A Missing Tooth, a New Doctor, and an update.

On Wednesday evening, Andreas discovered that he had a very loose tooth. It threw him into complete distress! (For some reason, hiccups really upset him, too.) Meredith and I are his chief comforters, which makes sense because he is used to women caretakers. Neither of us were here. Dan just wouldn't do, and he felt horrible about it. Even Connor couldn't cheer up Andreas. Poor Dan was also trying to cook dinner at the same time. When I got home, Andreas wrapped himself around me and sobbed. His face and hands were all bloody, and he had wet himself. He was stinky and sticky from head to toe. I got him cleaned up and oohed and aahed over his "ouchies". Poor Little Man also fell and skinned and bruised his knee earlier in the day. :( So, we cuddled for a bit, and then he was fine. The next day, he kept asking me for mittens or gloves. I have no idea what he wanted. Maybe he wanted me to pull his tooth? Maybe they would put something over his hands so that he wouldn't play with the tooth? I don't know, and you could tell he thought I was pretty dense for not getting it.:)By the time I got home on Thursday evening, his tooth was gone, and he was a very happy boy. I'd post a picture, but it is a canine tooth, and barely shows.

Today, Grammy and I took Andreas to the endocrinologist. He is a new doctor at the pediatric specialty practice in Portland. I LOVE this doctor!!! Instead of drawing blood today, he gave me the paperwork so that it can all be done at once after A sees the cardiologist in 2 weeks. Hurray! I HATE holding Andreas down. Dr. D asked lots of questions and then gave me information based on what I already know. It was nice not to have to sit through Ds 101. He recommends we do the genetic testing in case the insurance company balks because A hasn't been officially diagnosed. Why can't all doctors be gentle, caring, and helpful?

An update on the rings. First of all, thank you for the advice. I really appreciate knowing there are experienced moms out there who are willing to help! The changes we had noticed were subtle. First, he stopped playing with other toys. Then, he stopped playing with the other kids. Finally, he stopped cuddling with us. He was beginning to shy away whenever I moved toward him. Still, he did seem happy and comfortable, and he wasn't totally unresponsive. I was thinking he just needs them for now, so I will let it go. The other behavior is probably just attachment/adjustment stuff.

But now, thanks to Shyla, there is 1 ring. My mom, who is here on W and Th while I work, didn't know the rings were an issue. She did however, notice a big difference in Andreas since last week. She also felt that the rings were making him distant and less interactive, so she put them away while he was in bed. When he got up and asked for them, she just told him,"no". He went in the living room and started playing with the other kids. He played ball with Connor, and wrestled with Gavin. Then he came out in the kitchen and "helped" Grammy and Meredith. It was nice to see, and it felt right. On Thursday, he didn't even ask for the rings, so I didn't bother to ask mom where she put them.

Last night, Dan and I had so much fun with our boy!! He cuddled in my lap, and we sang all of his favorite songs. Then he practiced his signs and English words for us. It was so nice to have our boy back! I realize that this could all have been unrelated to the rings, but since he is so much more like the Andreas we knew in Estonia, we are gonna leave the rings where they are for now. These attachment issues are so tricky! It is hard to know what to let go of and what to deal with.