We had been throwing the idea around of letting the girls get their ears pierced for quite sometime. Once we found out that we were going to India, where the girls go home from the hospital after birth with their ears pierced, I relinquished my stance of making them wait until they were in high school (or at least old enough to take care of their ears themselves) to get them pierced.
For the past 6 months we've been talking to Riley about getting her ears pierced. We worked it into endless conversations, we showed pictures, we talked about how it doesn't really hurt. Soon Riley became confident enough that she started the ear piercing conversations herself, and began to tell everyone that when she got back to the States, she would get them done. Score!
So last Thursday we went directly from the hair salon to the mall. At Claire's, the girls each picked out the earrings they wanted to wear for the next 8 weeks. Matt then took Sheridan out of the store, and my mother in law arrived to help encourage Riley. We marked her ears. Everything was ready. The very last step in this long-awaited moment was to actually pierce Riley's ears. But the anticipation was too great, for as soon as the piercing "gun" came out, Riley began to howl. Loudly. She freaked out. She suddenly started screaming that she didn't want to do it. She put her hands over her ears. She had trouble catching her breath. No amount of negotiation was going to persuade her to pierce those perfectly plump ears.
Ladies walking down the alleyways started coming in to Claire's to see what all the commotion was about. They saw that Riley was nervous and tried to help. One lady showed Riley her baby's newly pierced ears. Another mom in the store peeked around to see why we were torturing the little brunette. I calmly talked to Riley and told her that I knew she would be very upset if we just packed things up and walked out of the store. That she would regret her decision later in the day if she just didn't do it now. That she had been so excited to do it, and if she didn't do it right then and there, we weren't coming back later. It was now or never. She looked me straight in the eye and said, "I don't want to."
By this point I am beginning to feel defeated, and I'm sure my mother in law must think I'm a total nut. The lady in the store still has a smile plastered on her face (she's paid to keep it there) though even her patience is wearing thin. I took a deep breath and resorted to bribery. "Hey Riley, what if you eat M&M's while she pierces your ears?" I could see the wheels turning in her head... eyes rolling upwards as if she needed to contemplate this thought for a few minutes. And then I heard it, the softest, quietest, "O......K...."
Not looking a gift horse in the mouth, I pulled her up on my lap, told the lady to DO IT NOW, and within 30 seconds, the first earring was in. No crying. No hysteria. Just a smile and a question, "Aren't you going to do my other ear?"
Sheridan came running in and was so excited that it was her turn, she jumped into the chair and started bee bopping around. She kept moving and we had to mark and re-marked her ears several times. She watched as the lady prepped her ear for the first piercing. Ready.... Set..... First Pierce.... SCREAM!!! Sheridan was not happy. She jumped out of the chair and refused to let the lady pierce the second ear. She held her shoulder against her ear. She put her hand up over her ear. She cried. Oh how she cried.
Not wanting to go through this again, or have her leave with just one earring, I bribed her with M&Ms too, sat her on daddy's lap, and told the lady to do the other one. Though it wasn't easy. In fact, Sheridan still put up such a fight that we had to hold her hands down and her head still so we could get the second one in. Bingo. Done. Wait... it's just a little too far back. But it's done...
The girls walked out of the store 6 inches taller. Their heads were held high. They were big girls for getting their ears pierced. They were floating on clouds. I, on the other hand, was bugged about Sheridan's ear from the second I walked out the store.
Without dragging this long story even longer... after 24 hours I couldn't take it anymore. The earring's placement bothered me so much that I took it out, let the hole close up, and am taking her back today to get it re-pierced. So much for just letting her leave with just one earring last week... which is exactly what she's done for the past few days, and what I had tried so hard to avoid.
Today while Matt is having his dreaded oral surgery, I'll be back at the mall. With Sheridan. Attempting to get her ear pierced again. This time I'm marking it at home. And I'm bringing M&Ms... because nothing says I'm a good mom like bribing my kid with chocolate at 10 am.
9 comments:
They look so cute and thanks for the tip with the M&M's. Jana wants to get her ears pierced in Switzerland by end of this month!
I think, despite the trauma, you won't regret taking her back. One of mine is too low and it's bothered me for 24 years.
They look adorable. Makes me want to get Gracie's done. But M&Ms wouldn't be enough. I'm pretty sure the store would eventually just ask us to leave. We'd end up scaring away customers...
They look so cute. Maybe mom needs M&M's too.
ugh! things are supposed to be easy at claire's!
the look on riley's face breaks my heart. it's like she just made it through a war, right?
only grae has her ears done. uncle sugar took her. lill tells us she doesn't need any more holes. i think she's going to jump straight to a tattoo.
That would so be my Julianna. Except she's not a sweets eater, so not even the M&M's would do it. I've already decided if I can ever talk her into it, I'm going when they can do both ears at once. I don't think she'd ever let the other ear get done. I am so curious to know how Riley does today. Good luck. What a girl to go back!
Oh, those poor sweet brave happy things! They so deserve the m&m's and the lovely photos to document the struggle! How cute are they??
oof, my heart.
Oh man, i can SO relate to this story. I took my daughter when she graduated from Grade 1 to get her ears pierced. She has 0 pain tolerance & i told the girls at Claire's so luckily they had 2 girls & pierced both ears at the same time. The look on Daisy's face almost made me cry. She looked like she had been shot. The blood drained from her face & she fought back the tears with every ounce of strength. She said after "Oh mommy, if I had known it would have hurt like that, I would NEVER have gotten it done."
If I had warned her, i don;t think she would have done it!
They look gorgeous! Same thing happened to me when I was little - my aunt, a nurse, pierced mine and one was too low. My mom let it close up and later on we went and got it done by a (non-family member) professional. Good luck!
When Wynnie was 3 she decided she wanted her ears pierced. I talked her into waiting until she was 4. Luckily, after she turned 4, she'd forgotten. I haven't heard another peep about getting ears pierced. I'm okay with that.
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