(Let’s just get this out of the way. No one has guessed the name. Yet.)
Last December, Whoorlito’s top teeth had a particularly shudder-inducing run-in with the bottom shelf of a steel baker’s rack. It was directly following one of his dramatic exits, usually involving my request to do something highly undesirable (such as finish eating his lunch or cleaning up his cars…I know, I am a TYRANT…) where he flails his arms, screams and runs full speed into his bedroom. I have no idea where he inherited these kind of ardent entrances and exits. This time, however, he tripped over his feet and made direct oral contact with a massive shelf.
I knew the minute he starting crying that this wasn’t any ordinary bump and bruise situation. That assumption was quickly verified when he looked up at me with blood spewing out of his mouth all over our kitchen floor. That’s the thing about mouth injuries in toddlers. Lots of blood + Lots of screaming = Bonafide Blood Sprinkler That Shall Not Cease.
Additionally, his two front teeth were not in their normal place.
I freaked the hell out.
I tried to stop the bleeding, called the dentist and hauled ass to her office.
I had all sorts of thoughts running through my head while driving to the office. Mainly, MY CHILD WILL HAVE NO FRONT TEETH. We might as well take up residence at a trailer park while donning matching mullets!
Now, a tooth being knocked out at any age is traumatic, but the thought is a little easier to swallow when the child is let’s say 5 or 6 and is expecting their permanent teeth to arrive within a year or two. Let me remind you, my child is three years old. We would be waiting for 3-4 years for his front permanent teeth to arrive. 3-4 YEARS IS A LONG TIME TO HAVE NO FRONT TEETH, PEOPLE.
I tweeted about it and received so many super helpful emails about pediatric partials, fake teeth and generalized “Oh girl, I’ve been there” responses. (Thank you, by the way.) When we met with Wito’s dentist, she made the executive decision not to pull the teeth. She explained that, although Wito’s roots had been 100% severed, toddler gums were extremely resilient and could tighten around the tooth and keep it in place indefinitely. It would be an uphill battle for us because Wito was a thumbsucker which couldn’t possibly help with the gums firming up, though. It would be a wait and see situation.
Well, I am happy to report that those (quite loose) teeth held on for 6 months. 6 months of thumb-sucking, 6 months of apple-biting, 6 months of crazed preschooler antics.
Pearly whites intact!
Until yesterday. Yesterday, one tooth tossed up the white flag. The Dangler, as we liked to call it. A quick trip to the dentist, some high-potency topical anesthetic and The Dangler was no longer.
Au Revior, Dangler.
Wito seems to be taking it well. Actually, I am too. What’s three years, really? (Uh, A REALLY LONG TIME, that’s what. Whatevs.)
Luckily for Wito, he had a very special visitor deliver a very special dollar bill while he snoozed last night.
Wito would like you all to know that he hopes to purchase a “toy and a drink” with his “one money.”
Rest in peace, Dangler.
Is it Maeve Olivia?
Here are my guesses:
McKinley
Marcy
Marissa
Madina
Mona
i so love it when they are missing teeth. i’ll be all kind of sad when Celia actually grows on in!
I worked as a preschool teacher for a couple years and my favorite kid was a spastic blonde heartbreaker. Her parents were always late picking her up. One Friday as we were getting ready after hours to walk up to the office and wait for her parents, my kid was running back and forth in one part of the room when BAM… she fell straight on to a bookshelf. I lost my shit. I could not believe how much blood came out of her mouth! :( and she was my baby, so I was destroyed. My head teacher scooped her up and ran up to the office and I locked up, shaken, and two minutes later had to explain to the dad why I was sobbing. LOL :(
she came back on Monday FINE (teeth repaired, intact, she was 2) and her mom came to see me to make sure I was ok because her husband had been worried about me all weekend. (I loved my class parents)
Kids are crazy… I love them. And Wito’s adorable teeth or no teeth!
.-= Rose´s last blog ..Summer break… =-.
Wito looks adorable. My son fell just right in our playroom, of all places, when he was 3 and had to have his top 4 front teeth pulled. I’m not proud to admit that I shed more tears over this incident than my son. And the guilt. Wooboy. I could feel all the mothers with toothy children giving me dirty looks behind my back for those first few weeks. Flash forward two years and I don’t even notice it. And neither does he — except when faced with corn on the cob. On a side note, the x-rays they took when they pulled his teeth revelealed that he was blessed with an extra adult front tooth, so we’re already socking away the money for the inevitable braces disaster we’re going to face one day.
Mila…
He still is precious.!
Be glad that his tooth is gone – it could be worse. Our little guy hit his tooth o on a table and chipped it. Now 2 years later the tooth is turning dark. Dentist doesn’t think it needs to come out at this point and so he is walking around with a chipped gray tooth. He just turned 3 about two weeks ago so it could be this way for awhile. Classy.
.-= Robin´s last blog ..Summer in my 5 year old’s eyes =-.
How about:
Memphis
Mabel
Mamie
Maxine
Myrtle
Myrtis
Tooth or not he’s adorable!
Cameron, my 5 year old, would LOVE to pull out a tooth. Evidently the missing tooth look is super cool when you are heading into Kindergarten so Whito is uber cool…but of course, he”s the 1st child of Whoorl.com! :)
Hugs mama..way to handle like a champ!
.-= Sarah, Ohana Mama´s last blog ..La La Lanai =-.
Mackensie?
I fell off a lawn chair onto a brick when I was 2.5 and knocked out my front teeth. I was front-toothless until I was about 6 or 7, but I think it added to my charm. Little toothless grins are the cutest and Wito’s is pretty gosh darn cute.
Must take a shot..
Melania, Madrid, Malaney, Mercy
Mairwen, Manar, Mies, Miep, Mara,
Maryland, Maximiliane, Martta/Mart/Marte, Marlys/e
Mavra, Meadow, Meara, Meinwen
Memphis, Melba, Melly
Minka, Mischa, Mod, Montana, Morrigan,
Monet, Muireall, Mylene, Murphy
Moira
.-= Nancy R´s last blog ..We Just Missed Tiptoeing Through The Tulips =-.
It is weird because the first name that came to my mind has not yet been listed….Mallory.
One less tooth to brush, right? Still so stinkin cute.
Is it Malin? I’ve fallen in love with this name lately because of the Girl With The Dragon Tattoo books. I just realized Anders is also a name that pops up in the books, so I thought it was a good guess!
oh my goodness, what a crazy story! i must say though, he looks equally adorable with or without his 2 front teef. what a beautiful boy! love him.
.-= emily bilbrey´s last blog ..fourteen months!! =-.
Oooh, what about Maija? Maja?
Go Wito! If it’s possible, he’s even MORE adorable with the Dangler missing. Also, I heart that tooth fairy gift holder. Where did you find it?
.-= Suzanne from pretty*swell´s last blog ..You Capture ::get down low:: =-.