2ND TIME AROUND

Hudson was a fast teether as a little one. He got his first teeth around the normal age (4 or 5 months) and after that, it was 2 teeth almost every month. And the process of getting them in was never an issue. When one of his little whiteys would decide to come in, it was always super quick and we never knew they were coming in until his gums bled because it had broken through. He had 16 teeth at 14 months. He got his 2-year molars (usually in closer to age 3) before his 2nd birthday. Teeth, teeth, and more teeth.

One night back in November we were all eating dinner one night when Hudson complained that his two bottom center teeth hurt. Said he'd hurt them by trying to bite apart some Legos. Per instructions from our dentist brother-in-law, we had him eat soft foods and take it easy on those two chompers for a week or so in order to have the teeth get securely back into place. But they kept getting looser. And looser. Then, a couple of days before Christmas, we pulled out his 1st tooth:

The new tooth was already visible beneath it. A 4 1/2 year old already getting his adult teeth? Yeah. Guess the whole fast teething thing is a trend with him. As you can see from the above picture, the removal of the 1st tooth caused so much pain that he wasn't ready for a picture until about 10 seconds had passed. That 1st tooth was super ready and came out without a hitch

Now, about that 2nd loose tooth. It became very loose during the month of January. When I say "very", I mean extremely...much more so than the 1st tooth. Upon wiggling it this past Sunday, it became evident that if given the choice, this one would have pack its bags long ago. The new tooth was obviously coming in as the loose one couldn't be wiggled back anymore. Just side to side and forward. And it went in these directions without any discomfort or pain. But it hurt for Hudson to chew. When he stuck his tongue through the little opening he has there, the thing almost lay completely flat and horizontal. If he had sneezed too hard, the thing would have gone flying across the room. But he wouldn't let me pull it out. He was afraid of the pain and "couldn't open" his mouth when he thought I was going to take it out. You'd think the 2nd time around would be easier...apparently not so.

On Monday afternoon - after much "discussion" that included his crying and totally melting down - Hudson told me that he'd let me give it a shot on Tuesday. I brought this up on Tuesday just after noon. No go. I told him he had to give me one try before we could go to see Max at the office. His response was that we were "running out of time" and needed to leave...no time for tooth-pulling.

I had him in a good blocked position on the chair in our room and while he freaked out, I stuck my thumb and a finger in his mouth and pulled. More screaming and freaking out. I took my hand away and he informed me that he didn't want me to try again today and that that was enough. I held up my hand to show him his tooth. He looked totally surprised. Shocked. A look of "what the...?" on his face. He hadn't even realized it was gone. He felt the spot where the tooth previously resided and then stuck a tissue in the gap to stop the bleeding. I think the bleeding lasted about a minute and it was done. Seriously...one piddly minute and everything was over with. He was happy, excited, and completely proud of himself. He informed me that it didn't hurt anymore. He showed me how he could stick his tongue through the new, larger gap. He was elated. And he was eager for me to take a picture of him:

Oh, and just so you know, the next time around, there will not be another post about his meltdowns over having a tooth pulled. He informed me earlier that when he's 5, he won't freak out or be scared of the next tooth being pulled. Good to know!