Like I mentioned yesterday (30Jan), Megha was feeling a little uneasy with her neonatal teeth. Fortunately, her dentist called and advised us that there was a cancellation and if we want we can schedule Megha at 1:30 instead of on 1st Feb. I was relieved because Anand wasn't working that day and it would be good to have him around, specially during Megha's visits to doctors/dentists etc.
In a way I was hoping that the dentist would say that everything is normal and that she can go home right away. But I also knew its not going to happen as I knew for sure her teeth were loose. Since we took her to the pediatric dentist, there were other kids too and I instantly took a liking to that place.
As I had guessed, her teeth were loose. In fact they were so loose that they had to be extracted as soon as possible according to her dentist. Before I knew, tears were rolling down my eyes. The dentist was very emphatic and said that if it were his own child he would be very concerned too.
My next question was what kind of anesthetic she would be given to numb the pain. What brought more tears was the fact that she would not be given a general anesthesia at all since she was so little. Apparently only a proper anesthesiologist can administer a dose on children that small. If we insist on general anesthetic, we have to admit her into the Sick Kids Hospital and she would be treated there. The other option was to freeze her gums which the dentist can do himself. We opted for later.
I could not stay in the same room. Megha started wailing as I was walking out to wait in the reception area. How I wish she didn't have to go through this!! Like the dentist has promised, the extraction was done in under 5 mins and I was called back inside. My poor baby was still weeping :(
For the first time in her life, real tears were rolling down her eyes :( I cry even more.
Again, just like her dentist promised, she stopped crying in under 5 mins. We fed her milk right then and there and to my great relief and surprise, she latched on immediately and she didn't appear to have pain. I was hoping that the pain wouldn't be there even after a few hours.
We took her out for a long drive to Anand's workplace as he had some work. She slept through the whole ride and back home. By then it was close to 4 hours since her teeth were extracted and I was becoming more hopeful that there would be no pain.
Thank God, there was none. She seemed just fine and content. Since the time her teeth are gone, she is feeding well and appears relaxed. I am not sure if its anything to do with this, but she also seems to be sleeping better!!
Certainly a milestone crossed. I had my first tooth extraction when I was 28 and my first ever dentist appointment at 25! Megha had hers when she was less than 6 weeks old. We have her both teeth saved in a little treasure box given by her dentist.
P.S: Long time ago, one of my acquaintance told me that her baby had to go through a spinal tap since the doctors could not identify the source of fever her 4 week old infant had. I shuddered and thought that I understood the pain she must have gone through during the procedure. Honestly, I had no idea the kind of agony a mother would go through seeing her child suffer until I had seen Megha go through this. Of course, this tooth extraction is nothing compared to a spinal tap, but I am just saying.
I have made a mental note NOT to say, "I understand" when someone tells me about their child's suffering, because we dont understand it until our own child goes through pain (of any kind).
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