I had warned Scotty that my impending trip to the dentist with both Scooter and Riley was bound to put me in the running for Mother of the Year. So, when he got home last night and asked if I had by chance thought to pick up dog food I think I gave him one of those 'Are you friggin' insane?' looks.
The day was just crazy to begin with. I was really thinking of not attending my Moms Connection meeting since the way November's days fell meant that instead of having my fun Mom days on alternating weeks, I had two meetings two days in a row. We had gone to MOPS on Monday, had a quick lunch and a laundry switch out, gone to the eye doctor for me, raced home to meet the foundation repair guy to see if our problems were under warranty (thanks Dad for helping me with my scheduling nightmare), picked up the boys from school, whipped up dinner and then I pushed Scotty & Tyler out the door for Basketball evaluations. Shew! So yesterday morning I wasn't too thrilled to have another place to go first thing after school drop-offs. I was going to bail until Riley came up to me at my computer and said 'I thought we were going to MOPS! Please, please, please can we go to MOPS?' They are all MOPS meetings to him. I hopped in the shower and off we ran again.
I was really glad I decided to go. It turned out it's our only meeting this month and they were doing 'My Favorite Things'. It's a spin on Oprah's famous shows that we started years ago when I was on steering committee for their old MOPS group. All the steering members get up and talk about something that is one of their favorite things and why and then they draw names to give away some of those items. I came home with some Spry gum (pediatric dentist favorite because it actually helps fight cavities), a packet of the new Tide washing machine cleaner and a gift card for free dessert at Uncle Julio's. I would have loved a lotion, pretty smelling hand sanitizer for my purse or one of the cool planners that fit in your purse, but I was grateful not to win a can of black beans that was one strange girl's favorite thing. I swung by to pick up Riley and then we went to school to pull Scooter out early.
After a quick hour and a half at the Ranch for work, it was time to head to Rockwall for our double dental appointment. Riley had x-rays done at this office last spring when he busted his two front teeth falling off the outside of the trampoline. It was a Friday and neither our normal pedi-dentist or my dentist had been open. I liked their staff so we decided to try doing our cleanings there. Scooter was ready, but apprehensive. He didn't want his teeth 'painted' again since that was the part that made him cry the last time. Therefore, Riley didn't want it either. That's the flouride. I was assured this office didn't 'paint', they used a foam that was faster and tasted better.
I spent the entire visit being a human chair. Scooter was fairly compliant as long as he was glued to my body, so guess what? Riley wanted to do it that way too. We did the x-rays and everyone did okay. Scooter couldn't do the bite-wings because his gag reflex is just too strong. This happened last spring too, they ended up waiting to do it when he was chilled out on valium before his horrific procedure. After another brief wait we were escorted to the Monkey room for cleanings and exams.
This particular dentist doesn't use the typical dental chair. These things lay completely flat O-N-L-Y. There is a TV screen playing a movie (Tangled) on the ceiling. I lay flat on my back with a kid on top of me, head centered on my breast bone. My boys have really hard heads. Riley went first and chose blueberry toothpaste. This was his first cleaning and he did extremely well, right up until they put that foam in his mouth. He cried, begged for a drink and then cried some more. His crying put Scooter into a panic. I opted for no flouride for Scooter. The girl called it 'vitamins for your teeth' and Scooter was so worried about those vitamins that he was not sure he wanted them to do anything at all. I kept telling him it wasn't the vitamins, but it was tough.
He actually did well for about the first 30 seconds. And then, the chocolate flavored toothpaste he had chosen must have not tasted like a Hershey bar after all. He fought, raised up, pushed hands away and then started gagging. To avoid choking he turned his head to the side and puked chocolate flavored toothpaste all over his chair. Oh wait - I was the chair, remember? Wow. I've been covered in a lot of nasty stuff in my years as a mom, but this one took the prize for the most disgusting ever. Luckily, it wasn't a huge amount and after wiping myself down I didn't look too bad. The smell though? Not so much.
The hygienist rapidly finished with a normal toothbrush instead of the 'tickler' so it would be over quickly. I think she was 'done' too. She flossed him and hightailed it out of that room. When the dentist came in, I resumed my role as a piece of furniture. I was panicked about Scooter because I don't think I am ready to undergo another filling with him after last spring. However, the brushing hadn't been going well either. I have had a really hard time transitioning Scooter off of Toddler toothpaste despite 2 years of trying. He just couldn't get used to the stronger taste of even the kid-friendly versions. I would only get one or two little strokes in before he would be gagging, spitting and running away. So, I would go back to the toddler version just so we could brush at all, but they aren't really strong enough for a kid his age and there is no flouride in them. Of course, Riley followed suit as usual and said he didn't like the stuff either. He was still in the 'either-way' age zone on toothpaste though.
I explained all of this and also told the dentist how I finally put my foot down and didn't replace the Thomas the Train tube last time, bought 4 different kinds of the next stage stuff (letting the kids pick out the character versions they wanted) and told the boys they absolutely had to find one they liked. It was a long month with barely any actual brushing going on. Riley was just stubborn until he finally decided he liked 'blue' toothpaste and each day let me brush longer and more thoroughly then the day before. Scooter had to learn to tolerate the new stuff in stages and settled on one he could handle. It's only been in the last week that we have actually gotten some decent tooth time in without him gagging over everything. The boys also finally managed to master spitting the toothpaste out instead of gulping water to remove the taste and swallowing it all. Scooter has also figured out how to swish, rinse and spit which is helping him with his gag reflex.
I know I didn't have anywhere near this kind of trouble with Tyler. He is a diligent brusher/flosser/flouride rinser. I also know I wouldn't have so many issues with Riley if Scooter wasn't setting a finicky example. Luckily, Scooter has no new cavities, just one area to watch. Riley has one spot between 2 molars that might be a cavity forming, but because he's so young they only advised extra diligence in that area for the next 6 months so we don't have to put him under to fill a cavity. I was ready to start Scooter on a flouride rinse since he can now swish and spit, but she said with his sensory issues I should try dipping a toothbrush in the stuff and doing a quick brush over which would minimize swallowing and do enough of the trick. She said I could start that with Riley too since he's four now.
The biggest thing was flossing. I have tried this with Scooter with minimal success thanks to his sensitivities. I hadn't even broached it with Riley yet, but his teeth are super duper close together and they want him flossing twice a day. I hope he isn't inheriting my orthodontia issues, I had a retainer at 8 to make room in my mouth for my teeth. Scooter needs to floss too of course and his teeth are tight, just not as tight as Riley's are.
So, I didn't win any points for my kids check-ups being perfect or for that matter their behavior being perfect, but we survived the experience and don't have to relive it for 6 more months. Last night and this morning the kids were great about brushing, spitting and even flossing! New toothbrushes always help, but Scooter understands that if he does the work now he won't have to go through another nightmare strapped to a huggie-board. He took over his own flossing right away, but I am having trouble with Riley's back teeth. I don't want to hurt him by going to far in and I can't see what I am doing back there. Scooter hasn't gagged on his own toothpaste once in two brushings (a record) and uses the little timer they gave him to make sure he is brushing long enough. I guess after the chocolate toothpaste, the stuff he is using at home probably seems like nothing.
The kids picked identical 'sticky hands' from the treasure box which are these rubbery things that stretch and stick to walls. I made their next appointments and decided to separate them out. I'd rather drive out there twice. That way Riley will behave better and I can focus completely on Scooter alone for his experience. Five minutes from home Riley's treasure toy broke and he cried and yelled about it for an hour, begging to go back to the dentist. (Can you say 'Time Change Sucks!'?) After we recovered I started dinner and 5 minutes before Scott walked in the door Scooter's treasure toy broke and the drama started all over again. It kinda sounded like the same kid. (Can you repeat 'Time Change Sucks!'?)
Scott came in the door to a small amount of chaos and after discovering that Scooter was inconsolable, he took my cue and left him to his tantrum. Then he asked me about the dog food and I gave him the 'look'. I said 'Honey, No - I didn't think to get dog food because I was a little busy trying to get home as fast as possible to remove my shirt that smelled like puke and chocolate flavored toothpaste.' He laughed, said 'Oh Yeah!' and then listened to me for 15 minutes while I related the day. I might have said that he could do it next time. He hugged me and said 'Mom of the Year'.
Thanks and God Bless!
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