Houston, we have a TOOTH!

Finally, at eleven and a half months old, Aeralyn has gotten her first tooth. That explains the week of clinginess/fussiness that has plagued our household. Thank goodness the little booger finally popped through. Now we can hopefully get back to normal. Also, any tips on how to go about this weaning stuff? Because, SHE IS GETTING TEETH, Oh my GOD!

I'm busily planning Aeralyn's first birthday party. I can't believe it is only two weeks from this Saturday. And I've still got alot to do. So far I have the supplies and all of the decorations, minus balloons. I've got the invitations made out and addressed, but not stamped and sent yet. I"ve got her dress, and an appointment for the birthday pictures. I've picked out the cake and given my ideas to the cake baker (because I sure as heck can't bake a cake).

But there is still so much to do.

I've got to decide on the menu for the party. Do I want to do finger foods like cheese and fruit and veggie trays or should we just grill hamburgers and hot dogs and have chips? Or pizzas? Any thoughts? I'm leaning more towards the finger food idea just because I think that would be what Aeralyn would like most, and so would I. But I'm thinking it may end up being more expensive and harder to put together.

I"ve got to find a bow to match the birthday dress, or if I can't find one to match I'll have to make it. I've still got to finish shopping for the last present that we will be getting her, and wrap them all. I've got to make or find a cute notebook to have at the party for everyone to write something special to Aeralyn in. And in the mean time, I need to find a crap load of money to do all of this with. Holy moly, looks like I better get busy people.

Blah.

Yesterday was a much better day for Aeralyn. I'm still not quite sure if she is teething or not, but she was definitely in a much better mood. Today, however, I think we have had a relapse. Also, I have to admit that last night she sounded a little congested (nasal, not chest), so I gave her some Tylenol Cold and Cough. I do believe that the nurse at the pediatrician's office jinxed us. And now I am feeling congested and my throat is scratchy. Grrrrrrr.

I did my Friday weigh in this morning, and I have lost another 2lbs. That puts me at a total of 38lbs lost since I had Aeralyn, 8lbs of that lost since the start of Healthy Living, 12lbs to go before I'm back to pre-pregnancy weight, and about 40lbs more to lose after that before I'm considered in my height's healthy weight range. Now that I put that in writing (or...type), it looks much further away than I thought.

I have to say that I'm glad I am still breastfeeding right now. It is one of the only things that is helping me to keep it together over here. You see, if I wasn't breastfeeding, I can almost guarantee you that I would be skipping meals, taking diet pills, and just eating terribly in general. But I can't do any of those things because it would end up hurting Aeralyn more than it would me. So thankfully, I still have another few months of breastfeeding ahead of me to keep me on track. That is, as long as the teeth don't interfere whenever they decide to show up.

Now, to keep up with the all over the place random theme of this post, I need to talk about last night's Grey's Anatomy. Of course, it was fantastic. I knew that Meredith was not going to die, and really? That made me a little angry at the writers. I think they could have used a different character, like Izzy, and it would have made it much more believable. And then we all would have really been on the edge of our seats to see whether or not she lived or died. And, she would have got to see Denny again, which would have been awesome. I don't think anyone that tuned in to last night's show thought, even for a second, that Meredith was going to die. But it was still a great show. Now they will be airing re-runs for the next few weeks, I'm sure, so you will no longer have to endure the Friday re-cap from me.

I'm off to find some sinus medicine. Have a great weekend everyone!!

Couldn't we all just wear dentures instead?

Once again I am being bothered by teeth. Except this time, it's not my teeth, it's Aeralyn's. Or atleast that is what I'm assuming considering my usually happy, giggly baby has turned into a screaming devil of a baby.

Last night we were up crying every hour on the hour. Yes, I meant both of us incase you were wondering. And it's almost 2pm, and she is just now taking her first nap of the day. I checked her temperature earlier and it was 100.1. Well, that is pretty much a fever as far as I'm concerned, so I called the pediatrician's office.

Me: "Yes, my 5 month old daughter is running a low grade fever and she has been really fussy all day. I gave her a dose of Tylenol, but I wanted to call and see if there is anything else I need to do."

Nurse: "What is the baby's fever?"

Me: "It's 100.1"

Nurse: "M'am, we don't consider that a fever."

::::::::crickets:::::::::

Me: "Well, could you please tell me what you consider a fever so that I will know when to be worried? I'm a first time mom, so I'm not really sure about all this stuff."

Nurse: "Ummm, give us a call back if it gets above 101. You can give her some Tylenol cold and cough if you want to."

Me: "She's doesn't have any cold symptoms, just a fever and crakiness..."

Nurse: "She's probably teething."

Did I mention anything about cold symptoms in that conversation anywhere? No? I didn't think so.

I'm not sure if she's actually teething, but it sounds like a pretty good explanation for the fever, crankiness, and biting that has been going on lately. I'm really not looking forward to the teeth at all. She already bites me on a daily basis, and it hurts bad enough now that I don't even want to think about adding teeth to this issue.

Word to the wise: Don't bite the boob that feeds you.

So, y'all please be thinking about us over here. And pray that the teeth come in quickly so that my poor baby will feel better soon. Also, please pray for my nipples. I'm pretty attached to them, so I'd like to keep them pain free and intact.

A letter to my wisdom teeth

Dear Teeth in my mouth that are of the wise variety,

First and foremost, I would like you to know that I hate you, all four of you. Yes even you, top ones, though you have yet to cause me any pain so far. I know you're just waiting for the right moment. And by "right moment" I mean the most inopportune moment possible. I hate you with my whole enitre being, but I'd have to say that my gums probably dislike you the most.

To the right bottom one, you started this whole mess almost two years ago, and you've been leading the torturous way ever since. It wasn't enough for you to plow through my gums and break a tooth on your way in. Oh no, that was not nearly enough! Now you've got your buddy, bottom left, in on the game too. Bottom left started moving in right after I had my tooth pulled last week, and now the left side of my mouth is in such a swollen mess I can barely eat. While this fact has been fabulous for my diet, it has not been so great in general.

I can't wait to get you removed! I hope you end up in the garbage can next to some dirty old man's rotten teeth. And then you'll see that residing in my jaw wasn't so bad after all.

Sincerely,
The one you're going to miss


*This is why you haven't heard from me in several days. I have been in a pain induced fog, so I thought that might not make for good posting. As you can tell, neither does a pain medicine induced fog.

Alright, I'll tell you.

I thought I would be able to get away with just telling you that I broke a tooth, got it pulled, and that was that. But apparently, you want to know more. I've already told this story to Alicia, and since she got a good laugh out of it, I will tell you too so you all can laugh with her. Except for maybe you're not that cruel, and for that I thank you.

It's all my own stupid fault that I broke a tooth, so really, you can laugh. Maybe I'll laugh one day too, but definitely not right now. I think it is safe to say that I have learned my lesson.

Almost two years ago, my wisdom teeth started bothering me. I went in for a consultation with an oral surgeon, and he decided that I needed to get them removed. Well, I didn't exactly have the $1,000 it takes to get them removed, so I didn't get it done.

When I was about three months pregnant with Aeralyn, my right wisdom tooth started coming in full force. It broke the skin, and also smashed my teeth together and consequently, broke one of my molars. It was only a small piece, and instead of going to get it fixed, I decided I would just take really good care of it and it wouldn't get a cavity. Are you laughing at my naievity? So did the dentist.

Here I am, almost a year later, and the tooth really started killing me. I will tell you this, it was the most intense pain that I have ever felt in my life. And need I remind you that my stomach was cut wide open in order to get a nearly 8lb baby out? Alrighty then.

I made an appointment with the dentist to get it filled. I honestly thought I would be able to go in there and just get it filled and be on my merry way. As you can see, I do not have much experience with dental matters. Please stop laughing, it really isn't nice.

The dentist took one look at it and said I would need a root canal. Also, please hand over $800 up front, and just for grins, throw in your left pinky toe and your first born child. Yep, that should cover it. Or, we could just pull it for the low low cost of $93.

Here I sit, drugged, broke, and snaggle-toothed. But there is some good news! Now my wisdom tooth has room to fit, and I'm hoping that it will just come right on in and close up the gaping hole that I now have in my mouth.

Hey, let me just live in my drug induced fantasy land for now. As soon as the health insurance kicks in, I will get the wisdom teeth removed. I promise. And then, like Alicia said, Aaron can take care of me, Aeralyn, and the house.

Could you please stop laughing already?

This week so far, in numbers.

Number of times I have put Aeralyn in her crib to take a nap: 24
Number of times I have retrieved screaming Aeralyn from her crib: 24
Number of naps Aeralyn has taken in her swing: 3
Number of naps Aeralyn has taken in her crib: 0
Number of broken teeth in my mouth as of this morning: 1
Number of times I have applied Orajel to broken tooth: 167
Number of dollars it costs to have a root canal on broken tooth: 800
Number of dollars I did not have for a root canal: 800
Number of teeth I got pulled today instead of having a root canal: 1
Number of teeth I ever want to get pulled again: 0

I can't believe it's only Tuesday. I hope the rest of this week is much better than these past two days have been. I do believe it is time for another pain pill.