Can I Handle Doing This 18 More Times?!

I tell you, it was like pulling teeth to pull Brevin's tooth this time around! I thought I had gotten off a bit too easy with his first one. Our second experience was more like the traumatic episodes I remembered from my childhood. I knew exactly how frightened Brevin was to sit still while I tried to tie floss around the dangling tooth--a feat made nearly impossible with him thrashing, screaming, and crying. But this time, I experienced the same frustration that my mother must have felt as she tried to assure her crazed child that it wasn't going to hurt that much and it would only prolong the emotional suffering to put it off any longer.

What a dilemma! I tried to simply reach in and pull it out with my bare fingers (yes, it was that loose!) but Brevin became wise to my intentions and pulled away, causing the gum to bleed. Well, I'm sure you can imagine how well that was received!

The bargaining commenced. "I'll let you wiggle it with your tongue and try and get it out on your own while you distract yourself with your homework. If you can't get it out by the time you are finished, I will either pull it out using the floss, or let you pull it out using the floss." (Should I have been surprised when he dawdled with his homework?)

Well, it took a shot of Children's Tylenol, a vocal prayer offered on his behalf, and an ultimatum ("You can't play in the snow until we take care of this!") to get him calm enough to tie the floss around the tooth. He had opted to pull it out himself, but there was no need because the dang thing came out as I tried to work the floss down around its base.With a slight pop sound followed by an abrupt, piercing scream that was cut short by a calm "Oh," from Brevin, I was able to announce, "Here it is!"

Brevin's demeanor instantly changed as he proudly claimed, "I faced my fear, just like I faced my fear of the dark!" Now, you might see that the tooth coming in is quite a bit farther behind the socket of the baby tooth and quite crooked, I might add, and so Brevin has essentially insured that he will face yet another fear in the future...braces!

Click on the picture to enlarge the last image and you'll see exactly what I mean! Oh, and don't you love the red, puffy eyes from all the crying!

This post authored by Amber