Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Mommy Mind vs Medical Mind (our first NAM visit)


I can’t even begin to describe the events of the day. I have been a wreck ever since. It is so hard to go through this as a mother and try to see things from a doctor’s point of view. It’s so easy for them to tell you that you have to put tape on your daughter’s baby skin EVERYDAY and this “retainer” that has these prongs on the front that can be described best as fangs. This was a very hard appointment for me. I knew going up that we weren’t going home the same. Dr. Yamashiro is amazing, and so patient. He placed the NAM for us as well as the tape on her lip and Claire did so good to! He really is so good with babies. I feel so blessed that we were able to have him as our orthodontist. The best part about Dr. Yamashiro is that you go right to his office. It isn’t like seeing other doctors where you see a receptionist, nurse, etc, etc… You sign in and the sweetest receptionist will call you in, and you go straight to his office . You can spend 10 minutes in there with him getting right to the point if you want, or he will spend as much time as you need him to reassuring you and explaining things to you. He is so great to work with, for the child and parents. He made us feel very confident and very safe. His entire office has that feel about it. You head back to that wing of Primary Children’s and his name is on every plaque by every door.  It gives me a warm fuzzy feeling in the middle of so much chaos to know that I am taking Claire into HIS office and HE is going to sit with her personally and talk to us about every detail for as long as we want. He never so much as glances at his watch.

We left with a new lease on life thinking it was going to be pretty smooth, that’s how Dr. Yamashiro made it look and hey, I could do it to. Right?

The first week was a collage of situations. One minute Claire was totally fine with it and the next she was pulling it out and choking. I was very diligent for that first week. Then her cheeks started to bleed and she started fussing from the second the mouth piece went in until I took it out. I couldn’t take it anymore. Day 10 was the last day I did anything. It’s been 14 days since our last appointment today.

The whole idea of doing the NAM was great when I was still pregnant. I knew that it was the beest and right decision. But its so much harder when you see how our child reacts to it. They say a lot of babies will grow very attached to their retainer and suck on it like a binky. But Claire absolutely hates it.

The reason I named this entry ‘Mommy mind vs. Medical Mind’ is because I wish I could’ve been more prepared to differentiate between what the doctors were saying and what it actually entails. This is so much harder than I planned. I know I have a lot of strength in me, but I don’t know how I am ever going to get through this. Let alone the actual surgery!!

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