New Smile
Teagan’s tooth came out last night. After over a week of wiggling, of anxiety and worry and questions. It didn’t just fall out, Teagan decided she was brave enough to pull it out. It was so loose, it was barely hanging on and the new tooth had broken the surface, you could see it waiting. We were surprised that it didn’t fall out with the gentle brushing or her “swish and spit” fluoride rinse. She was terrified of the suggestion – Stu offered to do it – ten minutes before actually doing it herself. She had a tooth when we put Ashlin to bed, and as we were closing her sister’s door, she didn’t.
It was good that it was finally out, she had been so worried it would just fall out and she’d loose it – in the pool, while eating, while coloring, while swinging, in her sleep – and then the tooth fairy wouldn’t come. She worried that the tooth fairy wouldn’t believe us if we left a picture, or if she used an orange pip instead of the lost tooth, or if we/she wrote a note to the tooth fairy. No amount of explaining would make her feel at ease.
She did swim a little, though spent most of the time at the pool yesterday coloring. It was hard seeing her worried and not having fun.
Another worry of hers was that people would laugh at her once her tooth was out, that they would think her smile was funny. We tried to explain that her friends weren’t laughed at, they were envied, when they lost teeth. Maybe the big teeth looked funny as they grew in, surrounded by baby teeth that were smaller, but it wasn’t a funny ha-ha thing at all.
Having the tooth out stopped many of the worries and anxieties. Tooth Fairy treats helped.
And seeing her smile when she told me the tooth fairy came, and gave her treats was priceless. There was a set of legos, with a pirate and a toothy shark, a dollar and two of each coin – quarter, dime, nickel and penny.
What if we can’t find it?
Toothy Shark
Whatever! 