Boys survive 1st Dentist's Appointment!

Cary and Dean had their first ever dentist's appointment today.

I thought this was sooo cute, on the door of the dentist's office when we walked in. But a friend points out that it might just be a HIPAA violation. Whoops! I still think it's cute.

The status report: No cavities!!! But plenty of tears.

Thank God Lester and I both went to this appointment, because we needed all four hands on deck to keep the boys calm enough for the dentist to poke around in their mouths, count their teeth, check for cavities and paint on some flouride. (Note: The whole appointment took about 8 minutes. Which would have been great, if our waiting room time hadn't been over an HOUR.)

P.S. Cary has 16 teeth (right on schedule), and Dean has 12, with 4 cutting through, which might explain his crankiness and clinginess. Actually, he's just cranky and clingy. Who am I kidding?

The boys actually did better than I thought with the dental exam -- and they probably would have done even better, if it hadn't been for the fact that the office was backed up, so we had to wait, as I noted, more than an hour in the waiting room. So by the time our name was finally called, the boys were a little tired, needing a snack, and completely opposed to leaving behind the treasure chest of books, blocks and other amazingly fun things for them to do.

My babies thought they were big boys, "playing" video games! But their favorite thing in the waiting room was a pretend kitchen, which kept them enthralled. I know what THEY'RE getting for their birthday!

The crying ensued before we even made it to the dentist's chair, and scaled up as we got to the clinical part of the office, so needless to say I wasn't able to get any lovely photos of them with wide, protesting mouths and crocodile tears. Sigh. My photojournalism skills fail miserably in the face of twin temper tantrums.

Next time, hopefully they'll see us sooner, so the boys don't get the idea that the dentist's office is really a big playroom. I want them to get it that we go there so the doctor can check their teeth, not so that they can pretend to make food in the little play kitchen for an hour. (Am I asking too much too soon?)

The dentist was very happy with the boys' teeth, and the fact that they are pretty much juice-and-soda free. He did (kindly) stress to us the importance of getting them off the bottle at night, and when I told him I was already on it, reducing their milk by an ounce a week until their birthday, he wasn't impressed. He said I need to make sure the last thing in their mouths at bedtime is their toothbrush and toothpaste, not milk. So unless I'm brushing their teeth after they have their bottle (which I'm not; we brush during bathtime) then I'm not doing the boys' teeth any favors.

I considered what he said very seriously, but I honestly think at this point I'm just going to stick with the plan to wean them over the next few weeks. They will be 2 on May 11, and either that week or the very next week, they will have their last nighttime bottle. (God-willing and the creek don't rise.)

I think my sweet little baby boys need the full month to transition out of that bedtime ritual.

And I know I do. :-(

Note: Next dentist's appointment is in 6 months, and I'll have to pull them out of SCHOOL to take them! Egads!! Time is FLYING. I can't stand it! Seriously, stop this train!

We start 'em early around here!

Yes, my babies have one tooth between the two of them.

But is it ever too early to teach good hygiene?

We think not.

First tooth!

Cary's upper right tooth came in yesterday.

Finally!
A tooth!

We think the left one is coming in, too. Lester said he saw it this morning, but Cary refused to let me even get a glimpse, so I cannot independently verify said second tooth.

But if Lester's eyes are correct, then that makes the tooth count in the Davis household:

Cary - 1.5
Dean - 0

I'll keep you posted as to how this goes.

(You can just barely see the tooth here! Look reallllly closely.)

Dreams, teeth and other weirdness

Do babies have bad dreams?

Last night, Dean suddenly screeched in his sleep twice and then ....silence. Ten minutes later, he screeched again, just once this time, and then silence, again. I went in to check on him and he was asleep in his crib, like an angel, clutching Lovey the Puppy.

It was so weird.

Of course, a sudden screech from your babies' room in the middle of the night is startling, to say the least, so *I* had a hard time going back to sleep after that. I kept wondering, "What was that all about?" He must've been dreaming about something. What could it be??

Here are my ideas, based on what I know about Dean:

1) He found an awesome toy to gum, and Cary army-crawled over to him and snatched it away.
2) He fell over in his crib (or in the Pack 'n Play or on the floor) onto his back and tried, like a turtle, to sit up, but couldn't. (This actually happens at least twice daily).
3) He was forced to sleep without his blanket or Lovey the Puppy.
4) He was desperately trying to pick up Puffs off the floor, but his pincer grip just wouldn't quite work.
5) Cary took his toy, and in the process, pushed him over so that -- again -- he was unable to sit up AND he had no toy. (This might actually have been it, folks. This would have to be Dean's ultimate nightmare.)

Meanwhile, I finally snapped a photo of Cary standing in his crib! It's taken me days to catch him in the act and all I had handy was my stupid iPhone, which takes crappy pictures:

Check out how Dean is looking at him like, "Hey! How does he DO that?"

And also, I would like to point out that my babies -- who will be 10 months old in two weeks -- STILL have NO TEETH! How the heck are we supposed to start introducing meats and actual table food, if they have NO TEETH!! More weirdness for me to ponder!

We see the doctor on the 3rd -- I'll ask him about teeth and baby dreams while we're there.

Happy Friday!