P had her first visit to the dentist this morning. I tried to get her excited, but as soon as we got there she freaked out. "I don't want to go to the doctor!!" I told her the dentist just tickles your teeth and looks in your mouth and counts your teeth. It is fun! Yeah, right. Try reasoning with a 2 year old...what am I nuts? What worked the best was just holding her and promising it was okay. As long as she was in my arms she was fine.
Well, that posed a problem. When I got to the dental office I put Ethan in his stroller. He is far to heavy to carry in his bucket seat, and I forgot the stroller it clicks into...but that hardly mattered. There was no elevator. And, to top it off, there were two flights of stairs. Carpeted, thankfully, but still, two flights of stairs. How was I supposed to get my upset toddler and my chubby bubbies up those stairs with a stroller? Well, I couldn't. I decided to leave the stroller tucked away under the water fountain and head up. P was okay with climbing the stairs, luckily, and I carried bubbies.
Finally, up the stairs. Now, holding baby and have screaming toddler to be picked up. Then the receptionist asked for my paperwork they prefer you fill out at home...that I just so happened to leave in my car. I laughed and asked to fill out new forms because I couldn't muster up the energy to do what I just did without bubbies in a stroller. She offered to hold bubbies, who cried the whole time I ran to the car with P. My children were making spectacles of themselves all because there was no elevator - but, I forgive the office because they were TERRIFIC with P and bubbies, and me for that matter.
They had a separate room with toys for the kids. Lots of toys to keep P busy. As she was playing I looked down because I felt something wet. Bubbies peed out his diaper on my lap, and we had just arrived. And, I forgot my diaper bag. And, the nurses were just holding him. Ugh. What was I supposed to do? Luckily it was only pee. I just dealt with it and knew P's name would be called soon. When the nurse came to get us P had another meltdown - there was noway we were getting her in that room without a plan. Fish! Yay dentist for having a fish tank with cool fish AND a Nemo motif painted throughout the whole room. P loves Nemo, so she lightened up a bit...well, until it was time for the brushing. They brushed her teeth with a flouride treatment that supposedly lasts six months. The treatment was to protect P's teeth since children typically don't brush with a flouride toothpaste (kids' toothpaste has no flouride and tastes good - so they swallow it, generally) or have flouride in their water. Before the exam P started screaming and I had to pawn my wet baby off on a nurse.
I was instructed to put P's legs around me and lay her head in the nurse's lap. Holding down my child to get her teeth brushed is not my idea of a good time. Then I hear bubbies screaming because I had to have a nurse hold him since P was uncooperative - and he is entering the stranger anxiety phase of his little life so he was scared to death. My poor children - both screaming for mama, both unhappy, both making spectacles of themselves, and all of the other patients looking at me like I committed a crime. I just laughed and kept on with that appt. I needed P to get her oral exam to be sure her teeth and gums were healthy and that her teeth were coming in okay. And, there was noway I was leaving after the effort it took to get to that point.
P checked out okay and got to choose a little prize before we left and got her toothbrush. (She wanted a sucker, but the dentist said they don't have suckers...what?! Outrage. No sugary sweets that decay teeth at a dentist office?) That was fun for her. Of course, my child couldn't make up her mind between the little plastic elephant or the little plastic hippo. We went with the little plastic elephant and the purple toothbrush.
Everyone there was so great and helpful. They acted like the kids were fine and completely doing the normal thing, which was probably true, but being the mom at that moment didn't feel so great. Luckily I won't have to do it again for a few months.
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