You should always see the dentist one hour before eating breakfast or swimming.

[navygreen]

This mama is tired.

Jack had a dentist appointment bright and early this morning. We arrived at 9:45am, and while we were still in the waiting room, the receptionists were whispering back and forth to one another. After a few moments, one of them asked, "Sadie, what time was Jackson's appointment today?" I answered them that I thought it had been 9:45. They'd had 9:15 down for him, and they quickly discussed with the Dr. Drake (a woman, by the way) whether or not there was still time to go ahead with the appointment.

Jack needed his first filling - a small "white dot" has been visible on one of his top incisor teeth for at least the last two years, and at his last check-up, the dentist decided it was time to fix it. They said it was most likely a genetically weak spot in the enamel, and that the 14.5 months he nursed to sleep in his first years probably helped to form the little pocket. He's had it for as long as I can remember him having that tooth, really. I'd asked about having his fixed before, but at the time, it wasn't deep enough for them to be concerned. Finally, it was going to be fixed.

They decided to start the procedure, but they did warn me that if Jack didn't do well on his own, there wouldn't be time for then to use the nitrous oxide, and we'd have to come back again for another appointment. Jack had been so excited about this appointment for so long, as I was constantly showing him the little spot on his tooth at home in the mirror. Dr. Drake gave him a hand mirror and let him look at the spot one last time before starting, and he jabbered away a mile a minute until the technician actually put her hands inside his mouth (at which point he HAD to stop talking).

He did great - never wincing or even mentioning any pain while the scraped and drilled at the tooth. He thought the blue dye was awfully cool, and he held the cotton wipes for the technician even while they worked on him. Within 20 minutes, it was all over. He now has a bright, perfect smile - the first time I ever remember seeing it!

Once Dr. Drake gave him the go-ahead, he hopped down from the dentist chair so fast, announcing to everyone, "And now I'm going to go pick my toy, because I was sooooo good, you know!" The technicians laughed as they watched him head straight for the "toy drawers" - he's been there five times now, so he knows EXACTLY where to go for the good stuff!

We didn't have to wait any length of time for his filling to set, so he chose to go out for breakfast. We came home and picked up A.J. first (Dad was still sleeping, having worked last night), and then we all went out for breakfast. The boys ate like horses - I've never seen them put away so much food. I had to order even more scrambled eggs for each of them when I was only halfway through my own breakfast!

Philip mowed the yard this afternoon, and we'd intended all along to set up Banzai Falls again... but we changed our plans at the last minute. Instead, he cleaned up just a bit, we all changed into our swimsuits, and then we headed out to a pool together. It was so much fun, and it was a perfect afternoon and evening. On the way home, we stopped at Dairy Queen to get ice cream for the boys, but Philip and I weren't hungry. (I think I was a bit water-logged, actually.) In fact, I'm just now getting hungry, having never really eaten dinner yet, so I'm drinking a bunch of water right now instead. :-)

Comments

[fiendfyre.livejournal.com]

Ok one thing stuck me ... jack's real name is Jackson?!

and i hate the dentist! especially since the last time i went it was because i chipped half my tooth away at a waterpark.

[navygreen.livejournal.com]

LOL. But you didn't catch that I called myself "Sadie"?? Yes, Jack's full name is Jackson. Jackson Bailey. :-)

[fiendfyre.livejournal.com]

I caught the sadie thing ... but i figured you were talking about one of the other ladies talking to each other and not you. I was pretty sure your name was nicole. And he does look like a Jackson and a Jack.I've never really thought of the name Jackson before.

[navygreen.livejournal.com]

Hehehe. We call him Jack because I wanted him to have the same nickname as my Pawpaw (who passed away almost a month ago), yet we wanted his name to be Jackson. It seemed to flow better with Bailey, and I'd already decided on that name as the middle name (I was in love with Bailey on "Party of Five").

As for me, my full name is Sadie Nicole Cleghorn. I really dislike Sadie, so I go by Nicole. It's great for weeding out telemarketers, though. ;-)

[fiendfyre.livejournal.com]

Lol i go by spencer and not my first name, jeffrey.

[navygreen.livejournal.com]

Then you completely understand me. ;-)

[fiendfyre.livejournal.com]

Baby Bottle Tooth Decay Prevention (http://www.drraysproducts.com/) this is funny! lol i Gmail and all of my comments are emailed to me. ANd i guess gmail read the email about teeth and this is the ad it put next to the email!

[navygreen.livejournal.com]

Heh. However, Jack never took a bottle, and there's not much we could do to prevent him falling asleep while nursing. ;-)

But OMG - Gmail is spying on you!

[fiendfyre.livejournal.com]

Yeah i think it is. This was the first time i've ever really noticed the ads on the side of the page. Weirddd how that works. Maybe it's time for a newww email company :)

[livemockingbird.livejournal.com]

My uncle had a dog named Sadie.. and now I always think about her when people use that name.

[angelrose.livejournal.com]

I had to reread when I read "Sadie" and "Jackson" lol.

I cannot wait until Nicholas loses his silver capped teeth and he has a perfect bright smile :D It sounds like Jack did wonderful at the dentist though, probably better than I would have!

[navygreen.livejournal.com]

Yep, those are our full names. :-)

[mix3d3m0ti0n5.livejournal.com]

14.5 months he nursed to sleep in his first years probably helped to form the little pocket

Hey hon, I hate when I say things like this b/c I'm not a professional, but while breastmilk *can* cause tooth decay, it's not nearly nearly as likely as what most docs are used to with bottle fed babies.

Milk doesn't pool in the baby's mouth b/c the actual action on the breast for nursing draws the nipple clear into the back of the mouth and the milk almost just falls right down the throat. Then, too, a baby must suckle and will swallow should they express milk out. But milk doesn't really as like pool in a baby's mouth from nursing. Whereas from bottle feeding, the bottle drips,e ven if there isn't any sucking action.

Why am I saything this... b/c I don't want you to feel guilty for nursing your baby to sleep when you did, b/c you did the right thing. I do hear from things I read that there's a small chance with bad genetics that can impact it, but the breastfeeding guru that taught me alot about nursing is also a dental hygentist and she's really really read up on it.

The only teeth I have cavities in are the molars that had the metal bands for braces. My sister is the same way. We always thought that was a weird thing.

[navygreen.livejournal.com]

That makes quite a bit of sense, actually. I just figure for it's easier for dentists to say bottle/nursing both can lead to that decay than to explain the difference. I wouldn't have done anything differently, and Jack was always so happy to drift off to dreamland with his mama. :-)

[mix3d3m0ti0n5.livejournal.com]

i just hate with breastfeeding gets lumped into things caused by bottlefeeding and most of the health care establishment does NOT understand the difference.

To be honest, I *didn't* know the difference until I found all these resources about breastfeeding, so I do my little part of the world to combat misinformation!

*hugs* I'm glad you wouldn't do anything different! Belle still nurses off to sleepytown at 18 mos.

[livemockingbird.livejournal.com]

We went to the dentist yesterday, too. My daughter is almost 3 years old. I felt like I had to "fess up" to still letting her nurse to sleep. When the dentist said, "Oh, give her water in her bottle instead," I clarified.. "Oh, no, she's still breastfeeding to sleep."

Her reply? "Oh, i wouldn't worry about it, then. I still nurse my 3.5 year old to sleep. You nurse her as long as she wants."

:)

[mix3d3m0ti0n5.livejournal.com]

Excellent!!!!! I'm nursing an 18 (almost 19) month old. No end in sight!

[livemockingbird.livejournal.com]

Yup.. keep up the good work!

As for the milk, the night time, and the not brushing after nursing..

Not a sign of discoloration or anything!

[mix3d3m0ti0n5.livejournal.com]

did you use to be in the breastfeeding community? your icon looks familiar and it isn't just from here....

[livemockingbird.livejournal.com]

Yes, I used to be in breastfeeding. I left, though, because while I think that breastfeeding it important, and wonderful, and that all women should be supported in it---I don't think that women should be browbeaten for not choosing to nurse their children for the rest of their lives. I just think that some women should be encouraged to nurse their children until they're at least one--then their choices shouldn't be criticized, you know? I don't know.. It just seemed like that community was becoming boob-nazi junior. So, I left.

:)

[mix3d3m0ti0n5.livejournal.com]

ah! I thought I remembered you from a while back. Yeah, it probably is b/c most of the "main" b-n's left b-n b/c of another big thing. But I can't say anything b/c I am boob snob. I do respect other women's choices, however, I have a hard time when a person posts for help and they simply do whatever that contradicts the advice they've asked for and THEN complain when they have no milk. I help with a local support group, so it helps me stay on my toes :).

Good to see ya again, though

[livemockingbird.livejournal.com]

Sorry for hijacking Nicole!

Oh, I'm still around. The main reason I left/got into a confrontation was because someone asked how to wean with love for some reason or other and she was attacked and pretty much told she was a selfish bag for wanting to stop nursing once she got to a year.

It just seems like so many people (BNs, especially) use the catch phrases "Just get to 6 weeks, 3 months, 6 months." and "Give your baby a year of the best." And then, when the mother decides she just doesn't want to do it anymore--the mention of the "W" word in any breastfeeding community on LJ is like the worst sin ever! I guess I just think that women should be applauded for nursing their children to a year and then given the tools to wean gently.

[navygreen.livejournal.com]

Please, you're not hijacking. I love discussions! Even better when they're in my journal! ;-)

[mix3d3m0ti0n5.livejournal.com]

(yes, sorry nicole!...)

yeah, the "w" is a sore one with me, too. the_fishery started an attached_tots community b/c she wasn't getting "good" info from the others. Of course, she added me as a mod, and one mom came in asking for advice and another just blantanly said she needed to wean.

I personally felt it was an inapproriate (?sp) for the discussion. I think part of that b/c in our society I am generally looked on as a freak b/c my daughter is over 12 months and I'm still nursing.

So, yeah, I'm guilty and maybe a little over agressive of hushing the weaning talk, but that a rare voice out there. You'll hear 99 people telling you to wean and only one saying, it is ok to keep nursing and you can get through this and let nature take it's course? KWIM?

I completely see what you're saying too, but I can see the otherside where maybe just maybe with a little more loving (keyword LOVING) support that maybe more nursing relationships won't end prematurely.

[livemockingbird.livejournal.com]

Oh, don't get me wrong. I'm all about nursing until they're done. I'll admit that some days when she forgets to nurse all day.. I kind of cross my fingers and hope she's decided she's ready--but, I've rarely said, "Hey, you can't nurse right now."

Partly because I think it's hillarious when stuck up idiots get their panties in a bunch when she pulls up my shirt and nurses--she's nearly 41 inches tall!

[mix3d3m0ti0n5.livejournal.com]

OH MY! how sweet though. It's funny where I have such a tiny peanut (babe is only um just shy of 20 lbs, a string bean) that the other moms that get MORE grief than I do b/c their families' say it's ok for me to nurse b/c my daughter is so small (and probably needs it). But why have such a double standard?

So yeah, I hang around those places so that maybe I can be a small source of reason....

[livemockingbird.livejournal.com]

I have just been good about keeping a large number of people on my friends list that share my beliefs so that I have never felt like I've had to censor my posts so as not to offend anyone. All but 2 mothers on my friends list breastfeed or have breastfed---one of them is an adoptive mother and the other had a heart condition which makes her be on medications that are just not safe for her baby to get through her milk.

[lilmissriss.livejournal.com]

A small quirk about me: I've never had even one cavity. You learn something new every day! ; )

[navygreen.livejournal.com]

I've never had a cavity either, but I had a root canal when I was 12. Even then, the dentist seemed perplexed as to why the root had died so suddenly in a person so young.

[livemockingbird.livejournal.com]

Jack, Arden, and another kid on my friends list went to the dentist yesterday. And everyone was good all around.

:)

I'm glad he isn't afraid of the dentist!

[navygreen.livejournal.com]

And I went for my regular check-up this morning. :-)

[hypn0tiq.livejournal.com]

Whenever I am in the water all day I get sort of sick to my stomach for some reason...like I just can't eat. I am a water rat. I could swim all day long but I can't eat. I don't know, it's weird. I don't know why that happens.

[navygreen.livejournal.com]

I don't know why either, but I totally know what you're saying.