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!