The Tooth Fairy

Last night, TRC lost his first tooth. It proved to be a much more involved experience than I was anticipating. He and I had played a rousing game of Heroscape in the afternoon (thanks for the tip, Dan–awesome game!), and it was time for him to head off to bed. I got him up there, and he noted that his tooth was extra wiggly. I tested it, and sure it enough–it was. (A bit of background: a week or two ago, Denisa noticed that TRC had a tooth broken through already behind one of his teeth. So we’d been hoping this tooth would come out sooner rather than later.) Anyway, I asked TRC if he wanted the tooth to come out, and he gave a resounding YES, so we headed downstairs to see what could be done.

In hindsight, I don’t think the tooth was totally ready to come out. I mean, it was extra wiggly, but not super wiggly, if that makes sense. But Denisa and I tried various methods–wiggling it with our fingers, using string, and finally dental floss. The whole time, TRC gamely stood up to it all, just looking forward to having the tooth out (and no doubt to the monetary rewards the Tooth Fairy was sure to bring). Toward the end, he did break down a bit–I think it was hurting a bit more than he anticipated. But just when I was about to give up, Denisa gave it a tug and out it came.

Cue the blood.

I thought this would totally freak TRC out, but instead, he was overjoyed. I don’t think I’ll ever forget his expression: he was staring into the mirror, a huge smile on his face, eyes alight and blood dribbling down his chin, marveling that he had lost his tooth. I don’t recall anyone ever looking more proud of himself than he did at that moment. He was so clearly pleased with himself and with how grown up he had just proved he was.

So there you have it. Something I thought would be run of the mill proved to be very memorable. I just hope this doesn’t give him ideas about taking out the rest of his teeth anytime soon. Next time, I’m going to wait for them to get a fair bit more wiggly before I try to forcibly remove them.