goodbye for now, uddey sidey
Wal, hullo there, it’s been quite a while. (Spoken with a decidedly cottony lisp, due to two large wads of gauze stuck in my mouth). Since I’ve last blogged, I am exactly four molars lighter. It wasn’t really something I wanted to do, but due to a few complicated factors, I had my wisdom teeth removed this morning.
It was a real process, since my teeth were holding on so tightly. I now have a bit of tooth root left in the gum as a memorial, a bit of bone pulled out with another root, the roof of my mouth perforated (and then patched) from pulling that root out, and four sets of stitches. Ouch.
The doc was actually a very good oral surgeon, believe it or not, but I had a rare something called dental ankylosis, where the ligaments connecting teeth to bone are destroyed and the root fuses to the bone. Removing a set of wisdom teeth generally takes him ten minutes, but for me it took a full hour.
Due to a couple of required medications, this morning was the last time I gave Cash his beloved Uddey Sidey (stands for Other Side). Boohoo. I really wanted to nurse him longer, so I am pumping milk (and throwing it away, just to keep it flowing) in hopes that he will still want to nurse after the six+ days of meds. If it doesn’t work out that way, that’s ok–I really don’t think he’s getting much anyway. It’s just kind of a comfy-cozy thing. I pumped last night to get the hang of the Medela, expressing a grand total of .4 oz. from both uddey sidey and uddey-uddey sidey combined.
I pumped while Cash slept, since I didn’t want him to be jealous of the pump, LOL. When I presented the measly centimeter of milk to him and told him it was uddey sidey in a bottle, he thought it was hilarious. He couldn’t stop giggling and never even tried it–every time he put it to his lips he burst out laughing.
On a happier note than mouth surgery and forced weaning, we spent the past two weeks prior in New York. David worked at the Tony Awards in NYC and the kids and I went upstate and stayed with Mimi and Papa. (Caleb left for New Mexico the same day.) We got to see 9 of my 10 brothers and sisters and Cash and Zia’s 3 little cousins. It was a fun and jam-packed trip that included a drive through NYC, a belated birthday party for Cousin Maddie, camping on the beach (in the rain!), a day trip to another beach, a visit to the zoo, and lots of sibling convo, banter, and comparison of children. Pics coming soon!
I like that – uddey sidey. (ours is called ‘nums,’ as in ‘nums into your tums’) I had my wisdom teeth taken out this year, too, though it was not nearly as eventful as yours. How did you find out your teeth fuse to your bone? This sounds naive (& is), but does it make your teeth very strong? (My teeth break really easy.) Bodies are amazing. Heal well!!
Julie,
Ankylosis might make the connection of teeth to bone stronger, but in a case like mine (which involves periodontal disease) the bone is still prone to weakness and loss from bacteria–especially around wisdom teeth. So you could still lose your teeth, but simply because you lose the bone that holds them in! Terrible thought, right? And no one could tell I had ankylosis until I was sedated and in surgery–and the teeth were stuck fast. When he finally got them out, he could see that the ligaments had been literally eaten away. He said that all my teeth are probably like that, but it’s not really a problem–except it makes it hard for the oral surgeon if I ever need to extract another tooth.
Glad your extraction went better than mine did–but I’m sorry your teeth break easily. I wonder if supplementing with some kind of trace minerals might help? Also, here is an interesting little article on foods that help strengthen teeth: http://holisticsquid.com/five-superfoods-for-strong-healthy-teeth/ Hope you find it interesting!
Zia called nursing num-nums, or nummies–a lot like your “nums”!
Hi honeeeee…..Loved this story about uddey sidey……..not so much bout your teeth BUT we do very much hope u r feeling better….and will be taking happy walks real soon take care and rest a lot :):):). We love u to the champagne moon / mom
Thanks, Mom! I’ll be taking walks soon–not much can keep me down! And maybe a little champagne is what I need right now–hehee! Love you lots!
Wow, glad you got through the wisdom teeth ordeal okay! Sounds like it was a lot more that you bargained for! I thought of you yesterday morning and was wondering if you got them pulled then. We had lots of fun when you can to visit! Talk to you soon!
Yeah, it was pretty crazy! One cheek is swelled up like a chipmunk, but I’m doing ok. Thanks for the breast pump–Cash is watching me pump today and it is actually distracting him from uddey sidey, lol!
oh noo what a mess. Halle weaned herself as my milk changed with being pregnant. Not my plan, but it is OK 🙂 Our babies are growing up, I guess.
Yes…sad but true. I didn’t know Squirrely’s real name was Halle–that’s so pretty!
SORRY ABOUT YOUR HURTING DURING YOUR WISDOM TEETH REMOVAL SEVERAL YRS AGO I HAD 3 REMOVED AT ONCE. I WAS BLESSED ENOUGH THAT IT WAS A BREEZE. HOPE YOU GET COMPLETELY WELL SOON.
.
Thanks Granny!
[…] of outgrowing things, a certain young man has once again taken up the lost art of Uddey Sidey. But only once (sometimes twice) a day–much less than the every-hour-or-so snack he was […]
[…] is the story of my teeth. I’ve told bits and pieces before, but here is the updated version. If you find teeth boring, you may want to skip this […]