for any amount of time, you may have noticed that my child is very strong-willed and hard headed (like his father!). If he is ever in a situation he doesn't want to be in, it takes about 12 lbs. of chocolate, promises of new choo-choos, and lots of "you'll love it, I promise", to get him to even remotely cooperate...maybe it's not quite that bad, but you catch my drift.
I was already prepared for a hellacious day....the kind where you're sweating bullets, while chasing down a child in a public building, only to hold them down as they scream, and you wonder if God is laughing at you and punishing you for something you've done.
But that's not how things went... And I'm going to give credit to 2 very key things... (1) the doctor's kit Clinton got for Christmas has dental tools in it and we play with them often! (2) the staff at Dr. Reynolds' office is unbelievable!
When Clinton was 2 1/2, the dentist told me to bring Clinton in with me and let him watch my teeth cleaning. I thought, "Sure I'll do it...but he won't remember it by the time he is three." I was wrong.
All the way to the appointment, Clinton talked about the water. He hooked his pointer, waved it around his mouth, and asked, "Water, mommy? Water?" "Uh-huh....sure." I had no clue what he was talking about, just agreeing to agree.
When we walked in Clinton wasn't shy at all. He just acted like this was a place we went to everyday. Ms. Kathy came and got us and took us back. Clinton went back and just climbed right up in his chair and started looking around. "Mommy! Look, mommy! Water!"
"Oh....he does remember being here!" He was pointing to the little spicket thing they use to squirt water in your mouth. He was so excited about it and couldn't wait until they squirted it in his mouth.
"Can I count your teeth, Clinton?" Ms. Kathy was awesome. She knew just how to get a three year old to respond. Since Clinton is into counting EVERYTHING these days, he was oh-so-happy to have her count his teeth.
"Okay, mom. We're just going to go as far as Clinton will let us, and once he's done, we're done. We just don't want to cause any trauma." "Sounds good to me."
But Clinton never got upset. He was excited about everything. He loved the "toothpaste", he loved the spinning toothbrush, he loved the water (of course) and he loved the vacuum. He got every single tooth cleaned, got a good report, and was very excited about his goody bag....which contained a toothbrush, toothpaste (one of his favorite foods), floss, and a bouncy ball.
I was SO proud of him for being so big!
We'll definitely be looking forward to our next visit!!
Smilin' pretty,
1 comment:
That's one of the best parts of parenthood – accompanying our kids to their first steps to school and even to their first visit to the dentist. In Collierville, I used to bring my eldest to my favorite dentist there. The surprising thing that happened – after twenty long years, my son also practiced Dentistry.
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