Hooray! I am so glad to just be lounging on the couch! I started working 5 full days a week at the dental office and it is way more tiring than I thought. As I thought back on things, I realized that since I have graduated, I have not worked at an office for 5 days/week. None of them were open 5 days a week..no wonder I am adjusting! To some, being a dental hygienist must seem like a cake, and then to those of us that are hygienists, it is definately hard work!!! The downside to the job is backache as I spend so much time leaning over. I have to take a lot of care with my posture, especially now with being pregnant. I also see a lot of children, which in itself can be especially exhausting! Sometimes I wonder where these children hear their horror stories of going to the dentist?!?! I, myself, LOVED going to the dentist as a kid. I do not ever remember my parents or other family talking about needles/pokey things/pulling teeth etc...
I had a little girl this past week that as soon as I walked in the room and started talking to her she was screaming "GET OUT, GO AWAY, I DO NOT WANT TO DIE TODAY!!?!"- I, for one thought that was overly dramatic and tried to calm her down and explain everything that we were going to do (which for an exam on a 4/5 yr old usually is not that much). I felt like a lot of the drama was for the parents that were stroking her hair and telling her "I will tell the nice lady not to use the pokey thing on you" POKEY THING?! now come on mom! Do we really have to call it the pokey thing? No wonder this girl was terrified. Needless to say, I did not get anything done, not even so much as her even just letting me look with my eyes and the light!
I have so many children that come in asking me if I am going to "give them shots, put those 'blades' in their mouth, pull their teeth out of their mouth" etc.. It really breaks my heart that these children are truly afraid to come see me and in effect may avoid dental care all together in the future. I am not trying to say that going to the dentist is glamorous or fun and exciting (there are a few of us that really do enjoy it :) ) But, it can be a manageable experience for both parents and children. As for the parents that are reading this with young children who may be approaching a first dental visit in the future, I strongly suggest buying a book about visiting the dentist or even practice looking in their mouth. Explain things in a kid friendly manner. Use positive, fun words and stay away from negative ones(needles, poking, hurts etc). The words I like to use are
Light-"Sunshine light"
Explorer ( to those non dental ppl it's the one that looks like the hook that most kids refer to as the "pokey thing"- I like to tell kids it is my "tooth counting wand"
Polisher- "tooth sparkler" or my "super spinning tooth brush"
Suction- "Mr. Thirsty"
I hope those reading this gained a little something from this. I am not saying everyone should love coming to see me at work because we all have things we do not like to do. For instance, I have a fear of the chiropracter...I have no idea why?!?!....I have never been before. I just hate the sound of cracking bones in general and the whole idea of them just makes me nauseous. One day, with my back problems from work, I will most likely need to visit one...but until then, I will just stick with my back rubs from Kevin.
Okay...enough of my preaching and teaching for today. I hope I did not bore everyone!
I am feeling great! I had my 21 week check up on Wednesday. Everything is going pretty well. She had stated that I was measuring large but felt it was because my placenta is very low lying (Placenta Previa) which pushes the baby up very high...which in turn has caused me awful heartburn. I seem to have that under control. My dr. recommended Prilosec. It has been a lifesaver. It is supposed to be a 14 day treatment but I only take as needed. It is way easier to swallow a pill than *gulp* down liquid Maalox...oh man was that gross. Anyways, they are doing another ultrasound at 28 weeks to check on the positioning of the placenta to see if it has migrated up next to the baby instead of under the baby too close to the cervix.
Please keep us in your prayers about this issue. Right now we are not too concerned but as I get bigger, it can be a very serious problem which could lead to bed rest and a C-section. Neither of those I really want. I could handle the C-section or so I think. But bed rest would be something that would be really hard on us financially. I understand that if it does need to happen that my baby is way more important than a few bills and I will take the advice and rest for both of our sakes. I am just very anal about paying things on time and keeping things balanced, and with only Kevin's income from Teal's I know we would get behind on things. I know I need to just sit back and relax and quit worrying. Worrying is my biggest fault. Just please keep me, baby and Kevin in your prayers that the next 4 months go by smoothly!
Sorry for the lack of pictures, it kind of makes for a boring blog. But I do hope some enjoyed. Kevin is gone for drill at Camp Ripley this weekend..so I will be home alone to clean and organize etc. OH joy! :)
I will keep everyone posted on things as they progress and should post again soon!
My arm just has little splashes of a minor burn. I have to apply an antibiotic burn cream on my leg and keep it wrapped. I will go back to the dr. in one week to have it evaluated. The dr. seemed optimistic and was happy to see that it wasn't any worse that what he had imagined when my employer had called over to let them know I was on my way. At the time of the accident, it was very red and very painful. Now mild blisters have formed. The cream and gauze do help, but when it has any contact with anything it hurts. I am just very thankful that it didn't get my hands ( I would not be able to work) or my face. I am not looking forward to showering before work this morning. Just nervous about how water hitting it will feel. OUCH! 
