Dentist

The kids had their first dentist appointment today (Well, first for Jason and Emily. Shelly had seen the dentist once in CA). All three of them. At the same time. I'm not sure why offices seem to think it's easier to bring them all in at the same time. It's a nightmare for the parent. Especially when they're all little, and it's their first time, and I have another baby to worry about... How am I supposed to make sure that the one on the chair is okay and behaving and keep the others out of trouble at the same time?

Ok, enough of that... I realize that I'm lucky to have family nearby who are willing to babysit at the drop of a hat (almost literally) and that most parents would prefer to not have to find babysitters three different times. So, back to the dentist.

They started out getting x-rays of their teeth.

Shelly went first.

They did x-rays of the back teeth - the ones that make you gag.
Shelly was a champ - she only gagged twice and they only had to re-do one shot that didn't turn out. (ok, that's not really champ status, but she didn't complain at all - that's good right?)

There's the paper towel the hygienist gave her to wipe off her mouth from the gagging.

Jason's turn!

Look up.

Emily was last with the x-rays.

Hi Munchkin!

They only did the front teeth for the younger two kids.

Top and bottom of the front teeth. They couldn't handle the ones in the mouth. It was hard enough to get this one back far enough...

Jason got to go first for the cleaning.

Emily wanted a picture of Emmie Sue, Mommy.

Annie slept through most of it. Except at the end. She woke up and needed holding to get through the last few minutes. I took her from Mark so he could help with the other kids and started rocking her. The shoes I was wearing were inappropriate for that though, and I twisted my ankle holding her and almost fell and dropped the baby. I'm just glad that I fell onto the bottom of the dentist chair, and that the baby falling happened in enough slow motion in my head that I was able to catch her both of the time that she left my arms, and to correct and catch her head and not just her back when she bent backwards in half... I took those shoes off as soon as we were back in the car, and let someone else hold the baby. I twisted it again walking out to the appointment desk, and was grateful it was just me that time.

Jason getting his teeth flossed

Shelly watching Jason getting his teeth polished

And washed

And double checked

Emily waiting for her turn to take a 'ride'

wee!

polish

wash

Shelly's turn

I'm so grateful that Mark came with me! It would have been painful to keep all the kids entertained while they waited for their turn.

Shelly getting flossed,

and polished,

and washed.

Emily waiting for the dentist.
The kids figured out all by themselves that Shelly got to go first on the x-rays, and Jason got to go first with the hygienist, so it was Emily's turn to go first with the dentist.

Checking Emily.

We got to see her new molars coming in.
Apparently she has a little bit of a discolored tooth - probably the result of one of her several falls lately. It should be fine and/or go away.

Shelly's turn.
She has 4 cavities. Well, three for sure and one of them is a kissing cavity, and could end up being nothing. They're on opposite sides of her mouth, so we scheduled 2 appointments for her to come in and get them fixed.

Jason's turn. They weren't able to get x-rays to see if he had any cavities, so they gave him a clean bill - for now.


We took them to get ice cream at Arctic Circle and then went to play at Ethan's house. He's having his tonsils out tomorrow, so we won't be able to go over and play for a while. I loved the face she made when she tried to take the lid off this pen!