Thumbs Down on Knitting Tonight

Anja was NOT digging the social scene tonight at Barnes & Noble. And if we're being honest, neither was I. I had another lousy experience at the dentist today, resulting in a really sore mouth and absolutely nothing to show for it. I was pretty excited to go to knitting, and I told my mom to go and I was hoping Aunt Anna May would be there too (and she was) but then on the way over the Novocaine started wearing off and instead of just feeling funny, my mouth started to really hurt and by the time we got there I just wanted to sit and work on my bear leg, but that didn't really happen because it was a pretty huge social gathering tonight. Which would be GREAT if I could swallow or smile without wanting to kill myself. But tonight it was not so great. And the fact that Anja fussed the whole time didn't make it much better. But, she had had about as big of a day as I had. Who can blame her for being upset when it's her bedtime anyway?

So, the dentist. Wow. I went to the dentist to get my cavities filled. Again. Remember, that was supposed to happen last week, and it didn't because they got my chart mixed up with someone else's? So I went back today to try again, and--

Hang on. I should preface this by saying that Anja didn't go to bed last night until almost midnight, woke up a little before 9:00 and didn't take an incredibly fabulous nap because she fell asleep a little before 1:00 and I had to wake her up a little after 2:30 to go to the dentist. So she was bound to be tired and irritable anyway.

--I didn't have time to feed Anja before my appointment, since she'd been asleep. So I went back and after the annoying prep stuff the dentist lady comes in and gives me the shots in the back of my mouth, and then leaves for awhile so the Novocaine can set in. She comes back in and I'm not all the way numb. I'm a little bit numb, but mostly it just feels like my tongue is a little bit asleep. She gives me a few more shots and leaves again. While I'm waiting for that dose to kick in, I hear Anja screaming. Soon after that, she and my mom come back, and she quiets down immediately, as soon as she can see me. I probably wouldn't have felt so horrible about it if I hadn't known also that she was hungry and tired. So anyway, the dentist comes back and they leave and evidently they had actually been ASKED to leave by the dentist, though I didn't hear this happen. So I can still hear Anja screaming, and I know that she is upset and hungry and wanting to see me, and the dentist starts drilling my teeth, and I can feel it--I still am not all the way numb! So I tell her that, and she tells me I need to relax. I say maybe if I can feed my daughter I'd be able to relax. She says she doesn't have time for that, and that she can either keep going, or put a temporary filling in my cavities for no charge and I can make another appointment to come back. Then she suggests that I leave the baby with someone at home rather than bringing her with me. (For some reason, she thought this would make it easier for me. I'm not really sure why.) Also, when I told her I was nervous because I knew my daughter was crying, she told me that my daughter wasn't going to die. Well, duh. But that doesn't mean I don't feel bad for her being upset, because I know ALL of the reasons she's crying and I can solve every one of them pretty easily. I told her she could do the temporary fillings. Then I made another appointment, but I'm not really going back.

The part of the story that I wasn't around for was when my mom explained to the dentist lady that I never leave Anja. Apparently the dentist's answer to that was "That's her choice, but I can't work that way." Well of course it's my choice. And you don't have to work that way anymore, I'm perfectly happy to go someplace else.

Okay, and here's one of the most annoying parts. She told me that the reason my gums weren't getting numb was because I was nervous and that was keeping the Novocaine from working through and numbing everthing. BIG FAT HAIRY LIE. Okay, maybe it wasn't a LIE, but she was wrong. My gums NEVER got numb. Later at home while the rest of my mouth was numb, I drank some orange juice. Some places couldn't feel the cold of the orange juice, but my bottom gums (the ones where the rotten teeth are) could feel it!! So it WASN'T because I was nervous!

While we were eating dinner my wonderful neighbor Tara called and I told her the whole long story. She said she used to go to what is now Allure dentist office, and she said they were AWESOME about her kids anytime she brought them with her. I'm going to call them tomorrow and see if our insurance covers them.

So now I'm mad because my mouth is ridiculously sore, I STILL have to go back someplace to get numbed and drilled at AGAIN, this has been an enormous pain in the neck from the start, and it ruined what would've been a really fun and humorous knit night.

GR! FRUSTRATION!