Monday kicked off VBS week and my summer check-list! I hadn't planned any appointments for early summer due to travel.
Shane protested mightily Sunday night and Monday morning about VBS. "It's summer! I don't want to do anything with school in it!" He pouted up until I dropped him off with his teacher. Then he noticed there were beach balls being hit in the air for "Don't touch the ground."
The kid played his heart out.
I recognized a lot of the adults from helping out last year. It's a great program. I figure Shane will attend as long as we're in the area.
After VBS though, it was time to visit the dentist. The orthodontist had recommended a frenectomy back in the school year. We got a quote ahead of time from insurance to see what it would cost, did our research and talked it out. We decided to go ahead. Carrie's mom had needed a frenectomy when she was younger.
If you're not sure what a frenectomy is, neither is spellcheck. It's easy to look up online. Basically, the tissue that holds Shane upper lip down in the front of his mouth was too large/strong and helping his teeth buck out. They use a laser to cut it down to size and hopefully prevent/mitigate future orthodontist work.
But first, a nap. It's been a long time since Shane conked out midday in the car. The weekend trip and VBS must have drained him!
He only got a 10 minute or so power nap, but he woke up in a good mood. I told him what was up about what we were doing and why, but was as nonchalant as possible. My internal worry was much higher than I let on ("Am I making the right choice for my kid? There's no going back!"). Not that I was going to let it stop me from doing what we thought was best for our kid.
Survey says, I hide my worries well. That and Shane has the attention span of a squirrel coupled with the curiosity of a cat. He stayed low stress and entertained.
He stayed low stress and entertained.
The only thing I had to help with was to hold him down for the anesthesia shot. Shane got panicky when the needle finally came out. He went back to normal almost instantaneously after. Kids are resilient.
The doctor came in to check things out before go time. She showed Shane the laser and told him what she was going to do. I'd told him that frenectomies, "used to hurt a lot more, but now they can use a laser. Makes it hurt a lot less and heal faster."
Clearly he believed it.
They kicked me out of the room for 9 minutes. Yes, I kept a loose count.
Shane hardly seemed worse for wear! He was back and playing in no time. He found it really difficult to follow the, "don't touch" advice, but was otherwise back to himself. The doctor said that kids bounce back incredibly fast and really how he felt was the main limitation. It would be wise to avoid acidic or spicy food, but as long as he brushed and felt fine we were not to worry.
Shane's anxiety started to pick up a little on the way home. I'm sure the pain meds were slipping, too, but I bet a conversation between Carrie and I didn't help.
The dentist had said to use some neosporin on the wound to help prevent infection. I thought that was weird, so I asked for confirmation. The dentist confirmed it and I went on my way.
This caused a small debate on the phone. I wanted to listen to the dentist, because they specialized in the procedure and it's recovery. Carrie wanted to side with the doctor, because they specialize in total health and neosporin is not meant for consumption.
Shane got weepy as he and I were in Wegmans picking up a few supplies. Then when we got home the first thing he did was do the opposite of what the dentist said to do: He lifted up his whole upper lip to show Mommy. That caused a momentary stir.
We gave Shane some ibuprofen and switched to electronic mode. There were no other fusses. It was quiet and restful. Shane went to bed so early I never had time to administer neosporin or not. He slept through the night and it was like nothing had happened the next day (save a little curiosity). Kids are pretty amazing.
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