boys will be boys

Well... Jake has a new look.

On Saturday we were celebrating the graduation of my cousin from 8th grade.  We had a nice lunch at Claim Jumper and while we were wrapping things up, my mom and I went outside with the kids to let Jake run around.  Just as everyone was walking out of the restaurant, Jake tripped, fell, and slammed his two front teeth into a low stone wall.  You can imagine what followed: screams of bloody murder, blood, and 17 family members crowding around to see if he was ok.  I looked in his mouth immediately and said, "His teeth... they're bad.  They're all messed up."  He stuck out his tongue and it was covered in tiny bits of tooth matter.  Between the blood, the tooth bits and the screaming, I was envisioning the worst.  I was so scared - I kept holding back tears and was trying really hard not to shake.  I kept repeating, "What do we do?  What do we even do?"
Luckily, there was one fireman, one retired fireman, a nursing school student and several seasoned parents there to assess the situation.  The bleeding luckily didn't last long, and petty soon we got on the phone with our family dentist.  He said that if the teeth themselves weren't bleeding, he was probably ok and it wasn't that urgent to bring him in.  He did, however, offer to meet us in his office to take a look that night if we wanted.  But Jake began to calm down, and with the combination of Tylenol & popsicles from his Auntie and Chris, along with snuggles and hugs from his Nonnie, he bounced back to his usual happy self fairly quickly.

We visited the dentist today for him to check out the teeth.  The good news: it's nothing serious.  The not-so-great news: we need to watch for the formation of abscesses AND fixing them would require sedation, because had you been in the office when Dr. Chris was simply looking at Jake's teeth, you would have thought he were puling them out without Novocaine.  At this point we will see how things go.  My concerns are a) the tooth on the left in the picture is rather sharp at that bottom point, and I'm afraid if he ever bit his lip/tongue or gets hit in the mouth, it could do more damage than a "normal" tooth, b) eating certain foods could be difficult and c) growing up with two broken front teeth could lead to teasing from kids (especially because those two teeth will likely change color).  So, at this point we have decided to wait and see.  Obviously if it poses problems eating or that sharper edge bothers him, we'll get it fixed asap.

This was our first semi-major injury with Jake (one of many, I'm sure).  The feelings I experienced as the scene unfolded were ones that many parents have likely felt: fear, sadness, worry, wanting to change places with him.  I felt horrible.  I actually wanted to throw up.  I keep imagining how it felt, bashing your two front teeth... and I cringe every time.  I put myself in his shoes.  Had this happened to me, I probably would have screamed louder, cried harder... and definitely milked it for all it's worth.  Jake has taken this much better than I likely would have.

I know one day, we'll be sitting around a dinner table, Jake with his girlfriend next to him, laughing about the time he broke his two front teeth.  I may even take out those two teeth to show the girlfriend, just to ensure I thoroughly embarrass him.  We'll pull out his class photos to see his cute, broken little grin on his cute, little boy face.  As of now, I'm still a little sad, but getting used to the idea of him going through his younger years with two broken front teeth.  People keep reminding me that they are "just baby teeth".  They'll fall out.  And I realize this, but I'm still a little bummed.  Such a small amount of tooth enamel makes such a huge difference...

...but he still has the cutest little grin, and the most beautiful little heart, and no stone wall can change that.  Gosh, I love that kids.  Broken teeth and all.

~Mama Frenchy