So, as my friend Joey sweetly reminded me, it is update time again! :) Things have been totally crazy for the past week, as I’ll explain in a minute. First of all, I had a fabulous time at the ladies’ retreat!!! I’ll post more about that later, but in a nutshell . . . it was refreshing, convicting, uplifting, relaxing . . . and ALL of you ladies that live in New England should come next year!!! :) They are actually planning two retreat weekends for next year, but they don’t have the dates/info. available yet. I’ll let you all know when I hear anything. You will want to register EARLY if you’d like to go. This year they had prayed for 50 ladies to come, and they were completely full with 180 ladies who stayed overnight, plus around 20 more that were “day campers,” and there was a waiting list of ladies who wanted to come, but didn’t sign up soon enough. So, don’t delay next year!
Anyway, as I said, more on that later. :) Moving on to what has been going on around here for the past week . . .
Last Friday night, while I was at the retreat, our sweet Julia was swinging, and for some reason she let go . . . went flying through the air and landed on a rock, on her chin. She gashed it badly and the impact also pushed several of her lower teeth back. Poor Jim had to deal with this all by himself, but he’s such a great daddy . . . after assessing the damage, he loaded the kids up and headed to the ER. Three hours and three stitches later, they were back home. Now, I didn’t find out about any of this until I came in the door on Saturday night. I am very thankful that he didn’t let me know while I was at the retreat, as knowing about it would have worried me and I wouldn’t have been able to enjoy the time away as much as I did.
{this was how she looked on Sunday}The first few days after her accident were pretty rough. She was in a lot of pain and didn’t sleep well from Fri. night through Mon. night. She had also injured some of her teeth when she fell, so I spent some time Monday calling around to dentists’ offices, trying to find one that would accept Medicaid (NH Healthy Kids) and would be able to see her quickly. From what we could tell, 3 or 4 of her lower front teeth had been pushed back a bit. We found a dentist about an hour from us, that could see her on Tuesday. The visit went well, but the dentist basically said to just watch her--that some of the teeth were loose, and that she might end up losing a few. She said that if they start to turn color or get looser, we should call her and she’d refer us to a pediatric dentist to “help them wiggle out a little early.” So, we came home and started looking up ideas for healing tooth injuries. We’ve been trying several things, including giving her some high-quality cod liver oil, and her teeth are looking better. Well, her front teeth anyway. In the meantime, there’s been another development . . .
{she looked a lot better by Monday!}Last night I was brushing her teeth (something that’s been very difficult since her fall, since she freaks out every time I get a toothbrush anywhere near her mouth) and she was crying that one of her back molars was “moving from side to side and it hurts!!” I got her to open her mouth wider, and then called Jim to take a look with me. Sure enough, we could tell that her right back molar is cracked, and then we looked over at the left back molar--and half of it is gone!!! So, obviously she hurt a lot more than just her chin and front teeth when she fell. :( I’ll be calling the dentist again on Monday, and hopefully we can get referred to see a pediatric dentist quickly. Please pray that God will give us wisdom about this--the ped. dentist that was mentioned by the dentist we saw (whom she apparently usually refers people to) has somewhat mixed reviews, but he will let a parent come in the room with the child (which is important to me). But there is a another (closer) ped. dentist that we could go with, and all of their dentists seem to have great reviews--but their policy is to not let parents come in with their kids. (Is it just me being paranoid about this, or would it bother you guys, too?) I just feel like she’s been through a lot already, and I hate to send her into an unfamiliar/potentially scary situation without having me there beside her. On the other hand, maybe she’d do better without me . . . ?
Anyway, our past week has kind of revolved around Julia and her mouth/chin (stitches were taken out on Thursday), so as you can imagine, it’s been a crazy time. And apparently it’s not over yet! We’d appreciate your prayers for us--especially Julia--as we go through all of this. Please pray specifically that God would calm her fears and that her tooth problems will be able to be solved without too much trouble or too many trips to far-away dentists.
Hopefully later today I’ll have time to write a post about the ladies’ retreat--before it completely fades out of my memory! :) I hope you’re all having a great weekend so far!
{this was how she looked on Sunday}
{she looked a lot better by Monday!}
8 comments:
I always went in with my son to see the dentist. I wouldn't even think of going to one where I wouldn't be allowed in with him--especially at a young age like Julia. So, my answer to you is, no way are you being paranoid. You are just being a good mother.
Susan
Carrie if it's the Concord one they will let you come back her on the first visit and any others till she is comfy with you leaving. I highly recommend them they are great. That is where we go. Isabel had some problems with her teeth at age 2 and they were wonderful.
I am paranoid about sending our kids in by themselves too - maybe you could compromise by sitting outside the door to the room or behind the curtain after she is called back and situated? I know they have that policy because kids typically do better w/out parents there, but you can never be too careful these days. Also, I'd be way more comfortable with someone who has all great reviews but that is just me. I'd call and see if I could stand outside the door and if that was the case I'd go to that dentist. I will be praying - poor Julia!!
Your not paranoid at all. I wouldn't even think of not being in the room. I don't think my kids would be willing to go in without me either. :)
Well, this is my take on this..... You said,"and all of their dentists seem to have great reviews--but their policy is to not let parents come in with their kids." Well of coarse they have good reviews. The parents didn't see what happened out back. Ooo... I know that sounds harsh.
I'll tell you what happened with a dentist in VA and it may shed some light. This office was recommended by the people that Dan works with. Almost everyone used this dentist. So, we thought they must be good. These people were all very kind, very professional etc...... When Hope was 2 weeks old Faith had her first dentist appointment.(Looking back that wasn't a good idea because she was still dealing with the newness of a new baby in the house and feeling a little displaced.....) I was in one room having my teeth cleaned while Faith and (I thought ) Dan were in the other room. Long story short I eventually ended up checking to see what was going on because she had been crying way to long. They had told Dan to wait in the waiting room. Since they had always been so nice and we had been there several times before, he did. The dentist had been black mailing her. Saying, "if you will show me your teeth you can go see your Mommy / Daddy." Now, I don't mind using some strategies, but they were serious! From her crying I could tell she was beyond the point of being being coherent, she was hysterical. There was no way of being able to reason with her. When I came into the room and took her the dentist told me, "I just don't like them to let them win." He told me this several times. He let me know that I was being a "bad" parent. I explained...., but he would have none of it. I'm not the sort of parent who can't stand to hear a child cry. This child was just dealing with a lot of change that a new baby causes in the house. She was simply not ready for this visit. Which (from what I was told) was to be no more than counting her teeth!
Needless to say, after this experience, we didn't even bother trying to get her into a dentist office for a few years. Hoping she would forget this before we tried again.
Just a thought... in situations like this most (if not all) of our children do better with Dan and not me. You know Mom is suppose to magically fix everything and make the pain go away. ;) With Dad he is that strong sold rock. The protector of the family. He, by his very presence, gives strength. It's one of those things that (most) dad's do well and your hubby is no exception.
As you look to God for wisdom I'm sure He will guide you through.
Love and prayers,
Linda
My goodness, Carrie! Poor Julia! I will be praying that you will have wisdom making all these decisions. My personal opinion is that you are not paranoid wanting to be with Julia. I also think that if the dentist's office were aware of the circumstances they would probably make an exception. I feel like it is super important for kids to have positive experiences with dentists or when they are adults they might not be willing to go for regular maintenance things.
I can't wait to hear about the retreat!
Hi Carrie,
As a mom of many children who have had dental work done I can honestly say that I can not imagine any of my children having to go into the dentist alone.My husband or I always goes in there too.:)My little guy who is now three had to go in last March and be put to sleep for some of his work so we were not in with him then(in the hospital)but we were there when he woke up.I would think it would be much nicer on the dentist to have mom or dad sitting in...to answer questions etc and just because....Tell Julia we are praying for her..The Ranney's
I haven't been to your blog in a while and I felt terrible when I saw what was going on with your little girl!!!!
I work at a dentist office and we, too, try to get the parents to stay in the waiting room. I have seen MANY times where the kids totally act out when the parent is in the room with us vs. when I take them back alone they do much better. I don't know why. I know it's hard when you're the parent. But I immediately go get mom or dad if there is an issue. Plus my room is right by the waiting room so everybody can hear everything!
Well, I'm off to read the end of the saga.. I hope this ends well!
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