Growing Pains

We've been lucky with Pablo in the sense that he doesn't get sick very often. At 2 years and 8 months, we've gone through a few bouts of the sniffles, a fever or two, Roseola, and one cough episode that worried us enough to consult with a pediatrician (not our regular doctor). We've been a little remiss in his vaccinations (we were regular in his first year) but I try to be vigilant about not bringing cooties from school home to Pablo.

On the other hand, we've also been blessed with a little stuntman. He's careful in new situations (like an unfamiliar playground) but in a home setting he gets all these crazy ideas. He's tumbled out of his playpen, walked off the couch (just stepped into thin air), slipped on the pebble wash in the garage and bruised his forehead, bonked his head and cut his lip far too often. Does he learn from it? Not really.


Some months ago he was speeding along on his cousin's ride-on when he hit a small ledge. The trike came to a complete stop but his momentum carried him over the handlebars to crash face-first on the marble floor. (Ah, inertia...why do you hurt us so?) The impact broke one tooth in half and chipped the other. It was a scary moment for us all. The blood. The crying. It felt like it would go on forever. He wouldn't let us touch it, much less put ice or pressure on his mouth so I just held him tight and let him cry it out. But he's a little trooper and he was ok after awhile although his upper lip was still swollen. Within an hour he had settled enough to go off on his own and start playing with his cousin again.

It's funny how he recovered faster than his mother. I was (still am) shaken up by the whole incident.

He was put on antibiotics for a week. Swelling went down in a few days and the accident forgotten. On hindsight, we should have brought him to a pediatric dentist right away. But I was hoping that our regular dentist would be able to treat him. Fast-forward to November and we found ourselves at the Tooth Princess.



After a quick check-up (wherein Pablo had to be restrained by his daddy), we were told that Dr. Pia would need to clean his teeth, seal the molars and pull out the bad tooth. To get all of this done in one visit, we would need to sedate him.

Sigh...I knew this was coming but that didn't make things easier.

So off we went to his pediatrician to obtain clearance. Dr. Bong asked for a couple of x-rays and blood tests. More strangers. More tears. I wouldn't be surprised if I sprouted a few gray hairs over the whole incident.

All-in-all it's been a stressful and harrowing week for the Tees. But at least it's all done.

Errant tooth is gone. Dr. Pia found a few cavities along the way and dealt with them. She fixed the chipped tooth as well. I wasn't too impressed with the manner of the anesthesiologist, but he knew what he was doing and at the end of it all Pablo came through unscathed.

Kids are extremely resilient and I'm fairly certain Pablo won't remember any of this. But Mama and Dada will. We've rounded another corner in our journey as parents.