Aaaannnnndddd...It's Out

“She ate pretty well today,” my mom said, nodding in Olivia’s direction. “But she was pretty timid about that tooth.”

During dinner, I watched Olivia gingerly take each bite, her eyes widening as the food pushed her tooth forward that much more.

Each time, I’d ask, “Is it out?”

She’d shake her head and open her mouth, still full of barely chewed food, to show me the tooth. There were moments when it was almost vertical, hanging on by the merest hint of skin. Ewww.

She managed to finish dinner without the tooth coming out and then went to watch Chicken Little while I sliced green tomatoes for frying.

About five minutes later, she called out, “It’s out.”

She ran to me with her hand outstretched, her tiny little tooth in her palm. The relief and wonder on her face was adorable.

She opened her mouth to show me the bloody hole left by the tooth.

I took the tooth and told her to go rinse her mouth out. She did as instructed and then went to find a mirror to inspect the damage. She declared it to be a bloody mess (it wasn’t that bad) and wanted to go tell her daddy that it was finally out.

Much celebrating ensued and Tom and I made arrangements to let the Tooth Fairy in later that night.

Said Fairy deemed that tooth worth $5.00 because Olivia managed to yank it out herself rather than needing a parent to reach in and do the gross work.

All in all, it was definitely a successful, almost painless, tooth extraction. I can say with certainty that Olivia is very relieved to have that thing out of her mouth.

She does want to know when the new tooth will grow in and fill the hole. Will it be tomorrow? The next day? Before kindergarten starts? Who knows? I reply with a smile, knowing the questions will start again in about five minutes. And that's okay too. Curiosity is how we learn, how we understand the world around us and yes, even ourselves. Keep on asking those questions, Liv.