6 Months Post Op!

Happy New Year!
It's been 6 months since I've had surgery! Crazy!!! I went to the orthodontist on Wednesday and he did a little tweaking and said "We just need to close this space and you're done!" and...I don't even know what space he's talking about, so it can't be that big, which shouldn't take too long to close then right? It's somewhere on the top though, he put a power band (I think that's what it's called) on the all of my top teeth, its bascially a rubberband that stretches across your teeth and pulls them in close and tight! So I'm a little sore from that. So my next appt. is on 2/2! There is a very good chance my braces will be off then! That's going to be weird! I don't even know the process of braces removal, that's kind of freaking me out...it probably hurts. and I have no idea what kind of retainer I will have...permanent? that clear invisalign-esque one? or that metal one with the pink stuff in the middle that looks like a sliver from a strawberry? do they even have those anymore? Not sure. But I did make an appt. to get my teeth cleaned immediately after my braces are off...hopefully there isn't too much discoloration. I just can't wait to FLOSS awkward-free! My top teeth in the front are still very numb. I haven't made an appt. with the physical therpaist for my eye yet, because I'm trying to make it work myself and save some money! :) ok I think that is all for now.....I got a new camera for Christmas so I'll put up pics...eventually :)
tata for now!

4 more sleeps!

Christmas is almost here! yay!
In jaw news......so I had my ortho. appt. earlier this month and everything looks great, he said just a few more tweaking and straigtening left, probably won't get the braces off next appt. but the one after. Eh so I was a little bummed because normally my appts. are 8 weeks apart...another 4 months of braces for just tweaking? but then when I went to the receptionist she said he wanted to see me early January! so according to my calculations my appt. after that will be early February....so maybe just maybe I'll be metal free!
I also had an appt. with my surgeon last week who I haven't seen in about 4months! I took an x-ray, he said everything looks great! Then when he saw my teeth he said, "when are you gonna get those things off?" I told him about my eye and how it still doesn't raise etc. and he said it's because of the incision he made, it stretches the skin when he sewed it back up, so bascially that pulled the skin from my eye/forehead area and made it all crazy. So he referred me to a physical therapist so get my face moving properly. That should be an interesting appt. blinking excersises? My next appt. with my surgeon is in 6 months! so things are going well :) Have a great holiday everybody!!!

oh yea...I also had a teeth cleaning yesterday, which I was nervous about because when I brush my teeth my top four front teeth are really sensitive, but surprisingly I didn't feel anything when she was cleaning and scraping because they are numb. weird!

Twitching EYE!

So it's been a while, I know I know. Nothing really exciting has happend! I have my next ortho appt. on Dec. 1st....so hopefully he can give me an estimate of when I am getting this metal off! I'm used to it now, but I'd really love to brush my teeth...thouroughly....ya know? Otherwise, these braces are just another part of me, I've grown to love them...something like that. Dec. 8th is actually my 1 year mark of having braces! crazzzzy! I have my next surgeon appt. on Dec. 17th, I haven't been to him in like 4 months! So I'm excited to see what he has to say etc. I'm trying to get a picture of my ct-scan up here somehow so you can see all my plates, but they don't have digital...whatever they need to put it on a cd, I asked and they can't...so I don't know if I can scan and ct-scan on the computer? seems dangerous. and I haven't been putting up pictures...obviously....I'm sorry! My skin has just been out of control, I don't know if it's just random or it's linked to the surgery...that's what I'm leaning towards, but I've been to the dermatologist and got some meds so hopefully they work!
As far as progress....um my right eye still doesn't go up! but it hasn't even been 6 months....geeze it feels like forever ago I had this surgery. But currently I feel it kind of twitching..or pulsating randomly....maybe it's the nerves trying to reconnect?
I'm still a little puffy, and the front of my top teeth are still sensitive and numb in some parts. The right side of my face also has numbness still. Other than that, I can eat almost everything, even though some things I eat are still hard/awkward to eat I still eat it....I haven't mastered almonds yet. and I don't have an easy time tearing food with my front teeth, so most of the time I have to use a fork! That's all I have to report for now....Have a great Holiday Everyone!
and Happy Birthday Michele! :)

so people are really reading this!! :)

OK OK OK........so it's been .... 15 weeks and 2 days! I had my first ortho appt. since surgery last Monday! I got new wires upper and lower. My mouth doesn't look as crowded anymore because I had surgical in between each bracket..but with the new wires they are all gone! So the ortho. said I was looking really good, and as far as my teeth straightness he said good but not great, and he doesn't like taking braces off of people who had surgery before 6 months post surgery. So technically...I could have these braces off by January! but I'm not getting my hopes up, can't you tell? I'm down to 2 rubberbands now, 1 on each side, I was wearing 5 before. My next appt. with him is early Dec. and with my oral surgeon is mid Dec.

so omg! how am I doing?!?

My right eyebrow still won't raise up! wahh. I still have swelling on the right side and nose area..and still have some numb spots. I'm not in any pain, but a lot of times when I wake up I can feel the swollen-ness of my face because it's been smashed in a pillow all night.

I have been eating A LOT and I started eating veggie's! Like green pepper and cucumbers, harder veggie's like that, I just have to cut them up small and use a fork. It's not the easiest to chew, but I try and usually succeed!

My upper teeth are still sensisitve when I brush, so I just squint my eyes real tight and think of how great I'll feel when it's over and the sensation is gone!

So I feel fine, pretty much used to the numb/swelling feeling in my face. The hair/sideburn is growing back slowly but surely! My incision feels funny, like if I'm laying on the side of my face and it pulls, it makes me feel a little nauseous! as if it might rip open or something? but that's healing nicely, no one ever notices it, unless I point it out, then it's like an amazing discovery.

so yay I'm still alive! and eating :)

thanks for everyone's continued support! here is a semi-recent picture of me and my cutie nephew!

eh not so bad?

Also...I tried to do an e-mail update on my mom's ankle surgery but it wasn't going through, so here it is....She was done with surgery about 1. Then went to the recovery room at 2 and is now in her room. She got there at 3:30 yesterday. Dr. said things went well and look good. She will be able to move her ankle and shouldn't be in pain after she is healed. Rach said she is awake nauseous and can talk.
Luckily...she doesn't eat through her ankle...so her diet will be better than mine was post surgery.

What I'm looking like these days!

Hey everyone! 10-weeks post surgery!! So I've been slacking on the picture taking because A. I don't have a camera besides my phone and B. I'm not loving myself in pictures...o well, I'll show you anyways!



Right side:
So this is my incision side, you can't see it, but I have a subtle line along the front of my ear. My sideburn is growing back! (shaved during surgery). Still a little puffy and numb on this side.

Left side:

This side...not as puffy, not as numb, looks pretty normal, side burn still in tact.

The front:

This is a little scary and why I don't like taking pictures! Holy bags under my eyes, I haven't even noticed that since I've been wearing my glasses ever since surgery. But as you can see my mouth is straight! My chin is a little off to the side, but that's just how it's going to be...I'm okay with that. I still can't raise my right eyebrow, you can kinda see that in the picture. My smile is still coming along since the right side isn't all there yet. and still very numb above my top lip/under my nose.

My upper teeth are super sensitive, when I brush them it's super uncomfortable..like this tickling weird sensation. So I brush the bottom teeth with my electric toothbrush (I find that works better with my braces) and a baby toothbrush for my top teeth. My jaw doesn't really hurt its more my mouth, esp. the top since that part was taken off and put back on. If you ever put snorkle gear on, like the mouth piece part, and you know how the top pushes on the top part of your gums? Thats how my mouth always feels, it doesn't bother me I just notice it. My gums/teeth are pretty sore though, I think it's because of my rubberbands constantly pulling my teeth together when I open, for talking or eating - and chewing is probably a factor. Speaking of chewing I ate grapes yesterday for the first time, a little hard to break through the out skin but I did it. I'm trying new things as much as I can to see if I can tolerate it, I'm doing pretty well- just staying away from chips, crackers, hard bread, pretzels, nuts...stuff like that.

I've been going to Dunkin' Donuts every morning for like 3 weeks to get a medium skim latte, because supposedly it's a "filler food" and I need all the full feeling I can get. The scary thing is...I'm a regular now, so they know my drink when I come! I wish they had some kind of preferred card.

Next appt. scheduled for Oct. 4th with my orthodontist. and Decemeber 17th with my oral surgeon. I might go in sooner since my left side is bothering me a little :( maybe I need a rubberband adjustment?

TTYL :)

Busy as a B!

So my rubberbands tend to break in my mouth mid conversation a lot! awkward.

Food update:
Still on soft foods, chewing is still awkward.
I ate pita bread and hummus the other day, and the next day...boy was my face sore...too tough for me! boo.
I ate some mixed veggies tho, cooked of course.
I eat pb&j uncrustables and yogurt pretty much everyday.
I can eat watermelon!
sorry I haven't taken a picture for this post but I have been super busy! I started school this week so that's has been crazy AND coolest news ever.....

Rachele and I have become Representatives for Avon & mark. So I've been busy with the business!
If you are interested in Avon & mark. products...you probably have received an e-mail from us, but if not......you can e-mail us at BaileyBizRL@gmail.com for any questions, comments, orders, request a catalog, if you want to become a Rep. too! anything you want. We also have an eStore: www.youravon.com/laurenbailey we are trying to get Rachele's name on the page too, but Avon is weird like that if you sign up with another person under 1 acct. 1 has to be the primary and then their name goes on everything, but we are working on getting Rachele's name too to avoid confusion. So yea, Rachele and Lauren are working TOGETHER. and lastly, we made a facebook page...so please check it out and "like" it. here is the link:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/BaileyBiz-Avon-mark/145240158843072

Thanks so much for continuing to read my blog! and I just want to say thanks to our Avon & mark. supporters so far! You guys are great :)

Food!

guess what I ate yesterday???

Grilled Cheese - sans crust (too hard) :) (that girl looks kinda creepy) I also had little fat potato fries. I still had to fork and knife everything and make it small, but I was able to eat it! half chewing half ...I don't know just doing what I can to swallow it. My teeth feel very awkward when they come together. I was wearing my rubberbands while eating so that might've been why. I'm scared to take them out and chew...eeks! I don't want my jaw to fall off!