Bloody tooth

If we were English, that title would be exactly how T felt about her tooth on Monday. Not only was it the bane of her existence but it was in fact bloody as all teeth are when they are going to come out.

I was doing something upstairs when E and T come running from the basement with M in hot pursuit. E is yelling that T's tooth is bloody. My first thought is what were the three of you doing because T is crying uncontrollably. I look in T's mouth and blood is coming from one of her bottom teeth and E is saying that her tooth is loose. T has never told me that her tooth is loose so I'm wondering how it can be so loose right now and bloody. The answer came as I inspected her mouth more closely and saw that the permanent tooth was already pushed up through the skin behind the baby tooth. This also explains why T keeps complaining that there is something caught in her teeth--she's felt the other tooth and I now feel like a lame-o because my solution was for her to floss more. I should have looked. T is crying because she sees blood as she's wiggling her tooth (she is my daughter after all and I don't handle blood well either). I'm trying to calm her down and tell her that this amount of blood is normal for when you loose a tooth and that if she can wriggle it in all directions we can loosen the roots of the tooth and out her tooth with come. She asks me to help wiggle it. I push it to one side and you can hear a "pop" sound as the root loosens it's grasp. Meanwhile E is giving T pointers about the best way to wiggle her tooth so that it can come out quickly. This is coming from a girl who has lost two teeth when she has been brushing her teeth. M is sitting in awe at what is happening. I think the tooth is ready to come out. I know I'm ready for it as T is still somewhat crying. I try to pull but I can't get a good grip. I have her wiggle it some more and then decide to use a napkin to help pull the tooth out. I figured I couldn't have her scared when I pulled because I learned from E that if one is scared and I reach in with my fingers that soon the teeth come clamping down hard on aforementioned fingers. So with my lesson learned from E, I told T that I wanted my fingers and got her to laugh. I grabbed a hold of that tooth and I yanked (none of this counting to 3--makes them scared and my fingers get hurt). Out came her tooth and one big eyed T stared at this tiny tooth I was holding in the napkin.

She was so excited that she wrote a note to the tooth fairy saying that this was her very first tooth that she had lost on June 6, 2009. When I went to tuck T in, I asked where she put her tooth; she lifted up her pillow and there on the bed was her tiny, little tooth. I suggested we move her tooth up to the dresser where the tooth fairy wouldn't have to move T during the night searching for this itty, bitty tooth. T was concerned that the Tooth Fairy wouldn't find it but I convinced her that we needed to give the Tooth Fairy a fighting chance at finding it. T woke up on Tuesday morning a little richer and when she asked why the Tooth Fairy didn't take her tooth, I told her that the Tooth Fairy lets them keep their first tooth to show others. She liked that idea so don't be surprised if she shows you her very first loose tooth.

After T's tooth came out, M came and looked in my mouth and told me that my baby tooth looked good still and that she thought it looked rather big compared to T's tooth. Oh well. I figure that my baby tooth better stay in for as long as possible because I don't want to pay for a replacement.