Say "ahhhhhhh"

On July 30th Avery had her very first dental appointment at Pediatric Dentistry of Matthews. I really wasn't sure how things would go because Avery is a bit unpredictable and what I mean when I say a bit is COMPLETELY!

 She was SO good - she sat completely still and all the hygienist's kept commenting on how well she was behaving for her age. 

 I told them I thought she was most likely sitting still like that because when she and Kennedy aren't twirling around in a ballet outfit or princess dress they can usually be found playing doctor. My girls don't just do quick check ups on each other either - they straight up look in each others mouths, noses, ears, etc. - it's a total trip. Kennedy will drag out her little Lily table and have Avery lay down on it. So, in a way she's had lots of practice.

 This is true Avery - no smiles for me and my camera. She's a turkey!

 After her cleaning it was time for Dr. Meg to check her out. 

Obviously, because we were at the dentist we discussed Avery's pacifier use. I felt like as of late I could tell the pacifier was really starting to mess with Avery's alignment - her top teeth were starting to look a little "bucked" to me so I was a bit fearful of what they would say (Momma was nervous about nixing the paci). The Hygienist that cleaned Avery's teeth was awesome! She kept telling Avery that they had special pets that Avery could choose from when she was ready to give her pacifier away. The hygienists told Avery that her paci's would go to the hospital to be ready for new babies to use them because pacifiers are for babies and now she was a big girl. I was like "whatever lady - this is totally not going to work!" After Dr. Meg checked her out, they showed her the animals and for whatever reason Avery went NUTS over a bear that was in their box. NUTS I tell you! They kept telling Avery that if she wanted the bear, she was going to have to trade with her pacifiers. Enter Avery's stone cold Steve Austin stare. Ha! 

Dr. Meg found a spot on one of Avery's teeth that needed to be filled to protect it from early decay so they told Avery that she could put her bear in their "special kennel" to wait for her and when she came back for her filling she could bring her pacifiers and trade for the bear. She cried when we put the bear back and I started thinking - maybe this is going to work after all. 

We scheduled Avery's follow up for a couple of days later and I kept talking about the bear and telling Avery that she could get the bear if she wanted to send her paci's to the new babies at the hospital. 

I was shocked when the morning of the appointment came and she wanted me to put her paci in a ziploc bag for Dr. Meg to take to the hospital. Although I had it ready I really wasn't sure how it was going to unfold but I just figured we'd take it and see. 

Avery's procedure was a bit more difficult than they/I anticipated. To spare you from the details, she basically was a little more vascular than they anticipated so after starting the procedure we ended up having to give her nitrous and it took way longer than it should have and she was crying so hard I had to walk out of the room (my Momma Bear heart couldn't take it!). 

After her filling was finished, Dr. Meg was SO complimentary and said she did great even if it didn't seem like it and she explained everything so thoroughly which I greatly appreciated. These pictures of my poor baby show that she'd been crying but she was so brave and was still in good spirits despite it all. 

 As soon as I thought she was "with it" enough to ask her again about getting the bear in exchange for giving away her paci I did and she was adamant that she was ready. Enter her new bear: 

 Here it is!

 BIG GIRL!!!! No more pacifier!

 high five!

 loving the new "baby" 

 This office has a token reward system and they can put their tokens in these big gumball machines to get a prize. Avery got 4 tokens for her bravery plus her "big girl" choice! 

 I was super worried about how nap time was going to go with no pacifier but I just reminded her that day and the next several to come what choice we had made and I think we had tears on one occasion but that was it. 

The evening following her appointment we got together with some family and had cupcakes to celebrate. So proud of my girl.