Oh, and Cashmere, the tree looks so gorgeous there! With all the snow and everything!

The insurance situation that I've been so upset about - I just realized that if I sign up for AFLAC, that should protect me from taking a really big hit off that giant deductible. I think. I'll find out on Wednesday.

Pretty tree Cashmere.

vw, take the day.

WS, I hope the Aflac insurance takes care of your worries. I'm sorry your in such a bad situation with health insurance.

Today I feel like I need to make a guest appearance on Kat's Bad Mommy blog. Joe took Ellie to the dentist today because over the weekend she lost the two fillings in her teeth (she had a cavity between the teeth about a year ago). This time, they made a crown (that's what Joe called it) on each tooth. And filled a cavity on another tooth. This time, they did so much work, they had to use novocaine (they didn't need it before).

Joe told the dentist that Ellie is still nursing (which she is, but not at night and I haven't seen any milk in months), so of course the dentist blamed that. The water here is not fluoridated, but I brush her teeth twice a day with toothpaste and she brushes at school too. Despite all that, she's still getting cavities.

I feel like the bad mommy because a)more cavities, b)tons of trauma this morning (Joe said he hurt his back holding her down for the 1.5 hour appointment) and c) I wasn't there (no way I could hold her down being this pregnant). He's taking her home to give her soup and a nap but I relaly want to be there.

Is nursing generally thought to cause bad teeth? That seems counterintuitive. Although maybe I'm just saying that because I was breastfed until I was three.

aww poor Ellie & her folks! I think there is only so much you can do about cavity prevention (which you are doing!). A lot of it is genetics.

A lot of it is genetics.

This! So this! I had terrible teeth as a kid. And that dentist sounds like a jerk. I'm so sorry, you. Don't be too hard on yourself.

Stephanie, I want to fly down there and bitch slap the dentist.

Some people are just more prone to cavities (like me). I had lots of fillings and dental work as a child, too. I had to have my baby teeth capped at one point (but I was so young, I barely remember). Can you buy floridated bottle water for Ellie?

I feel for the poor noodle. But it's also good for Joe to get to be the one to comfort her in a traumatic situation like that. I feel badly for him, though because that had to suck.

Is nursing generally thought to cause bad teeth?

Well, it depends on who you ask. I did a lot of reading after the first cavity last year. The assumption is that, like having a bottle during the night, if you nurse at night, the sweet milk remains in the mouth for long periods of time, bathing the teeth and causing cavities.

Since there was no formula until a few decades ago, this seems counterintuitive to me and a lot of the breastfeeding sites on the Web say that nursingbreastmilk works different than a bottle/formula.

I would be inclined to believe them except that my experience says otherwise. I think Ellie has a fairly healthy diet and we do brush her teeth at least 3-4 times a day. Joe has lots of teeth problems, however, and she may have inherited that from him.

eta:

Some people are just more prone to cavities (like me). I had lots of fillings and dental work as a child, too. I had to have my baby teeth capped at one point (but I was so young, I barely remember).

I was just saying the other day that it's so easy to congratulate yourself when your kid does something well and blame yourself when they don't. I was fortunate enough not to have a cavity until I turned 16. I always assumed it was because I had a healthy diet and brushed enough. Parenting is so humbling.

The one silver lining in all of this is that Joe has kind of ben giving me a hard time because I was asking that he not give Ellie so much candy/sweets/junk food. Perhaps the 1.5 hours in the chair with her will bring him over to my side a bit.

I would be inclined to believe them except that my experience says otherwise.

Yeah, me too. Like I said, three years of being breastfed and I've never had a cavity. In any case, I don't think you deserve the Bad Mom moniker for this one. Lets invent a Bad Dentist one though, yeah?