Things are moving - 3 months in braces

Waiting continues to be challenging. I needed some encouragement this past week, so I reviewed my teeth photos. Golly, it is fantastic to see my smile changing.

Here is my initial smile in late January & now in late April:

Here are my upper arches:

Here are my lower arches:

Lastly, here is a view of my bite:








In some ways, having braces is no big deal. Most of our family activities have continued unchanged. Friends no longer comment on them and most strangers ignore them. At other times, I am constantly aware of my braces. Every sip of coffee and bite of curry - note the yellow staining in my recent pics - is a calculated action.

Braces have revealed (to me at least) my own vanity. I'm thrilled to be fixing my teeth, but in a strange way, changing one attribute has made me acutely aware of other attributes. Attributes I'm not going to change, such as the shape of my nose, or my hair texture, or how different 30 feels from 20. In general, I feel better than I did 10 years ago but sometimes I think I'm way too self-critical.

spring is in the air

Ah, the glorious days of spring are in full bloom here in SC. April and October are my favorite months, so, I took an hour during "joint nap time" today to jump in the yard and prune my flowering shrubs. The hour today was as good for the yard as for my spirits. :)

The previous owners built our house about 25 years ago. Little treasures pop up now and then. I found this sweet little daisy tucked in beside a cheery tree. The tulip is from a dinner party we threw on Friday. Much sweeter than the plumbing fiasco with lead to this newly renovated master bath.

This month, I have about 4 weeks between adjustments. No big ortho news to share, really. Things are moving around. My pain is minimal - praise! - and I am eating most of my favorite foods. Teeth movement is localized to my back molars and my lower front teeth. There is a small space that continues to open, then all the lower teeth shift out, closing the space, and then my mouth repeats that action. Over and over. It feels strange, but must be progress?

I am in a hold pattern regarding surgery until my appointment with a new surgeon on 4.28.08. In the interim, I'm researching both doctors. And praying consistently, too.

My babies are growing so fast! Our youngest, buttercup, is really not a baby anymore, making our nursing moments that much sweeter. Here is my latest snapshot of her, which I like because it reveals her gentle dispostion.