In Sickness and In Health

I think I should just rename Dave’s business trips as Disaster Weeks.

Something(s) always happens.

This time:
My cell phone miraculously died
Addie got her first stomach bug
…and the night he got back, half of my tooth fell out.

Because I love to celebrate, let me first wish my bestie, Ashley, a happy 25th birthday. As she gets up there in age (NOT), she also gets more and more beautiful. I am so lucky to know her and to have declared her as my sister <3
My step-dad, Al, is also celebrating his birthday today! Happy birthday, Daddy Al! We love you and can’t wait to see you in a few weeks to celebrate “your” Bambino’s first birthday!

And so, we move on… but not before one of my favorite photos, of course!

As I stated, when Dave leaves it seems like everything falls apart! For some reason, my newly replaced cell phone had a screen connection problem, out of the blue, that happened Monday night. Really… it was working, and I left it on my desk as I cleaned up the living room. Then  I went to check the time, and the screen was black with stripes on it- almost like a bar code.

I couldn’t sleep for fear that Addie would have a problem in the middle of the night, so I had time to write an obituary for my phone:

Last night, HTC Incredible died from an unknown complication of being an older android cellular device.
He will be (un)fondly remembered as fritz-y, spotty, unable to commit to being on (or off), having memory confusion and being, in general, noisy for no notification reasons.
He is survived by the HTC Incredible 2, which not only has a bigger screen, but a better rear camera and a new feature upgrade of the front camera, as well. (Perfect for mom + baby selfies) Two will carry on the SD card of Incredible with many wonderful memories, and a great hope and expectation that the new platform has better performance capabilities.
HTC Incredible was buried at the Asurion Headquarters on March 26, 2013. In lieu of flowers, the Incredible family requests you give all other android phones a chance before purchasing the iPhone or one of the 5 family members, who all seem to have mostly the same features, but go up in price.

Because the  last time Dave left we ended up at the doctor 3 times in 2 days, I was terrified to not have a phone- so I packed Addie into the car at 7:30pm and headed to the Verizon store. The gentleman who helped me was wonderful and my new phone was at my house the next day at 10am (and it was the upgraded version!). So… perfect! All is well in the world, right?

Wrong.

After a wonderful play date on Tuesday, a much needed event for us  ladies, Addie woke up Wednesday morning sleeping in vomit. She took a bath and seemed fine, so I gave her a banana and my milk. Her usual breakfast. She seemed fussy, though (very unlike her) and kept raising her arms to be picked up. After picking her up, she promptly dropped her head onto my chest and fell asleep. Not 3 minutes later she picked her head up and threw up all over me. I let her finish and sat her next to me, thankful that she had only gotten Dave’s big, fluffy robe that I was wearing, and her  own pick ensemble… but then it came again. In waves, my poor girl was getting sick all over herself and the bed beneath her. I didn’t know what to do except let her finish. Throughout it she kept looking at me trying to smile, as though she was apologizing.

I called the doctor. “A stomach bug is going around,” the nurse told me. She gave me guidelines for Pedialyte and told me to call again if there was a high fever or ear ache involved. I hung up feeling helpless and dirty. I could not remember the last time I’d showered and I was already through two outfits.

I learned a valuable lesson that I’d like to share with all parents out there! Put a plastic sheet on your bed.

Before Addie was born, I knew I wanted to do as much skin-to-skin time as possible, so we put a plastic sheet on under the mattress cover to be prepared.In the first few weeks of Addie’s life, she would sleep on my chest, no diaper and we would stay like that for hours. Most of the time, the towel under me was enough, but sometimes, the sheets took a hit. No problem.

With Addie’s illness, we changed the sheets 3 times (I did 11 loads of laundry in 2 days- Thanks Woolzies for making it easier!). You know your child is ill when your bedding comes from all three different sets (one sage green, one cranberry red and the other a grey green)… topped by your shades-of-purple suede comforter. During this mess, I also learned the putting a plastic sheet, cover mattress and fitted sheet on (TIMES TWO) will save you  in the case of accidents in the baby’s crib! Just peel off the top layer  of mess and done!

With Pedialyte, nursing and LOTS of cuddles, Addie was feeling better and was smiling ear-to-ear when Dave got home later that night:

Finally! Dave was home! I was SO going to take a shower… but only after we ate. As I bit into my food, I felt something hard. Ew. There was some bone in my chicken!

Then I ran my tongue  over my back teeth.

There was a hole.

A little back story here: I grind my teeth. I have forever. I blame my parents. Not only do I grind in my sleep, sometimes so loud it wakes Dave up, l but I catch myself grinding my front and back teeth during the day, too. I have woken up with a headache everyday for over 2 months… this is nothing new. I went almost 8 months a few years ago. Stress makes it worse, which I’ve been under a lot (see: CPL), but it’s just a part of me. Even when  I’m happy, I grind.

Freaked out and ashamed of my oral health, I called my Mom, posted on FB to find a dentist, and got in the shower to finally clean my hair! Dave peeked past the curtain, “make an appointment tomorrow, I’ll take care of it.” If there had been more hot water, I would have sat down and cried. I was so tired and my tooth hurt. Why does this stuff have to keep happening? was all I could think.

I got a referral from my awesome friend (and amazing stylist) Sara, who  directed me to Page Family Dentistry on the East Side of Providence. I was warned that they’re not warm and fuzzy, but they know their stuff. I looked them up and wrote the number down- prepared to call in the morning. When I reached them at 8:30 they had TWO appointments for me to choose from the SAME DAY! Because they didn’t have a sliding scale, I was timid, but when I ate my yogurt, a blueberry went into the back of my mouth and I was stung with the worst pain. “3:45,” I blurted.

Addie was asleep when I parked, but as I lifted her car seat I saw her eyes flutter. Shoot. No nap meant she might become a mess at some point. Onward we went! As I approached the door I saw a sign. Of course I saw a literal sign, but a sign too.

Dr. Marc Page and Dr. Lawrence Page.

My Dad’s name was Mark Laurence. Woah. I know, I’m reading a lot into it, but I knew that I’d found my dentist. Plus, as I was leaving, Dr. Page (not sure who is who… I don’t think I was introduced to the guy who bonded my tooth YIKES!) walked past and I saw his jacket said DVC with a ram on it. “Is that from Del Val?” He looked at me. “The Aggies,” I said, “I’m from Pennsylvania.” “Nobody ever knows that,” he said back. We had a brief  conversation. Life comes full circle.

The hygienists were all nice and they loved Addie… who was smiley (of course) and happy the whole time. Even without a nap, she was my little peach as usual. Like I said… I’m not sure who is who, but the man who I saw was amazing. He knew I had no insurance so he bonded the tooth (it looks and feels great!) instead of pushing me to get the (much needed at $950!) crown. He seemed impressed that my 13 year old night guard still fit and offered to trim it for me if I brought  it in Monday morning (he’d have it back by 5pm).

He welcomed me to make another appointment, AND took a look at my last tooth- reassuring me it’s NOT a cavity. Like I said, I grind. My top teeth have actually ground a hole into the tooth. Dr. Page checked my bite and ground down some of the sharp tooth up top for me. And encouraged me to wear my night guard as much as possible.

Basically, I need a lot of basic dental care, which I knew (nothing major- but a lot of it) and is one of the reasons- besides money- that I have avoided the dentist. I have to say, while no one at this office seems like a “hugger” to me, I was not judged or made to feel badly about my lack of dental care. I was warned that the bonding may not last, but that it was better than being in pain and the woman who does all the billing gave me lots of information about individual plans that I could look at for care. I noticed all dental insurance is incredibly expensive, requires a year of payment before any major work can be done and if you do the math and only need a few things it’s cheaper to just pay out-0f-pocket, BUT I really appreciated the time the woman took to explain it to me AND  give me information for me to review.

If you’re looking for a dentist: PLEASE check out Page Family Dentistry– you won’t regret it!

All-in-all, I’m glad I have my hubby. He loves his ladies, even when we are sick and cares for us until we are well. Happy weekend, Reader!