"Soren's tooth is so wiggly, I don't know how he eats. You really need to get that out of there or it could shift his permanent tooth into the wrong position."
I didn't know it was that loose. I mean yikes. I had wiggled it a few times before but Soren didn't want me to go snooping around in his mouth much. He was scared of it hurting. So on the car ride home I said,
"Hey Soren, want to pull out that tooth today? The dentist said we have to get it out. Hey, I know, we can pull it out with some pliers. That is how my Mom and Dad would pull out my teeth!" - If I say "that is what I use to do as a kid" I almost have a 100% chance that my kids will accept whatever it is I am talking about.
But regardless, that is not a joke. I have many vivid memories of my Dad joking about different ways to pull out teeth (string and the door method ect.) and then pulling out rusty old pliers. My mom may have forced him to wash them first though. I of course thought this was normal as I saw many of my older siblings get their teeth pulled with them. Sometimes my Mom would get enough courage to try but after it slipped a few times she would either chicken out or get fired and we would just wait for Dad to get home. By the time I was on my 4 or 5th loose tooth, I started getting really motivated to get my teeth out. If it was even slightly wiggly I would ask my Mom to pull it. She would do a wiggle test and turn me down, "Sorry, Quinae, that is not wiggly enough. Keep working it." And so I did. I would work on it all day and by the evening I would either pull it out myself or pass the wiggle test. I do not know why I was so motivated. Our tooth ferry was cheep and forgot most the time. I eventually would just go up to my mom and say, "here is my tooth. Can I have a dollar?" My Mom was happy to oblige and not have to attempt to remember. It was a win-win.
Now, since Soren is 6, he doesn't know that this is probably a strange way to pull out teeth. So, he nervously accepted my idea. Later that night I told him it was time and got the pliers. As I tried to get a good grip I started to realize for the first time why my Mom never liked pulling out teeth (strangely enough when I was a kid, I didn't know what her problem was). The whole time you are thinking, "I hope this goes well." as the kid the kid scrunches his face and moans in the anticipation of pain. I got a good hold of the tooth (not an easy task) and trying to tell my self to yank. "One two three yank Quinae!" But I didn't yank. Lets try again. "One, two three, YANK Quinae!" Dang it, my body didn't obey. By this time Soren is getting more nervous as he keeps him mouth open wide and pliers and squeezing his tooth but not moving. Suddenly I hear Ryan come down stairs and I sigh in relief! Yes I call my girl card! You see, I have this girl card that I like too use at times. I figure I don't use it much so I don't feel guilty at all when I use it.
Once I tell Ryan what the dentist said, Ryan becomes all business. Ryan rocks the tooth a few times to get a feel of it and Soren begins to cry. I begin wondering if this is a good idea and as I begin to quietly himm and haw that thought Ryan rocks the tooth 3 more times and yanks.
The tooth is out! Ryan and I squeal in delight and amazement while Soren screams in horror at the sight of blood. I try to convince Soren he is so tough and amazing while he screaming like he is hemorrhaging out. Granted this is the most blood Soren has ever lost - which speaks to the lack of cutting injuries he has had - not the tooth. I begin to wonder if we have traumatized our child. A few minutes later that fear was validated........by the other kid.
Suddenly I see Xander, who was sitting just a couple feet away the whole time, look a little white faced, saying while shaking his head, "I never want to loose a tooth."
Dang it. There are so many ways to screw up your kid.
Once the bleeding stopped in a few minutes, Soren recovered and felt like the tough guy I praised him to be. Here are the photos to prove it.
With the help of Mr. Tooth Fairy, Mrs. Tooth Fairy remembered to put the dollar under the pillow. Soren was so happy the next morning he decided to wake us up at 6am to celebrate.
One down, 19 more to go.....times 2.
2 comments:
Wow, congrats Soren! Man, I so want to do the tooth fairy thing, but Corban is saving each one of his teeth thinking he will get a bonus for giving them all at once! By the time that happens, he will be too old to make it fun! Hopefully Liam will lose one soon....
The fun begins! :) Such an exciting phase of life!
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