Since the kids were having two weeks of school vacation soon, I decided to schedule Sophie's lip snipping surgery for during that time. This way she would be able to recover in peace and not have any embarrassment over stitches, or whatever, at school. Chris worked from home that day, which was perfect for me. I didn't have to take anybody with me to the dentist, and was able to just concentrate on helping Sophie.
She had been pretty nervous for a few days, imagining all sorts of horrible things about the procedure and what could happen to her. I knew she was trying to be brave, but was still a little scared. The dentist very kindly rearranged a few pieces of equipment, so that I could sit as close to Sophie as possible and still be out of the way. I was able to rub her feet and ankles the whole time, which I did to reassure her and let her know I was there. She couldn't really see me with her head tilted back. :) The whole experience was worse than I thought it would be for her, and at one point I seriously considered grabbing her off the chair and running out of the office. But I also knew that the pain would be over and forgotten quickly, and her beautiful new smile would last forever, so I swallowed my mama bear instincts and forced us both to tough it out.
It started to go downhill as soon as he put the numbing solution on her gums, so she wouldn't feel the shots as bad. Apparently, it tasted horribly bitter and she gagged a bit as some came in direct contact with her tongue. Then, of course, not being able to spit it out just made it worse. When he came at her with the needle, her little eyes got so wide and scared and the tears just started coming. She was very brave though, and didn't turn her head or make it harder for him to work in anyway. It was the most pitiful thing I have ever seen. Little fists balled up tight at her sides, and tears streaming down both cheeks, but her head held ramrod still. The nurse was very kind and kept wiping away her tears for her, and the dentist was speaking in soft tones the whole time, encouraging her and telling her what a great job she was doing. This would be when I thought of just escaping with her. So what we learned from this experience is that not only does the numbing gel taste disgusting, it doesn't really work!
She did get one small reprieve, when her lip started going numb, and swelling slightly. That made her laugh because it just felt so strange. The rest of the procedure didn't hurt, of course, but she still had a few tears due to the sheer grossness of it. She said later that she could hear the snip snip of the scissors as it cut her mouth, and that was just too freaky. But at least her hands weren't balled up into fists anymore. I kept checking to see how much stress she was under.
Due to where he was making the cuts in her mouth, it was impossible to stitch up everything. The cuts he made in the roof of her mouth just had to remain open, but he did swab them with disinfectant. He warned us that it would get kind of yellow and there would most likely be pus, but that it was normal. We had a return appointment for the following Friday to remove the stitches, and he would check for infection then. I tried to count exactly how many stitches she ended up getting, but I lost track! I think it was about 8 total.
As a reward for being so brave, she got to choose two toys from the dentist's box of surprises. She chose a beautiful, giant "gold" ring with a blue "stone" in it. She loves it and wears it all the time. But there was nothing else she wanted, so I told her she could pick out a toy from the store. This is what she chose.
She wasn't allowed to eat or drink for the next 3 hours, but I took her to Migros and let her pick any kind of popsicle she wanted for when she could eat. It was a hard decision, but since they no longer have the Princess popsicles, she went with the ones that look like watermelon slices. When we got home, everyone made a big fuss over her, and was very kind and sympathetic to her tales of pain and woe. I think that, more than anything, made her feel like it was all worth it. :)