Dillo's 15 month checkup.

He's 25 pounds 2.5 oz, 31 inches, both 50-60%ile, so still running smaller than Casper. She asked if he'd gotten picky in his eating or reduced his food intake and I just grabbed a handful of thigh and said, "Nope!" Looking fine. Had 4 shots and didn't like it; in general was a grump whenever bothered by Dr. Betty (to listen to lungs, to look in mouth). He fell asleep in the car on the way to day care.

The nights have been really bad for about a week now (sorry sparky!) and I think we need to work on getting sleep back to something more reasonable. He was up every 2 hours last night, and cranky as hell. I think it's partly the lower canines, both of which have broken the skin by now, but partly a greater sense of him articulating his desires and being more self-acting, less malleable. A normal developmental stage, to be sure. But what he wants in the night is to nurse for comfort and snuggle with Mama, and what I want in the night is at most 2 wakeups, so we have a little conflict here. I don't want to nightwean until 18 months, but I do want to reduce the night nursing from the level we were at last night.

dentist, ugh

I just made an appointment to see the dentist. We took Casper in the spring, but I haven't been myself in perhaps 3 years. They had a cancellation, so I'm going TOMORROW. Eek. Also, one cleaning for Casper was $150, so I expect the damage to be big.

I have a weird relationship with dentistry. I'm not phobic (that would be veejane of the valium) but I certainly don't like going. Since my mother's husband was a dentist, I have gotten most of my dentistry free via his office since I was about 16. He's retired now, though, and he also lives in Boston so I never got to the dentist twice a year even when I did see a dentist.

In general, I have fairly good teeth. I think some of it is genetic luck and some of it is fluoride treatments in my youth, because precious little of it is due to my own conduct. I don't brush as often as I should, and I almost never floss, and as noted, visit the dentist all too rarely. I think I've had 3 cavities total in my life, but I have been having some occasional tooth pain and fully expect them to find either a new cavity or a problem with a filling.

Part of my dentistry avoidance is that I genuinely dislike dental cleanings - the scritch-scritch of the scrapers, the suction tube under my tongue, the hideous taste and grittiness of the toothpaste, the shuddery feeling I get when they use that rotating toothbrush. I actually even dislike the feeling of brushing my teeth, which is one reason I don't do it twice daily. mr. flea uses one of those electric toothbrushes; it makes me shuddery to even think about it.

Part of my dentistry avoidance of late is that I don't have dental insurance, and it's expensive. I filled out the annual renewal of my work benefits today and again decided not to plump for dental coverage since it's $75 a month (for the family - health insurance is only $212!) and has a complicated co-pay structure, plus there's a 6-month moratorium on anything but cleaning when you sign up. And by June 2008 I'd really like to be in another situation. There's a rant in here, but I'm tired, so I'll just give you the simmer version, about how vision care and dental care are part of the big picture of medical care, duh, so why have separate insurances? For example, there are medical conditions that are complicated by dental problems, and some dental problems are indicators of underlying medical problems. And since preventive care in dentistry is a HUGE deal, why not encourage your employees to get cleanings by making them covered at a reasonable co-pay? Just another insane facet of the health care system in America.