So funny story…

With the birth of Jonah, Mama gets a nice little maternity break. (3 months…I love her hospital!) So she will be home until the end of January.

So that’s nice.

I am working from home again. And when I say “working from home,” I mean, “working from a coffeeshop/library/internet cafe/ANYWHEREWITHOUTKIDSANDWIFI” type of place. You get the picture.

So Mama is at home with Jonah. I will take Jonny to school, and then decide where my “office” will be for the day. Then I will set up shop, grab a 20 oz latte, and stare at my computer for several hours before promptly ending my work day at 3:10 when I again have to pick Jonny up from school as he no longer rides the bus.

Well, the other day (lets call it a Friday), Jonny had a dentist appointment right after school.

Let me preface this by saying, Jonny has been to the dentist once… and didn’t have a full set of teeth. He was probably like… 2 years old last time.

So this is the first trip to the dentist for all he knows. I told him he would be going to the dentist after school. He is a cross between excited and nervous. Get the picture?

Anyway, I drop Jonny off, then head off to my internet cafe and get a call from Mama prompting me to meet her at the dentist office after school.

I figured since she was closer to school, she would meet me there with Jonny. Since I had quite a bit of work to do, I told her I’d be there about 20 minutes after Jonny’s school got out.

I pulled into the parking lot just a minute after I said I would be there. I felt a little bad about being a bit late, but seeing as I hit every light green, I thought it was a small victory. It should have been at least 5 minutes late and that would not bode well for a mother waiting with a 5-week-old and a 5-year-old.

The next scene unfolded like a movie.

I got out of my car. Mama got out of her car. I nodded. She nodded. She looks at me questioningly. I look at her questioningly. Then, at the same time, a look of dread.

“Where’s Jonny?”

One little detail was miscommunicated. Who would be picking Jonny up.

Somehow, the words “I will pick him up and meet you there” and “You will pick him up and meet you there” were not conveyed properly.

Panic set in.

So in an instant, I came up with a plan of action. My first instinct was to just go inside and let her go get Jonny. Brave right? (but come-on, I came from farther away. I had to rush to get there, I had to work all day…at an internet cafe. I was tired. I’m sure she somehow knew she was supposed to pick him up and just forgot. Come on. It’s raining. I barely found a place to park as it is).

I instantly scrapped that plan. Do not mess with a mother who wakes up every 2 hours at night to feed for half an hour, and has been chewed on, pooped on, puked on and peed on all day to trifle her with insignificant jobs you yourself can do. There will be consequences.

I GRACIOUSLY volunteered as tribute to get Jonny.

I ended up at school about 45 minutes after school got out to find Jonny sitting quietly in the school office, reading looking at the pictures in a Curious George book. And surprisingly, he was not sad.

Not too sad.

You see, this was something new for Jonny. And new is exciting (except in the case of food. Then it is just yucky.)

He was so excited to see the dentist. He thought that it was standard procedure to be picked up from the office when visiting the dentist. Dental appointments are high priority and must be treated as such.

So I drove him back to the dentist’s office where Mama and Jonah were still waiting. I was only 5 minutes late for the appointment. Still feeling the vibe.

The appointment went surprisingly well. Jonny had his teeth cleaned and brushed/flossed. He was deemed cavity-free and given a clean bill of dental health. He even opened wide and bit down on the nasty paper for taking “X-ray pictures” of his teeth. The hygienist was superb and great with kids. Jonny made off like a bandit in the “free toys and stickers” department, not to mention a brand new toothbrush. It was like Halloween and Christmas mixed together (okay, maybe more like a second Halloween, but without the haunted scary parts).

They had THE best toys and play area in their foyer.

Jonny didn’t want to leave after he was done.

And Jonny didn’t leave…because we (Mama and I) got called back to speak with the doctor privately. And experience shows, that a private meeting with a medical person is never a good meeting.

Apparently, Jonny was born without all 4 lower permanent incisors (the bottom 4 front teeth). He has all his baby teeth, but he is missing at least the 4 on the bottom and also 2 lateral (outside) permanent  incisors on the top. Figures.

Before, news like this would hit us like a train… Before… Now, with this child, we have sort of come to expect it.

SO WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO?

Nothing.

Really. Nothing. We need to take care of his teeth and make sure he brushes and doesn’t have too much sugar. Preservation of his current teeth is paramount, because they are basically now permanent teeth. After that, should those teeth come out, things will get dicey.

He will need SOME kind work on his teeth when he gets older. We know that for sure.

WHAT WILL HAPPEN WHEN HE LOSES HIS BABY TEETH?

The doctor is not completely convinced that he will. Although he has seen it happen, there is nothing pushing on his effected baby teeth, which means nothing is forcing them out. If we can keep the baby teeth in his mouth, NOTHING will need to be done.

After that, we may have to deal with dental implants, bridges, veneers, braces and the like. And most of that work will need to be done AFTER his mouth stops growing.

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN? WHY IS HE WITHOUT SO MANY PERMANENT TEETH?

There are a variety of reasons and I’m sure Jonny’s facial cranial review board will come up with plenty, but most likely, this is an extension of his soft palate cleft. Nothing more.

So the question then becomes… save up for college, or save up for dental work.

I tell ya. With this kid, if it’s not one thing, it’s another.

Aye-aye-aye.