Woman Lodged Under Airplane Seat

That is the headline I am desperately trying to avoid.

Woman Lodged Under Airplane Seat.

And, then of course the following intro to the article: "A woman has found herself lodged under the seat of a Southwest Airlines jet. Investigators are unsure what could be of enough value an adult would search for it with such manic enthusiasm she would end up in this position. As of now, the only thing they can get out of the woman is "tooth". She seems rather...."

Confession: Sometimes I'm a bit squeamish about motherhood-related items. Case in point, Madeleine's first loose tooth. That baby was hanging by a thread and there was no way I was going to help it along by pulling on it. In fact, both girls realized that when a tooth is that loose it kind of flips my stomach to watch them wiggle the dang thing.

So....Emily's tooth loosens. Emily doesn't wiggle her tooth nearly as much as Madeleine wiggled hers, so Emily has a loose tooth much longer than Madeleine did. I was beginning to be afraid that sucker would fall out on our Christmas flight and we'd lose it on the plane. Till and I had actually talked about bringing an extra zip-loc sandwich baggy on the flight so we could use it to hold the tooth.

Emily's permanent tooth is now up far enough it is impossible to wiggle the baby tooth backward. But, will she wiggle it enough and be done with it already? Nope! Desperate times call for desperate measures. So....last night, with stomach flipping, I used a washcloth and gave a little tug to assist Emily's tooth's departure so she wouldn't lose it on the plane. Misson Accomplished!

Then Madeleine, "Master Wiggler", comes up and now her second loose tooth is barely in there and she wants me to pull it. Ugh! Really?! I'm still faced with the prospect of a dental adventure at a cruising altitude 30,000 feet? Madeleine was crushed I wouldn't tug on her tooth, but in all fairness Emily deserves the dental spotlight for 24 hours.

I had to make a "One tooth a day" rule. The unexpected experiences motherhood provides.