Eloise Today

I've dreaded today for a long time.

Today was Eloise's 2nd try at the dentist.  And she has some terrible staining.  And she still sucks on a pacifier at night.  And I was preparing for a major guilt trip.

I always feel badly going to the dentist because I don't floss enough.  I've never flossed enough.  Who does floss enough?

If I don't take care of my own teeth, that's on me.  But not taking care of your daughter's teeth?  That's terrible.  Ahh, man.  It's just terrible.

Then add the fact that Eloise is scared of the dentist.  The first time, I took her to my dentist because they take our insurance.  Wouldn't that be nice?  Yes, it would be.

But it wasn't nice.  Eloise wouldn't take her head out from her coat the entire time.  She wouldn't even look at the dentist, let alone open her mouth.  So I knew today would be a challenge.

It started out well.  She walked willingly into the office.  (Oh, the kid's dentist this time.  No insurance, no problem!  As long as my child opens her mouth.)  Then she played in the waiting room.  Wonderful!

The minutes ticked on, though.  And she grew more nervous.  "Why are they making us wait?!  Don't they know she's going to explode?!"

And she did.  She started wailing.  "I don't want to go to the dentist!"  She yells and cries.

Oh, no.  At this rate, we weren't even going to make it past the waiting room.

But the staff and dentist were the most positive and kid friendly I had ever seen.  They spoke with her with extreme wisdom and confidence.  Then they left us alone.  And we spoke.  We inched up to the door that lead to the offices.  We peered in.  It looked fun inside.

And almost instantly, she released her death grip.  Stopped crying and ran in.  If you remember her flower girl experience, same thing.  From 0 to 100 in no time.  This girl can move.

I sighed.  Relieved.  And am super duper proud!

Eloise, could you just give me a heads up next time?  It'd save a lot of stress on my part.

But then again, parenting wouldn't be so fun.