The Brushing of Teeth

When it comes to bath time, we have a routine.  (I know.  Surprise, surprise.)  We bathe, we get dried off, we use the potty one last time if we want to, we get our diaper on and our pajamas, we clean our ears, and then we brush our teeth battle, wriggle, squirm, scream bloody murder.

I don't know what I am doing wrong when it comes to brushing Kate's teeth but I am doing something wrong because Kate LOATHES having her teeth brushed.  And when I say loathes, what I mean is I've been able to pretty much convince her to do everything she hasn't wanted to do so far...EXCEPT THIS!  And every single night it is the same song and dance.  She does NOT want her teeth clean.

And this drives me crazy.

Growing up, I had one cavity after another.  It's amazing that I still have teeth right now.  Every night, I brush my teeth with an electric toothbrush, floss, and use mouthwash.  Religiously.  Brian, on the other hand, hasn't had a single cavity in his entire life.  There are some nights that I see him rinse with mouthwash and that is it. #jealous.  I'm not sure what I did wrong in a past life but it had something to do with teeth because I'm paying for it in this life.

I have tried every technique that I can think of with Kate and brushing her teeth.  I have tried to brush them, I've had Brian try to brush them, I've let her try to brush them, I've brushed my teeth with her, I've let her brush my teeth with my toothbrush, I've had the three of us brush our teeth together, I've sang songs, I've tried to make her laugh so she opens wide and I can get a quick swipe, I've tried to think of any traumatizing teeth moments Kate may have had in her life so that we could reenact them and maybe reverse the teeth brushing struggle...I've.tried.everything.  And she still does not want her teeth brushed.

Somehow she manages to close her mouth and grip her lips so that even if I can break the lip lock, which is rare, when I get into her mouth there's just a wall of teeth that I run into.  I can't even get to the molars in the back which are the ones that I need to get to.  It is ridiculous but impressive at the same time!

And I'm honestly still not sure what to do.  I try every single night to brush Kate's teeth.  And every single night she does not want her teeth brushed.

Tonight, Jack was in the bathroom with us.  Apparently it's way more fun to try to brush the dog's teeth than it is to brush your own teeth...

Kate is more than welcome to try to brush
Jack's teeth.  One battle a night is enough
for me.

Yum!  Smells like kid's toothpaste!

If only I had another toothbrush right now...

Perhaps that is the solution.

I hope and pray that she has Brian's strong teeth so that these battles would be fruitless anyway, but there's a part of me that is very scared that she has my teeth, and if that is the case then she needs to get to brushing, like, yesterday.