a trip to the dentist {parts one & two}

Grayson had his first dentist appointment Tuesday {31st}.  I told him about a week ago and he said, "Dentists are mean!" and that was that.  I didn't mention it again until Monday night.  He didn't act like it was a big deal at all & seemed a little excited about it, phew!
Beckham went to play with Aunt Doll and the other McKall while I took Grayson.  He was totally sweet going in, friendly to everyone, and opened up a TIME magazine to look at while we waited.  We headed back and he sat in the seat, talked to Jessica a bit, let her lay him down and was great while she counted & cleaned his teeth.  I was totally impressed.  At the end, she went to floss his teeth and about halfway through she must have hit a tender spot because I could tell he was getting sad, but was embarrassed and didn't want to cry.  She asked him if he wanted her to be done and he clamped his mouth shut & sat up to wrap his arms around me when I picked him up.  Dr. Jay came in to look and confirmed what Jessica knew-that he had a tiny cavity between his two front teeth-and to let us know that he'll have to have it filled since he'll have those teeth for a few more years.  Bummer!  Guess we'll be back next week.  Honestly, I was more anxious than Grayson because I'm pretty great with my own oral hygiene, but haven't been a stellar mom in this respect, so I know his tiny cavity is my fault-gotta be better.  Once again Grayson surpassed my expectations, picked a treat out of the treasure chest, and happily left.  Go Grayson, we are so proud of you! {have I mentioned how much I love this kid in his glasses?  Now to remember to have him wear them every day!}

So our return trip to Dr. Jay wasn't quite as smooth sailing for Grayson or mommy.  I took him back Tuesday {June 7th} and he was already nervous going into it because he had just been there a week earlier and wanted to be done.  He went back with me and they gave me some Versed to give him so he wouldn't remember the experience.  He didn't want to take the medicine and I tried holding him down & he spit most of it back up.  He was crying and got worked up enough that he wet his pants-on my lap-and I got teary too because I was frustrated, but also just wanted to get him out of that "mean place!"  Isn't it crazy how as Moms we can simultaneously want to discipline our children & remove them from any situations they view as negative?  I felt bad for him and embarrassed for getting emotional, but everyone there was totally chill and sweet.  Finally got about 1/3 of the medicine in him-would have been so much better if they'd given it to me and let me take him in the bathroom to do it by ourselves so he wans't feeling so pressured-and he calmed down enough to play Memory on my phone while I searched my car for a change of clothes.  We'd used our last extra set, but I did find a pair of undies.  So he got to chill in his boxer-briefs at the dentist.  So cute.  I laid down with him on the chair & watched Mikey Mouse clubhouse while the versed set in.  He was getting pretty loopy & funny and I was cracking up at the things he was saying and how shaky on his feet he was.  Got in the room and Jay started working on his mouth.  I slipped off the chair and sat beside him.  He was doing AWESOME through the whole thing, showing Jay matches on the phone while he worked, till about a minute before Jay was finished and he took his hand out of Gray's mouth.  He realized he had a getaway, and wobbly-kneed tried to escape!  I was laughing, because I could see it coming.  I thought "NO!  Don't remove your hand-just finish!", but knew it'd be hard to finish now beacause there's no going back!  We had to hold him down and he was sobbing and breaking my heart and calling Jay mean and even bit him a few times {not purposely-just trying to get up}.  I felt so bad, but we were all laughing at the same time because it was quite comical that a 3 year old was strong enough {with versed in his system!} to take three adults to hold him down.  Jay was patient and kept saying, "Grayson, I'm not being mean.  I'm not hurting you.  I'm almost done.  Don't bite me."  Etc.  So funny.  As soon as he was done he shot up into my arms and I just loved him for a bit.  Jay took him from me and spent a few minutes reassuring him that he was nice and Grayson settled down, thanked him, gave him high five, and got a treasure {for finishing!}, which he was happy about.  He was still breathing hard as we were getting ready to leave and said, "Now we have to go get some lightbulbs!"  Hahaha!  After all that trauma, he was still excited about picking up lightbulbs. 

Got him in the car and just said {nicely} that next time I'd love it if he wouldn't call the dentist mean and that now he was all done & we could leave, and he just broke down.  I wanted to cry with him because I knew he was scared and even though it didn't hurt, he wasn't comfortable.  I just hugged him and told him I knew it was scary, but he was done and wouldn't have to go back to the dentist for a long time.  And even though he only got a little versed down him, he's mostly forgotten the details, so I'm grateful for that. 

He got a kid's meal, I got a diet coke, and we ran some walmart errands.  Spent some quality time at home and I think it's all but forgotten now.  I was frustrated, but empathetic after I'd had some time to calm down.  Why does it take me so long to do that?  He is such a great kid and I hope that experience doesn't scar him with the dentist for life.  I talked to Amber right after and she understandingly said, "That's where it starts for all of us!  No one likes the dentist & it's because of those first experiences as kids."  Love that.  She listened, empathized with me, and rooted for Grayson, reminding me that he's still little and all these experiences are firsts for him.  So glad we're done for a while!