Today, Claire joined me on the dark side.  Today, I can call my darling, little, baby girl “Brace Face.”  And I say it with the utmost affection because I understand.

But I’m glad I am.  Claire was none too happy when she sat up with her mouth full of all sorts of foreign objects in her mouth and drooling so badly she couldn’t contain it.  I know how she feels.  I’ve been there in recent history.  I wasn’t quite as cranky as she was when I sat up and my mouth was so full of things and wires are junk but I wasn’t exactly ready to do back flips either.  I understand.  I am the one who ran interference for Claire when we got home and the boys were badgering her to smile, open her mouth and get her picture taken.  I had a leg up on them…I got to see her hardware, got a smile and badgered her into a picture already but I got all of those things because she knows how much I understand.

It’s uncomfortable, hard to eat, miserable and painful but in the end the four of us who have suffered through our Brace Face stages with Dr. White will have all have big, giant smiles to show for it!  I’m just glad I can be here to welcome sweet, little Claire Bear into the world of Brace Faces.

Oh, for the love of my children…