Braces...take 1

Yesterday was the day I've been dreading since her teeth started coming in.  Eva got braces.  Well...only on her top four front teeth.  But still, they're braces.  And, in a couple of weeks, she will be getting a palate separator.  Doesn't that just sound barbaric?  Anyway, it just breaks my heart that Eva is the first one to get these.  Yes, her teeth have been obviously in need of braces since she had more than two of them.  Yes, she's been sucking her thumb since birth.  And, yes, I know she'll be thankful later.  But she was so stressed out about it!  For anyone who doesn't know, Eva has been diagnosed with selective mutism and fairly serious anxiety issues.  Without going into details (as that is her personal story), I will just say that this was extremely difficult for her.

the last picture with naked teeth I'll have for a long time

She chose brackets in two different colors.  Purple (her favorite color) and green (my favorite).  She is the sweetest child ever.  Then she got pink rubber bands (Maya's favorite color).  Though I don't think they let her choose that because she really doesn't like pink.  I held her shaking hands and rubbed her trembling legs while they glued the brackets on.  And, forty five minutes later, we were done.

Eva is the first person in our family to ever have braces, so none of us knew what to expect.  While she was at school, I made her favorite soup and some ice cream because I was afraid her mouth would hurt too much to chew anything.  Apparently, however, she may only be a little sore the second day.  Unfortunately, she was up almost all night worried and anxious.  My fingers are crossed that no one at school makes her uncomfortable about this.  Since she's only seven, she doesn't know anyone else with braces.  I tried to reassure her that, when everyone else is just starting down this road, she'll already be almost done.  In the second grade, that doesn't help much.

I can only hope that she'll handle this the way she does most things.  With a smile in her eyes and a gentle heart.