Will I be a big baby when the braces go on? You bet!

On Friday July 22nd, first thing in the morning, Dr. Kirk inserted elastic spacers between all my back teeth. This will make room for the metal bands to go around my second molars when the braces are put in. You can see the little blue fuckers in the picture below.

 I was expecting some discomfort but not the pain and stiffness. It's hard to yawn. I can't *crack* my jaw like I usually do, because the stiffness restricts my jaw movement. And oh man, putting ANY pressure on my teeth is just killer. The "hardest" food I can tolerate is plain white bread - not even overcooked pasta feels good. The actual tooth pain was the worst the evening the elastics went in, but today it still hurts to try to chew anything, so I'm sticking to cottage cheese, yogurt, soft fruits and smoothies. I've been eating overcooked pasta for dinner and if I have to choke that down one more night I think I'll go crazy. Oh - soft boiled eggs are good! And delicious :) Even pregnant me agrees!

That reminds me - my 11 week scan is coming up this Friday! I can't wait to see the little bugger on screen. I bought Caitlin a t-shirt that says "This is what an awesome big sister looks like!". I threw it in the wash and later she pulled it out of the dryer and asked to wear it. Thank goodness she has no idea how to read :) As much as she liked the look of the shirt, I told her she'd have to wait to wear it as a surprise to Dustin's parent's house & to visit my mom on the weekend. I'm dying to tell Caitlin that we're expecting a baby, but I'm ok with waiting a few more days for that scan instead.

I'm physically better this week. My nausea is persistent but not as strong, and I have more energy. I've lost 5 pounds since the beginning of my pregnancy and I need to keep my weight in check in general. I'm ok with that 5lb loss because I know I'll gain it back over time. I'm sure the elastics in my teeth and not feeling up to chewing hasn't helped! But I'll feel better about that soon....well, until the braces go on and I start with the pain all over again.

So just a little more waiting this week, and then I'm off early from work to get that scan done. Ohh and then I'll have a long weekend! YAY for statutory holidays!! And upcoming baby celebrations!

Food. Yeah, just food.

I've been experiencing some major food aversions, but they're such that I don't even know I'm repulsed by the food until it's passed my lips. So many things don't look or smell appealing these days so it's disappointing when I sit down for a meal of what I thought was safe food, only to realize it's bland or tastes/feels like garbage. This morning I took my prenatal vitamin with a sip of water and sat down to eat a peach. I'd had one the day before so I thought it was the perfect thing. No way this'll be gross. I got halfway through before I had to run to the bathroom. It was sudden. I didn't vomit this time but it was close. I took some deep breaths through the shaking and sweats until the urge to throw up had passed. Last night I wasn't so lucky :( I had to go to bed with a sore throat after brushing my teeth made me sick.

I've lost 3 pounds since finding out I'm pregnant on June 3rd. I guess that's not that much, but by 10 weeks pregnant the average woman will have gained about that much, so I'm like...6 pounds behind? Ha, go figure. Of all people here I am losing weight during pregnancy because I think food is gross. Well, I suppose not ALL food. Chips are still the shit, but of course they don't provide any nutritional value, and I just don't feel like I have an appetite for much, even if it is Lay's Sour Cream & Onion!

My appointments last week went well. Dr Johnson was really nice and explained that I *may* not need double jaw surgery after all, just surgery on my bottom jaw! Once my braces have been on for about 6 months I'll have another appointment with him so he can evaluate how my top and bottom teeth are lining up. He walked me through the surgery procedures for both upper and lower jaw surgeries. Ugh...sounds really invasive and complicated! They have to saw through your bone and around the one major nerve that runs inside the bone. So there's definitely risk of nerve damage. I think I'm willing to take the risk though...I'd really like to bite through a salami sandwich properly!

I haven't booked a date to get my braces on yet. I'm going to wait until my insurance company lets me know if my treatment and payment plan will be approved. I'd like to move forward and get the uncomfortable bit out of the way as soon as I can.

My midwife appointment went smoothly. We didn't hear the baby's heart on the doppler machine (boohoo) and I wasn't given a requisition for a dating ultrasound either (I forgot to even ask), but the midwife and student midwife I met were both awesome. They were really thorough and took the time to explain a few things to us about what to do in an emergency or if we suspect a miscarriage again. I was still a little disappointed about not hearing a little heart beat but I understand it's hard to get that so early on. Oh, I do have my first prenatal test and ultrasound booked for July 29. I'm so excited for it!! Yay!! It's only 11 days away now :)

A Whole Month Later!

So I'm 9w3d pregnant. Things are moving along - I have the oral surgeon appointment tomorrow afternoon, and my first midwife appointment the following morning. I'm so anxious for my work days to be over so I can get to my appointments! I'm also wondering if the midwife will agree to me getting a dating ultrasound - it would provide me a LOT of peace of mind and help me figure out exactly how far along I am. I feel sick all the time (hooray - I barfed for the first time on Sunday!) and this fatigue is getting to me. I would like to hear a tiny little heartbeat and see the little bean moving. It would lift my spirits so much!

Anyway for the time being I'll settle for the hours ticking by. I just need to keep busy and hope that helps the time pass quickly.

Oh and about that dentist appointment for my pain! It's nothing urgent, but eventually I need the old filling replaced and have a crown placed on that tooth. It's not something that can easily be done with braces, so the dentist recommends I take it easy on that side of my mouth (which I already do) and have the crown put in once the braces come off. For now there's not much else to be done. I'll keep an eye out for anything strange or any new pain.