No One Told Me How Heartbreaking It Is When Your Child Loses Their First Tooth

“So, what’s the Tooth Fairy giving your friends these days?” I casually slip into the conversation.

“I think it’s around $100,” my 6-year-old says. Whoa. I’m not sure our loose change jar can handle that one.

My son and I have been through many milestones together

There was his not-sleeping newborn phase, followed by his not-sleeping toddler phase, which moved into his not-sleeping preschooler phase. Now that we’re finally catching up on sleep, we’ve stepped into another life-changing stage: My first grader has lost his first tooth. I feel like leaving for college is his next phase.

Since my son is one of the youngest in his first-grade class, most of his classmates have already been graced by the Tooth Fairy. He’s been feeling left out of all the glittery magic, while I’ve been enjoying his little baby-toothed smile for as long as I can. It wasn’t nearly long enough.

During his initial teething phase, my generally easygoing guy was cranky and bitey. While my baby was using my fingers as a teether, I prayed to the Tooth Fairy to speed up this phase. Trying to manage all his moody teething symptoms made this particular stage feel never-ending. I imagined times in the future to be filled with more of “the good stuff.” What my sleep-deprived brain didn’t realize then was that every phase carries the good stuff.

Some days, I want to replay them all

To be fair, there have been some chapters that tested more of my parenting resolve, like when my little guy’s separation anxiety hit its high point or when he hit his "never wanting to eat a vegetable in his life" phase — which we’re still in. But each and every parenting phase has brought us closer.

As the oh-so-experienced mother of a now 6-year-old losing his teeth, I’m trying to appreciate every moment of this big jump from babyhood to kiddom. Right now, I’m appreciating the fact that this phase may make me go broke. I’m thinking that "$100 a tooth” would break our bank account.

What is the going rate for a tooth?

After talking with some other moms, it seems the payout varies. There are Tooth Fairies leaving silver dollars and some leaving $5 bills due to inflation. Then there are the Tooth Fairy backup plans that I never thought to back up, because what happens if we lose physical evidence?

Turns out that my kid lost his first tooth while eating a slice of pizza. Both of us figured there was only one way to find his tooth again and neither of us had the courage to look for it. Quickly adapting, he decided to write a note and explain the situation. While he was putting blue marker to construction paper, I secretly checked the Tooth Fairy’s wallet. She only had a $20 bill. Oops.

This fateful evening my husband was out of town, so unless my dog was going to quietly slip to the ATM, my son would have to take a check. After phoning my husband, it turned out he had some cash stashed in his desk, complete with a $5 bill. We were saved!

Each of these precious phases moves my son further into adulthood

That’s why I’m locking these memories away in my heart. Time moved slowly during some of the difficult stages, but looking back, I’m not sure how we got here so fast. Losing his first tooth feels like he’s leaving that baby boy behind for good, and my heart is stretching further than it can bear. It’s paying the price for all that deep love — $5 at a time.