Everything Happens For a Reason

Despite my positive attitude and despite lots of prayers, Addie's dentist appointment was unchanged from previous visits.

Dr. Thomas's office just moved locations, so I was hopeful that the change of environment would be a fresh start for Addie.

I was oh so wrong.

As soon as Julien and I picked Addie up from camp this afternoon, she was tense and very on edge.

Upon arriving at the office, Addie was so nervous that she couldn't even sit down.

She paced the waiting room and jumped every time the door opened.

Addie would say "Bye, Bye"  to every child as they left.  

Every single child that left the building was smiling, so Julien and I would make a big deal about how they did such a good job getting their teeth cleaned.

All efforts were in vain.

I was very pleasantly surprised to discover that Addie was taken to a room with a door and it didn't take a genius to figure out that it was in an effort to keep Addie's crying from frightening all of the other children.  

I'm sure there is a big red flag on Addie's file

and

the hygienist made the comment that she "remembered us from the other office" although she personally had never cleaned Addie's teeth 

- sigh - 

people remembering us is never a good sign.

Addie was beyond nervous and despite the best efforts of the hygienist to make Addie feel comfortable by first cleaning baby's teeth, the visit turned into Julien and me having to hold Addie down - as always.

Sweet Addie cried and cried although she was extremely compliant.

She was just absolutely terrified.

This time though, Addie accidentally bit her lip so hard that she bled like crazy.

She also accidentally bit the hygienist and we later discovered the reason why.

When Dr. Thomas was examining Addie's teeth, he saw that three of her six year molars have broken through, while the fourth is just under the skin.

The hygienist told us that it was when she touched Addie's gum above the unerupted molar that Addie flinched and ended up biting her.  

Dr. Thomas also asked if Addie had been particularly cranky or not sleeping well lately and my answer was "Yes" and "Yes!!!!".

I thought she may be getting an ear infection, but it turns out it is from her teething.

Unfortunately the way Addie's teeth have come in, when she bites down, one of her new teeth is pressing down on the unerupted molar, causing even more discomfort.

It so totally explains a lot of her moodiness - AND LACK OF SLEEP - lately.

I hate that my Baby can't even tell me when she is hurting!

The good news is that Addie's teeth look perfect and we don't have to return for another six months.

Dr. Thomas was - as always - so very, very sweet to Addie.

I cannot say enough good things about him and I highly recommend him for anyone who is in the market for a compassionate and extremely knowledgeable pediatric dentist.

On the way home Addie was still sad and to make matters worse, her lip was still bleeding which caused her to gag, which got her upset, which meant the process kept repeating itself.

On a much brighter note, I have an amazing and beautiful friend who always knows the perfect gift for me.

Thank you to Charlie's Mom and to Williamette Valley, Oregon for making my night a little less stressful.