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Monday, May 21, 2007

The Things I Do.....To Reassure Myself

Slowly but surely I am beginning to realize just how very insecure I can be. I have always fancied myself to have fairly high self-esteem, but recently, I am having to admit that I often do things just to reassure myself that I am on the right track.

Late last summer, I noticed small grayish specks on my daughter's teeth. I totally freaked out. If you know me at all, you are quite familiar with the fact that I am not only a worrier, but I am a tad paranoid. The moment those darn specks wouldn't scrap off, I just knew Sugar Bear had the beginnings of tooth decay. I am a well educated woman, and I had been doing all the "right" things. No juice, no sugary treats, lots of water, brushing her teeth 1-2 times a day, fluoride drops, and so on. However, there was one thing that I had continued to do regardless of much research that it could cause tooth decay. Sugar Bear was a night nursling. In fact she continued to nurse 3 times a night until she was nearly 18 months of age. I didn't mind our nightly cuddles, as she co-slept with me, and I enjoyed our sweet together time. It is, however widely known that milk on the teeth at night can cause bottle rot. At the sight of those horrible grey spots, I declared, "dear lord, I gave my daughter boobie rot!" It was a horrible feeling.

I quickly set to hooking her up with a dentist appointment. It was easier said than done. Not a single dentist in our area cared to see a 19 month old. They all just told me to bring her in when she was 3. ummmmmm....no....she has grey spots. Finally a sweet lady dentist took pity on me and took a look. ummmmmm....yeah....waste of time, and only served to cost me $90, freak me out more, and fluoride varnish Sugar's lips and tongue. THANKS! So, I made yet another appointment for her with a pediatric dentist 1.5 hours away. A busy busy busy practice, so the earliest they could see her was 2 months away. I proceeded to be the best toddler tooth brusher on earth, and obsessed over those darn spots. Fun thing happened....they slowly disappeared before the appointment came. With much soul searching, and serious intellectual contemplation I put two and two together and realized that quite possibly the 50-100 blackberries my daughter had been foraging in our yard all summer might have stained her teeth. When the appointment finally rolled around there wasn't a grey spot to be seen, but they took my word for it, and patted me on the back for having a toddler with perfect little white teeth, and a healthy eater.

Okay, so if you made it this far....you deserve a prize. All of this brings us to today, 6 months later. Our return visit to the pediatric dentist was scheduled for today. They give you half off if you stay on a 6 month schedule of fluoride varnishing. YOU KNOW I CAN'T PASS UP A SALE! So away we went. Did you know that everyone and their dog thinks I am NUTS for taking a 2 year old to the dentist? How many times do I have to hear, "They are JUST baby teeth!" or "why are you spending money on teeth that are going to just fall out!" ugh.... Why does everything have to be an argument? Why am I constantly having to defend my parenting decisions? Can't I just take my kid to the dentist if I want to?

Well, it appears that I need reasons. So here they are:
-It is recommended by the American Pediatric Association
-It is recommended by the Pediatric Dental Association
-It is HALF OFF!
-and lastly, It makes me feel better when I am told that I am doing a good job keeping her teeth clean.

I honestly, think that this last reason is really why I NEEDED to go today. I find that like many other things, I have a hard time believing that I am doing this parenting thing correctly. I need reassurance that I am doing well.

The good news is that today I not only heard that I am doing a great job on Sugar Bear's teeth, but that she is darling, and one of the most well behaved 2 year olds they have had the pleasure of working with. What mom doesn't want to hear that? However, I think they might have been blowing a little smoke up my you know what, because my brilliant daughter figured out the sure fire way to ensure that the dentist stays a healthy distance from you and only gets close enough to look in your mouth for 2.5 seconds. Literally, at the very same moment they called her name to see the dentist she loudly announced, "mama, I am beary (very) POOPY!" It was a proud proud moment! That's my girl!

13 Live It or Love It:

Megan@SortaCrunchy said...

Corey, I just love reading your writing! I can TOTALLY imagine you saying all of that!!

Well, hooray for a sweet, well-behaved girl at the dentist (I can only imagine the nightmare that D would have been), and HOORAY for a mama who has the confidence to do what she knows is best, regardless of what the nitpickers might say.

Love you, friend!

Autumn said...
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Anonymous said...

Love your blog, Corey! Love your new header too! You are an awesome mother!

Meghan said...

Why does everything have to be an argument? Why am I constantly having to defend my parenting decisions? Can't I just take my kid to the dentist if I want to?

It shouldn't be.
I have no idea, and you shouldn't have to.
Yes.

Also, my mom was a dental hygienist for years, and she said that taking good care of baby teeth is excellent, because it helps the adult teeth underneath them. So THERE, all you naysayers.

(I would panic, too, if Xan had any kind of spots on his teeth... baby of not.)

Anonymous said...
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Lauren said...
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Boricua in Texas said...

I loved this post. You made me smile. I am sometimes obsessive and a worrier.

Corey~living and loving said...

Thanks for all the comments my friends! I needed the pats on the back! tee hee

Mandy said...

Good to see someone as OCD as me being so adament about the care of their kids toofers! My son started going to the dentist at 1 and my daughter at 2, they go every six months. It is SO important to me. Yay to you for being such a good mama!

Corey~living and loving said...

Autumn said...
Corey, You will get no argument from me about taking her to the dentist so early! Don't let people give you a hard time about your parenting. We obsessive mommies have to stick together!
What a good sweet girl Sugar Bear is to sit for the dentist so well. Gavin wouldn't sit still at 3 let alone 2! Now at four he is a dream (lots of practice) with awsome checkups.. and NO cavities!
I was laughing out loud about the berry poopy... funny girl.
Love this blog btw.. but my husband is really sick of me telling him "listen to what Corey wrote today!" LOL

Corey~living and loving said...

*Heidi* said...
Corey, Glad her teeth are fine, perfectly fine! No one wants their children to have bad teeth, so getting a good start is very important, and you knew that!

It was fun to race around our house with Sugar, but she wore me out!!! She's got so much energy, smiles included! I'm glad you were able to meet Mommie! They left bright and early the next morning!

Where's the pictures????? LOL

Corey~living and loving said...

Lauren said...
Corey, I loved reading that. I am the same way about being paranoid and a worrier. I hate it, but it's who I am so I must embrace it. I think it's great that you took Sugar to the dentist. You are a great Mom! Sugar is such a great kid because of you.

signs of heart attack said...

Hi guys the work you are doing with this site is excellent,it caught my eye,I think the site is full of good and interesting notes

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