Dental, Mental, and Metal Breakdowns

8:30 came way to early this morning. I mean, who makes a dentist appointment for a 3yo at 8:30 in the morning?!?! So cruel. Anyway, today was Caleb's second ever visit to the dentist. Now it is important to note that Caleb is TERRIFIED of doctors and anyone in scrubs. The dentist is no exception to this fear. Everything is fine in the waiting room. They have a miniature movie theater, a few arcade style games, and some other play things. Pretty cool if you ask me, especially for a pediatric dentistry office. They sure didn't have anything like that when I first started seeing the dentist, but we had Mr Thirsty the water sucker. But I digress

So, hanging out in the waiting room with Caleb and his Uncle Bubby, who was brave enough to come with. Caleb loves his Uncle Bubby so much so we figured that having him with us would make things a little better. Right? WRONG!!!

They call his name, and the crying begins almost immediately. The laughing, playing, "LOOK AT THE FISH!" Caleb ceases to exist. Just this screaming, 3 foot tall, 24 pound bag of bones. My heart just aches for him despite my smile and calming voice saying "it's okay. daddy is here, everything is fine." Just as much as Caleb is breaking down, I am breaking down inside. It pains me to see him so scared, to have to hold him down when all we should be doing is running away and getting outside.

The nurse gets is teeth cleaned up and ready for the dentist to come take a peek. We watch Dora on a small flat screen TV above the chair Caleb is sitting in and he slowly starts to calm down. Then Ms Dentist walks in.   A tall woman, european I believe (sounds like a slight german or dutch accent) and mean. Caleb starts screaming again and holding on to me for dear life. I have to put him down in the chair and hold him. Arm, Legs, and torso pinned up under me. He looks at me screaming "ALL DONE!! DADDY ALL DONE!" and my heart breaks again. I just want to shout at these people and tll them to stop that we are all done. The dentist is poking him saying "stop crying stop crying" and I t am so distraught for Caleb that slapping her starts to seem like an option.

The visit is over and we head to the car. Caleb is calm with the little plastic Nemo looking fish they give him. We put on some heavy metal (Caleb's favorite right now) and get ready to head home. The first breakdown from All That Remains starts to play, and I to look in the rearview to see Caleb. Eyebrows lowered, his freshly cleaned teeth just shining while he bangs his head in time. And home we head, all three of us, headbanging and singing along. The perfect end to a really crappy morning.