Tragic Sandwich

After her bath, Baguette loves to brush her teeth. I should probably say that she loves to “brush” her teeth, because mostly what she does is swish the toothbrush around her mouth, alternating with waving it under the running water. And what I really should say is that she loves to stand on a stepladder in front of the sink with the water running. “Brushing” is really just an activity that gives her the excuse to do that.

She also enjoys eating a lot of toothpaste, one pea-sized dollop at a time. I’m really glad that I got her the fluoride-free kind–but it still says to supervise her in order to minimize swallowing. To which I say: Yeah, right. Like I can control that.

What’s really gross is that even though she has three–THREE–toothbrushes of her own, in various sizes, she keeps using mine. I love her beyond measure. But yuck.

Another way to pass time in front of running water is to comb her hair. This is accomplished by passing the comb under the water and then using it to comb her hair forward across her face. Naturally, this is best done after I have dried her hair, so that it is soaking again.

Which brings me to something I really can’t believe: I use leave-in conditioner on Baguette’s hair. And I blow it dry. Both of these seem ridiculous to me. But the first makes it easier to comb her hair (better than the Johnson’s No More Tangles I remembered from my own childhood and started using on her once her hair was long enough to comb), and the second means that she’s not going to bed with wet hair and sleeping on a soggy pillow as a result.

But mostly I want her to understand that she can be just like Mommy without using Mommy’s toothbrush. I really, really want her to understand that.

Photo by JMaz Photo, via Flickr.