Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Pearly whites

Positively gummy. Ok, maybe not gummy, maybe just less toothed. Yes, someone here is outgrowing their teeth. And it seems to be happening quickly. First Big Dog lost the bottom front teeth. The first he swallowed. Meltdown. I had to convince him that the tooth fairy would still give him cash even though his tooth had gone astray. Then we forgot to put the dollar under his pillow. We woke up to a very tearful boy, sobbing that the tooth fairy didn't even leave him anything. Mr. Dog and I teamed up, got him out of the room, threw a dollar under the bed and told to double check, maybe it fell on the floor. It worked. Phew. We did a little we-are-an-awesome-parenting-team high five when he wasn't looking.

The second tooth fell out a couple of weeks later. This one we found after a momentary panic that it too had been swallowed. It had not, it was on his breakfast plate masquerading as a seed of some kind. That night we pulled off the tooth-for-cash swap without a hitch. Unfortunately it left me with the internal struggle over what to do with the tooth. Do I save it? I mean, it is his baby tooth. It's kind of special, like that lock of hair from his first haircut. But yuck, it's a freakin' human tooth! Why would I want to save what is essentially medical waste as a keepsake. I certainly didn't keep his umbilical stump! (Thought to be completely honest I did have to consider that too.) These are the important decisions moms have to make every day. Well, not every day, but you get the point. Instead of relying on my gut reaction, which was, well a lot like morning sickness, I took it to twitter. After a bit of discussion my decision was made. I kept it. It now resides in my sock drawer where all important things I need to keep from the kids end up.

The past few weeks Big Dog has been telling me that his top teeth were wiggly. Not too wiggly, they were both the same wiggly. Since these comments were usually quickly followed with his elaborate plans on how to spend his dollar at his school's student store I chalked it up to wishful thinking. Then, as he chewed on a book (yeah, I don't know what that was about either) one popped out. He proudly conveyed it to the kitchen where he showed me then requested a baggie to put it in so he could stow it under his pillow but make it easy for the tooth fairy to discover. What a considerate little man. Soon after, even before dinner, he started telling me he was tired and needed to go to bed. Apparently the tooth fairy is a powerful soporific, much in the same way Santa never fails to quash any bedtime stalling. Once he was in bed asleep, we pulled the switch and I added the new tiny tooth to my stash in the sock drawer. I really have no idea why I've kept them. Maybe when he graduates I'll get a beautiful little box and give them to his instead of a more traditional gift. Or maybe, once Little Dog starts dropping teeth, I'll find some Etsy crafter who will make them into a stunning mommy necklace. I can see it now, "Are those pearls? Wait- eeeeewwww!" Yeah, I think I may be onto something.

6 comments:

Princess Stupidhead said...

thank god!!! I thought I was the only tooth fairy to forget! I totally blamed the fairy, though. I said it was probably too dark, etc...and we put it somewhere obvious the next night.

Easter bunny is so much easier really

chihuahua5 said...

You've gotta keep the teeth. my parental units kept some of my teeth. At times that has come in handy (some elementary/middle school project i vaguely remember).
Even as a grown up, it's kinda cool knowing my parents kept little things like that along with my hand made cards and macaroni necklaces over the years.

Recycle Lover said...

Laura,
My wife and I have done the, "Look for the money again, maybe you missed it" thing more than once. I feel your pain.

Now, on to the business reason I am contacting you. An eco friendly client of mine is interested in being listed under a new section like "Supporters" on this blog.

I would love you to contact me so I can provide you with more details & negotiate a price for this. I can pay you by PayPal once negotiations are complete.

Sincerely,
David

Summer said...

Awww!

Though, I am so not looking forward to doing the tooth fairy thing. My kids are light sleepers, I don't see the switch going well.

geekymummy said...

I remember being fascinated by my teeth that my parents I kept. Two were from the "coffee table impact incident" which occurred when I was about 18 months old, and these teeth have long long roots, completely different from the naturally shed baby teeth, where the root has almost dissolved away. They even kept some decayed molars I had removed aged about four, which was maybe taking the keepsake thing too far!

Fremont Mama said...

I must confess that I have the umbilical cords from both kids and all 5 of Sadie's teeth. I have NO idea what I will ever do with them, but I just couldn't convince myself to throw them away...I think I am a bit of a hoarder.

I like your idea of a necklace though!

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