Our little family is making it through the year 2012 so far. Hard to believe it is suddenly February! And since time moves fast and I can’t seem to find time to sit still, I have have also found it a little trickier to take care of myself. For instance, my mouth is currently needing some dental work. This is more than a twice a year cleaning. It’s dealing with the gaps where my adult teeth are missing. I have been told by my dentist I need a bridge, but discussions with others suggest a dental implant. Since I’m rather busy these days, finding the time to do the research or even get in the car to a dentist for a second opinion is difficult. So, I default to the internet and online research.

There are many fields and genres of physical health that a lot of people do regular research on, and know a lot about. For example, fitness is trendy, so a lot of people are aware of what to eat and what not to eat, and how to effectively exercise. However, when it comes to dental health, many people don’t know how to go about fixing the issues until the issues actually come up. So, for example, most people don’t know exactly what to do if they lose their adult teeth (or in my case, my baby teeth that have no adult teeth to replace them) and need to “bridge the gap” so to speak. Fortunately, a lot of this sort of information can be found at helpful websites like TopDentists.com. In the meantime, however, here are a few dental items and procedures for me to consider:

- To begin with, a literal bridge is not a bad idea. Essentially, a bridge is an implanted item that is placed over a false tooth (in place of the one I had pulled) and supported by the healthy teeth on either side of the false one. This is a sturdy application, and quite effectively solves the issue of gaps in your smile. It can definitely be an efficient and decent solution… however, some people stray from this sort of procedure simply because it does less to address the missing tooth itself.
- If I prefer to go about making sure that the false tooth itself is as good as it can be, I could also want to look into dental implants, which are literally replacement tooth roots that provide the best possible foundations for false teeth. A dental implant is placed surgically into my jaw, providing a solid base for a false tooth above it, and also filling the space in my jaw, and thus preventing my remaining teeth from moving slightly over time. This is probably the most thorough solution to a missing tooth, and does not prevent me from also getting false teeth and even bridges if I would still like to do so.

I’m still sussing out the options and getting a second opinion. But even if I still need more research, I know that 2012 will be the year I start filling in those gaps.

Disclaimer: This post was brought to you by TopDentists.com, though the circumstance is my own experience.

It started with him…

While other children in the house were sniffling, sneezing, and coughing, Fuller was declaring his tummy hurt, taking an uncharacteristic late nap, and then throwing up in my bed.

Poor baby.

He spent the last night of 2009 in a sick stupor, sleeping on the basement floor (until Daddy carried him to bed) and fighting a slight fever.

It took him almost two days (which included the drive back to Chattanooga) to get over it, but he did.

Apparently, he had to share. Tebow, whose previous symptoms were more like a magic trick where he turned his nose into a snot faucet, suddenly threw up on Monday night. Instead of doing in my bed like his brother, he just decided to throw up on me and the kitchen floor. Oh, and Tebow can throw up through his nose. (GROSS!)

Wednesday morning the gift was passed on to Damon. And instead of waiting around, it was given to me on Thursday.

Fortunately for us, it only lasted 24 hours (or less), so now we are back to normal. If we can figure out what normal is. Probably more laundry and less whining.

So, this has been a rough week, healthwise.

Damon had a painful surgery and has been home recovering/ trying to stay on top of work.

I have had bronchitis. Even though the doctor on Monday told me I didn’t, the doctor I saw today told me I did. After one antibiotic pill, I can tell I’m going to get better.

Tebow has come down with a cold and his nasty nose is running faster than the kleenex in my hand.

Fuller has had a cold and on Wednesday evening he broke out in another round of hives. It is usually a once a year experience, but this year it actually bothered him by causing him to itch all over.

So, we are going to do our best to recover this weekend. We are traveling next week and just wouldn’t want to do it while sick, itching, or in pain. Here’s to vitamin C, antibiotics, and pain pills!

Back in college, I (Damon) was actually quite fast as a cross-country runner. (Basically, if you’re tall, skinny, and stubborn, you’re tailor-made for long-distance running.) Since those days, I’ve gradually gotten older, slower, and fatter (still tall, though). For example, waaaaaaaaaay back in 1992, when running cross country, I was a too-thin 125 lbs., with about 4% body fat. Fast forward 17 years to August of 2009 and I’d risen to 185 lbs. with over 30% of my body composed of fat. Wow! I’d gained 60 pounds in 17 years. At that rate, when I turn 60, I’ll be over 330 lbs!

The reason I mention August, is that when it came time to fit back into that orange-and-blue costume I wear to college football games, I had a little [ahem] trouble keeping the front snaps closed. Bending over to pickup something while seated would cause the Velcro holding my belt closed to pop open. Yikes! So, I began crash dieting.
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This morning, no wait, it was yesterday Tuesday, I noticed Tebow’s nose was a little runny. This has happened before. A bit o’ snot to get through the day. It usually goes away quickly. Like in a few hours.

But last night, oh wait, it was this morning. Because 3:30 a.m. is in the morning, right? Well, at 3:30 this morning, Tebow’s night of good sleep became restless sleep. His eyes were closed, but his body was not still. He slept off and on until about 6:30, when he decided it was time to be up. And then it was clear what was going on…

Tebow has his first cold!

The day brought fussiness and more drool/ snot than I think a 5 1/2 month old can actually hold. Which is why we ditched the burp cloths and started using towels to mop up the mess.

Right now we are trying to get him to sleep in the pack ‘n play, but he prefers my lap. I’m not up for sleeping in the recliner again. I just hope he gets better soon.

Tebow turned 5 months old over a week ago. I still have to make his well baby appointment, so I don’t have official stats, but when we weighed him over the 4th he weighed 19 pounds. I’m sure he’s up to 20 now.

People always comment on his size, usually focusing on the delicious rolls of his thighs. I tend to reply to people, “Well, we keep feeding him.”

And feeding him we are. Until recently he was mostly nursed. We started adding formula to evening feedings and a few weeks ago he started rice cereal.

I’m pretty sure by Tebow’s six month birthday he will be getting more formula, since I’ll be weaning him from nursing. Which then brings up the question- what formula to use? Right now, his evening bottles are made with the free stuff we have stockpiled- Similac and Enfamil. But I know purchasing those brands is expensive.

When Fuller was “on the bottle” he got the Parent’s Choice brand because my SIL told me something amazing about it- when you made it, there were no bubbles in the bottle. I don’t know how it happened, but no bubbles made it a better formula for Fuller. He had a much less upset tummy when he was on Parent’s Choice.

Now I have another reason to choose Parent’s Choice- cost. If you check out this baby formula savings calculator, Parent’s Choice is always cheaper. If we start Tebow on 100% formula feedings from six months until a year old, we would save anywhere from $59.99 and $56.94 a month.

This kind of savings has the attention of Consumer Reports which is recommending Parent’s Choice (and other generic brands) because of their lower cost and still meeting the FDA required nutrition specifications.

So we have my SIL recommendation, our past experience, the Consumer Reports strong suggestion, and significant cost savings… I’m pretty sure, Parent’s Choice will once again be our family’s formula of choice.