Tuesday, January 29, 2013

First Dental Appointment!

We finally had our first dental appointment!!! I was a little apprehensive about taking them since I waited until they turned 4. I wasn't sure what to expect, and hoping I didn't wait too long.
 
In addition to waiting for the perfect time, I had to do some research on dentists that were on our plan and in our area. I wanted someone close, who also did orthodontics (I'll explain later), AND who would let me back in the area where the kids would be taken for the examination and cleaning. Believe it or not, most pediatric dentists don't allow parents with their children. Very surprising!

 I was able to find a pediatric dentist who also did pediatric orthodontics AND encouraged parents to go back in the examination room and observe!!! On top of all that, he only schedules general dentistry appointments on Saturday! It couldn't get better. But, it did!
 The staff was awesome! They took great care and consideration in it being the trips' first time to see a dentist. The dental hygienist was very gentle AND patient! I love the dentist! He reminds me of my former "old school" dentist. He's not all about the current hype with modern dentistry. I like a dentist to give me some home remedies and not try to sell me on something I don't need.
 Mollie started out very shy. She wouldn't speak to anyone and just looked a little concerned about what was going to happen. I assured her over and over that it wouldn't hurt and we were just looking at her teeth. She soon relaxed and actually enjoyed the cleaning. She did everything she was asked to do. Oh, and great report on her teeth! No cavities, no tartar build-up, nothing! The dentist even said how "lucky" all the kids were that their teeth was well spaced out.
 Elise did a little better than Mollie while the dentist examined her. She was more responsive, but still a little reserved about talking to him.

 The cleaning tickled her (sorry for the picture...it wouldn't let me rotate it). I was concerned about her overbite, which is why I wanted a pediatric dentist that was also an orthodontist. He assured me that her bite was still fine. And we would talk about braces much later down the road. But as of now, she had great hygiene and he was pleased.
 Yay! Another one down, a third to go!
 Being a "man's man", Preston was the most laid back during his examination. Again, a great report! I was so thankful! I thought I had waited too long for an exam and they would have some build up or a cavity or something. Apparently my teeth fetish is paying off! (Yes, I have a mild teeth fetish....I love pearly whites!).
 I couldn't tell if Preston really enjoyed the cleaning as much as the girls. Mollie and Elise were hovering over him the entire time, watching every little movement the hygienist was making!
 All three of them had great dental hygiene! (Thank you, Daddy, for always being so consistent in brushing our teeth in the evening)!
They got to choose a toy for being such good patients. Another small milestone down...until the next 6 months!

4 Year Check Up

Well, I originally started this post on Thursday, December 27th when the triplets actually had their 4 year well child visit. Unfortunately, our internet (only on the desktop) is acting up. I have disconnected, plugged in, shut down, reset, and everything else (except call the service provider) to get this thing working. So, I only have certain pics posted on here....not all the ones I had uploaded. For some reason, they were either not uploaded, or uploaded to their original size and I couldn't decrease them. I tried to delete and upload them again.....unsuccessful. Very frustrating!
 
 
Ok...moving on. We have been talking to the kiddos for the last couple of weeks about them having their well child visit. They asked if they were going to receive shots, and every time, the answer was yes. I'm not a liar. I won't tell my kids something other than the truth. And each time they heard that they will in fact receive shots, they would start crying or getting upset. So, I explained to them that it will hurt a little and then go away as soon as it starts hurting. Needless to say, they got over it.
 
 
 
 
 
Mollie did very well. She did everything the nurse asked her to do. At one point, while the nurse was taking her blood pressure, Mollie put her head into one of her hands and looked as if she was embarrassed. Super cute! Mollie's height is not growing as fast as her weight. She's the heaviest of the three!!! Weighing in at a whopping 38 lbs, she is in the 75th percentile. As for her height, she's only 39 1/2 inches (50th percentile). But hey....she's born into a short family! 


Elise did extremely well with the nurse. She's so used to being in this environment. Secretly, I think she likes it. All the attention. I know that sounds warped, but if you've met Elise, you would completely understand. Her height was the same as Mollie's, 39 1/2 inches. However, her weight was only 36 1/2 lbs (70th percentile). While that's only 5 % less than Mollie's, you can see that she's really slimming up. She used to be my little chunky monkey. 




And then there's Preston. Oh...my little man! He is definitely all boy! He tried to be strong and not cry. And instead of his Momma, he wanted Daddy to be with him when he received his shots. He's growing up to be Daddy's little sport! Well....his height was surely a surprise. Given we are all short (both the men and women on both sides of our family), we just expected him to follow suit. I thought he would be in the 30th percentile....however, he ranked in the 51th percentile at a towering height of 40 3/4 inches!! Woo-hoo! For tall men out there, that might not be much. But for us shorter folks, well, it's a win. He did weigh in the lightest at 36 lbs. His little body is so skinny!!! I'm hoping to get some meat on his bones!
 


 
This year, they did a hearing test. After a few tries, Mollie finally got the concept of having to raise her hand every time she heard a beep. She passed!
 
 
Elise...well, that's a whole different story. We ended up not doing the test at all. Either she didn't get the concept or she didn't want to do it. Makes me wonder if she can hear anything at all since every time I call her, it's several times of saying her name before she answers.....(or maybe it's just a 4 year old thing).
 
 
Preston was awesome! He understood what was going on right away and even made an "okay" signal for us!
 
 
 
 
After it was all said and done, we came home to cake and ice cream! They really enjoyed it. All three of them did such a great job that we didn't care it was only one and a half hours before dinner. Let them have cake!