Friday, July 10, 2009

Ahhh... the dreaded letter!

This week has flown by and has not been the most "fun" week of my summer. We've had some feeding issues to deal with Lexi that has zapped our energy and emotions but in the end feel we are still making good progress with her. Last week on July 1st, I realized that time was slipping and made all kinds of appts for this week.... hair appt, yearly gyn, yearly mammo, as well as Lexi's first dentist appt. That's a LOT for one week! I still have my teeth cleaning and eye exam and Lexi's 18 month appt. and then we'll be set for awhile!

But today... Geoff comes in with the mail. Everyone hates bills but one thing that is WORSE than bills is the dreaded letter from my principal just a few weeks before we are expected to report back to work! It's a terrible reminder that summer vacation is almost over! He needs to send an email, voicemail or something... anything but the LETTER!! I immediately began to pout! Yikes! I have 3 more weeks and then summer is OVER! (come on... participate in my misery!!)

But back to LJ... we took her to her first dentist appt this week. I knew there were problems before we even went. The only thing that surprised me was that we have to wait 6 more months to see how bad things really are. Lexi's first 6 teeth look awesome. The other 10 that she has cut since we came home are not so lucky. They are riddled with missing enamel. The dentist says she has a genetic disorder associated with Asian people where the enamel does not form correctly. I thought maybe it was related to malnutrition but it actually occurs during pregnancy. The extent of the damage is yet to be determined but it is possible that her permanent teeth will be affected. Right now, she is lucky. Her baby teeth despite being exposed to the dentin level are hard which will help fight tooth decay. If she begins to get cavities, we will have to have her teeth capped. I pray every night that the damage to her teeth is limited to the baby teeth. So for now, we are brushing her teeth twice a day and have been advised to brush her teeth with toothpaste with fluoride once a day even though most dentist will not ask you to do this until the child is at least two.

Tomorrow Lexi has a birthday party to attend. We are going to bring the camera because they are having a pony and carnival games for the kids! We are excited to see how she reacts (especially to the pony!). So hopefully, tomorrow we will have new pictures of our darling Lexi... we are just pondering what outfit she will wear to the party! LOL!

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Yes, I had a little pouting time over the letter myself! Hopefully, everything will turn out okay with Lexi's permanent teeth.

mhsands said...

I will be back a whole week before u! *sniff, sniff*

Cheryl said...

I never like getting "the letter" either. Unfortunately, I am still in school (teaching summer school). I have 8 more days and then am free for about a month. We don't actually start school until Sept. 8th.

BTW ~ I love reading your blog and seeing Lexi grow and thrive. All of you are so blessed!

Anonymous said...

wanda,
hello there, this message is from your second secret pal amy. I have been following your blog and reading regularly and even voted for your beauty in the baby photo contest!!
We have some teething issues also and our Mia at 18mos. has already been to the dentist. they mentioned to us that there is a milk that is often given to the babies in the orphanage called "sticky milk". It sticks to the enamel on the babies teeth and actually rots them away. Email me if you have any other questions at S2190am@hotmail.com

Unknown said...

Wanda, Lia has the same issue with her teeth. She has already had one capped, and four filled. The Dr. put her on flouride pills called Ethedent. She takes one a day along with her vitamin.

Wanda, Geoff and Lexi said...

Sheryl, it's nice to hear from you! I hate that Lia has the same issue. I can only imagine how hard it is on her to get the dental treatment but we do what is best right? I'm so glad you shared this with me. So far, no one that I know of has had this problem. It's nice to have someone that I can ask questions to.

Send me some updated pictures of your little beauty sometime!

wanda