The Loose Tooth

Alayna has been waiting for this day for a long time, having watched her older brother start loosing his teeth shortly after age 5. She has been six for a month and only just now having her first loose one. Just two days ago I could barely wiggle it. When she showed it to me, I off-handedly told her to wiggle it whenever she thought about it and promptly forgot about it...or at least I tried to. You see I liken children having loose teeth to pottytraining. It is not a pleasant circumstance. That is because my only experience in dealing with these "teeth on the go" has been with Alton. To this day, Rob and I are completely traumatized by each little tooth that had to come out. Alton would never let us even look at them and the screaming fits and drama that followed when the tooth absolutely had to come out because big teeth were coming in behind them left Rob and I in need of a vacation. Of course his reactions probably stem from the fact that with his first loose tooth I ended up pinning him to the floor and yanking it out with some floss. I don't recommend that route.

Anyway, things are different with Alayna. She has but one thought on her mind today and that is to get that tooth out at all costs. She is driving us nuts. Rob and I are both squemish about pulling and she is begging us to do so. We are not cooperating (I don't think the tooth is quite loose enough) and so she is taking things in her own hands. I had told her the story about how my Granddad pulled my first tooth with the door slam method and how we never did find that tooth. She was at it bright and early this morning with her floss tied on the tooth and trying to slam the door to her room. She must herself be a little uneasy, because door slamming is one of her mastered skills, but the tooth has not come out.

Her brother is now involved and they have tried all manner of bizarre methods. The funniest one has been the alkaseltzer rocket. Alton learned how to make these in Science and admittedly, Mom and Dad have enjoyed setting them off as well. Alton's idea was to tie one end of the floss to the rocket and the other to the tooth and then launch. As far as I know, this wasn't a go. I've also seen them with a hula hoop going down the stairs and a Polly pocket car over the side of the bannister. At any rate, they are having fun. I'm sure the tooth can't wait to get out of there for all the abuse it is having to suffer.