Going Under

Back in October I took Nico to his semi annual dentist appt. It turned out that the dentist saw, after struggling to get x rays from the little man, a baby tooth which needed to be cleaned out. Basically, a mini root canal! He said it looked liked the tooth decay was developmental did not occur due to lack of dental hygiene. So you would think this really would not be a big deal, but on a three year old it is. Since there is no way someone would be able to give Nico a shot in his mouth and then expect him to stay still, full anesthesia was required. Well, we finally got the insurance and everything in order to schedule the procedure. Since the appt was made at the last moment (the day before the actual procedure), Daddy couldn't be there, so it was just me and Nico on our way to the Pediatric Surgery Center early Thursday morning. It is funny, because I was most worried about Nico not understanding that he would be unable to eat or drink until everything was said and done, but he did very well. The little guy did great all around and was in a great mood waiting around in the hospital.

Once the nurse called us back into a room Nico was able to enjoy himself by watching Tangled and reading books. After they got his vitals, Nico was given a nasal spray to "relax" him. This way he did not have a care in the world when they separated us to take the little guy back. I was told that in order to put him to sleep they gave him a mask and once he was down an IV was put in.

Here is Nico just sitting back relaxing in his room.


After about an hour, I was called back and was told that the little baby root canal they thought they were going to need to do, was not needed. The tooth was not as bad as the x rays had showed, so they only had to cap it; however, since he was sleeping, the dentist took thorough x rays which showed another slight cavity developing. So Nico ended up with a cap and a filling before the end of the day, which was a little disturbing since I do brush his teeth twice a day and have been doing so since he turned 1 year old. Hopefully, this will be all the tooth problem which occur at least for quite some time.

Once Nico started waking up I was called into the back again, but this time as I walked through the doors, I could hear my baby boy crying...maybe screaming is the right word. Yep, that is pretty scary for a Mommy to hear. Thankfully he recognized me, but otherwise, Nico was completely not in his conscious state. I held him (the best I could with my very large tummy) and tried to calm him down and comfort him. Poor Nico was so bothered by the IV in his foot. He tried yanking it out and kept yelling, "Owie, owie!"
Between one of the nurses and myself we wear finally able to get some water down him, which then allowed for the IV to come out, which I am sure this was a relief for Nico.

Nico fell asleep in the car on the way home and was very content was he was settled in at home in Mommy's and Daddy's bed, watching Lion King, and drinking chocolate milk.


After about an hour or so, there was no telling that Nico had been under anestheisia, had any dental work done, or had a traumatizing awakening. My brave little guy never complained about his teeth hurting and bounced back very quickly!