This past Saturday, you had your very first dentist appointment. You currently have six little chompers (and two more are cropping up on the bottom) and you absolutely hate it when I try to brush them. I literally have to pin you down to get the toothbrush in and around your mouth and sometimes I even have to ask Daddy to help hold your head still. You always cry, which, ironically, makes it easier for me to brush your teeth since your mouth is wide open. I'm so sorry we have to do this to you two times a day but you'll thank us later for your perfect pearly white teeth!
Given your aversion toward brushing, I obviously didn't think it would go well with the dentist but like the hair salon we took you to, the dentist had also invested in the magic of TV. You turned into a zombie baby as soon as you saw SpongeBob walk across the screen and wouldn't have noticed if the dentist stuck a jackhammer in your mouth, much less a tiny handled mirror. Your check-up lasted all of five minutes (what with you only having six teeth and all) and you got a snazzy toy ball from the dentist for being such a good boy.
I think you were especially mesmerized by the TV at the dentist's office because last week, Mommy and Daddy (well, Mommy mostly) decided that we are no longer going to let you watch TV. Actually, I never wanted you to watch TV but then I slowly started letting you watch episodes of "Ni Hao, Kai-Lan" and "Bubble Guppies" when I needed to keep you occupied while I did housework. And you loved them! You'd smile and perk up as soon as you heard their theme songs and would sit as still as a stone during the entire episodes, eyes glued to the screen. Initially, you only paid attention to the TV if your cartoons were on but then you started watching it when I watched the news in the morning and when Daddy turned on a sports game after he came home at night. You were so drawn to the TV that you'd try to walk right up to it to touch the screen and you giggled in delight when we picked up the remote to turn on the TV. I don't want you to be a couch potato like so many other kids so our house is now a no-TV house.
The first few days were . . . quieter. It was odd making your breakfast without Matt Lauer's voice in the background. And I had to leave you in your playpen and let you cry while I went to the basement to do laundry. But we listened to the classical music station during breakfast and that was a calming way to start the day. And when I did laundry, you cried for several minutes but then you stopped and just started playing contentedly with your toys. So this will be good.
I do miss Matt Lauer, though.
Love,
Mom
I think you were especially mesmerized by the TV at the dentist's office because last week, Mommy and Daddy (well, Mommy mostly) decided that we are no longer going to let you watch TV. Actually, I never wanted you to watch TV but then I slowly started letting you watch episodes of "Ni Hao, Kai-Lan" and "Bubble Guppies" when I needed to keep you occupied while I did housework. And you loved them! You'd smile and perk up as soon as you heard their theme songs and would sit as still as a stone during the entire episodes, eyes glued to the screen. Initially, you only paid attention to the TV if your cartoons were on but then you started watching it when I watched the news in the morning and when Daddy turned on a sports game after he came home at night. You were so drawn to the TV that you'd try to walk right up to it to touch the screen and you giggled in delight when we picked up the remote to turn on the TV. I don't want you to be a couch potato like so many other kids so our house is now a no-TV house.
The first few days were . . . quieter. It was odd making your breakfast without Matt Lauer's voice in the background. And I had to leave you in your playpen and let you cry while I went to the basement to do laundry. But we listened to the classical music station during breakfast and that was a calming way to start the day. And when I did laundry, you cried for several minutes but then you stopped and just started playing contentedly with your toys. So this will be good.
I do miss Matt Lauer, though.
Love,
Mom
