Having gone through this numerous times already, (No. I don't know why I can't seem to be more vigilant and get a handle on this) I knew there would be more dog food stuffed into my child's mouth than humanly possible, and I knew how difficult it was going to be to get my finger into his mouth to remove the food. Seriously, you practically need a crowbar to pry this kid's mouth open, whatever the reason may be. So, I hook my finger and go in for the prize. Surprisingly, there are only two kernels of food that I need to retrieve. Much crying and screaming ensues, which is not abnormal. However, a few moments later, after hugging and cuddling him, I look him in the face and notice blood around his mouth. I'm a little worried, but I figure he probably just bit his lip in the previous melee, so we continue out to the car. As I'm getting him into the car-seat I notice fresh blood in the fold of his lips, so, with much difficulty, I pry open his mouth to see inside. I see a hole in his gum and what looks like a piece of gum flesh hanging lose! I. Freak. Out. I can't believe that the simple act of retrieving dog food from my baby's mouth, something I've done a handful of times without incident, has led to a bloody, torn gum. I call his doctor and schedule an appointment for later this afternoon.
Fast forward to waiting in the doctor's office, and my initial reason for deciding to start writing a parent related blog. After we sign in I take him to play in the "well patient" area. I've been dubious to let him play here in the past, as I don't think parents pay attention to the "well patient" part of the sign and I often see obviously sick kids in this play area. But today there are a lot of people waiting on the couches, plus I don't feel like fighting to keep D on the couch with me, so we head to the play area. There are four or five other boys (three or four of which seem to belong to one woman) playing here. They are all older than him and the group that seems to be together doesn't seem to notice him at all. One boy, the lone boy, whose mother seems to be watching TV with her back to the group, seems to be obsessed with D. As my child goes from toy to toy, this lone boy takes each toy away from him, or puts his hands in the way so that D can't play with it. Lone Boy seems to be testing his boundries and I can't decide if he's being a jerk on purpose or just awkward. Things get heated when D doesn't move on right away and tries to continue playing with a toy Lone Boy has obviously taken over. At one point it looks like Lone Boy has made a fist to hit D. I'm staring hard at this kid as he looks at me to see if I'm watching, and the fist falls by his side. Just as it gets to the point where I'm about to tell Lone Boy to give my kid some space I look at D and my brilliant boy seems to have turned this boy's brand of torture into a game! I watch as D goes to another toy and then I see the mischievous twinkle in his eye as he waits for the lone boy to follow him and predictably take over before he moves on to the next toy. He's turned this boy's harassment into a form of chase, which I'm beginning to find amusing, myself.
Thankfully our name was called before things progressed farther. Although, I would have liked to see if Lone Boy would have continued in his staunch way, or if he would have realized that D was being kind by playing with him, and perhaps lightened up. I doubt the latter, but I'm curious just the same. Needless to say, I left the waiting room with a feeling a sadness. I was sad that my baby had been picked on. This isn't the first time a "mean" kid has singled him out and he's only 15 months old. This same thing happened a few months ago at a book babies session at the library. Luckily, D is too young to realize the other kids are being mean to him, but it hurts my feelings dreadfully. And, though it does no good to worry about what has not come to pass, I do worry about his childhood and how he will be treated when he's old enough to hurt. Is he already a target for bullies? And if so, WHY?? I always kind of assumed he would be friendly and have friends. And while he might not be popular, I never imagined him to be on the loner side of things, either. I still feel this way, for the most part, because this was how my childhood was, but after seeing these small interactions, dread has started to creep in.
I suppose I'm writing this to hear of other parents experiences and gauge other parents opinions.
As for D's mouth, turns out he was teething. He doesn't have anything past his front four top and four bottom teeth in yet, so I didn't think he would be getting molars already, but apparently teeth come in whatever order they desire. The nurse suggested we see a dentist, just in case. (She kept referring to this as a trauma, even though I only hooked my finger around some dog food and pulled it out, which I've done a number of times.) I assume his gum was about ready to let his tooth break through, and either my finger (unlikely) or the rough dog food (more likely) helped to cut his tooth through. I will follow up with a dentist, though. It would be good to find one now before he really needs one.
