Speed Trials

I went to the dentist on Monday for my 9-month checkup (my dentist thinks that visits every 9 months is sufficient for someone who has no major dental issues) and that means I had the routine flossing lecture from my hygienist.

I must preface by saying that I really like both my dentist and my hygienist. They’re really nice, and do their job really well. I personally love getting my teeth cleaned, so I look forward to my appointments. But still, I do always dread having to fess up to the fact that I don’t floss regularly, which is highlighted by my super bloody gums following the cleaning!

But this time I got the lecture, plus a little more incentive to start flossing… 1) poor oral health actually may lead to preterm labour, and low birth weight babies, and b) she found some enamel degradation on one of my teeth (a front one, too!!).

My hygienist explained that gingivitis is an inflammation of the gums, and any kind of inflammation may trigger the body into labour, as a last ditch effort to save the baby from whatever is causing the inflammation. Then she explained that my enamel loss was due to not flossing and poor brushing the back of my teeth. Oops!

So for the sake of my baby, and for the sake of my vanity, it’s important that I step up the oral care, and fast. That means flossing EVERY DAY, no matter what, and also getting into some hard to reach areas (like the backs of my teeth, and around my wisdom teeth, which I still have) with a Sulcabrush. It looks like this:

And works like this:

I also made the decision to brush my teeth three times a day instead of two. I bought tooth brushing gear to keep at my desk at work, and after lunch I go to the bathroom to clean my teeth. I’ve been doing it all week, and it’s great. And another totally unexpected bonus is that it’s stopped me from mindless snacking in the afternoons. Even if I get tempted by a piece of chocolate or a cookie, the fact that my teeth are all clean and fresh stops me from automatically reaching for the treat.

So win-win, basically. My dentist told me that if I’m diligent with brushing and flossing, I can actually reverse the damage done to my front tooth, and regenerate some enamel to make it as good as new. So here’s hoping for a better prognosis at my next visit, which by the way will be post-pregnancy! Eek!

I spent WAY too much time on The Knot this afternoon:

I’m loving the crisp bow on that dress… Not to mention the long low side-ponytail, blue/green colours, and hot Italian suits.

It’s a lazy Sunday morning, and I’m hanging out in my cozy living room, and I’m starting to feel really nostalgic. Unfortunately, we’re going to have to move in two months, and we both hate the idea of it. This place is the first apartment that has ever felt like home for me. The past two and a half years that we’ve been here have been the best of my life, and I’m so sad to leave our home.

Angelo and I have been together for 4 1/2 years, and we bought a house together about nine months into our relationship. The house was a flip, we knew that from the start, and it never really felt like home. After we sold it, we moved into our apartment on Wellington, and for the first time since we started dating in 2006, we finally settled in together. While in the house, it was all business, but here, we started to meld our things together, integrate each other’s hobbies and passions into one living space. We really spent a lot of time molding our lives into this apartment, and everything is so comfortable now and fits perfectly.

And just like that, we’re going to have to disrupt everything, and start again. It’s depressing, and even the thought of it tires me out.

Here are some of the things I love about our apartment:

The living room. it’s big, and it’s comfortable. It’s the central space in the apartment, and we spend a lot of time just hanging out in here, together. It’s also where the cats do most of their tricks, so there’s always some entertainment on hand.

The back deck. We’re on the third floor, and we have a rooftop deck that’s really nice in the summer time. We also get to see some great sunsets from there.

The flow. There’s a nice sense of space here, with the kitchen and living room open to each other, and the two bedrooms and bathroom are secluded. So we can have people over for a party, and at the same time have some privacy if needed.

The HUGE second bedroom. This acts as our closet, his workshop and office, and my sewing room. It’s a perfect “everything” room that holds A TON of stuff!!

Being right on Wellington. It’s so nice to be able to look out the window and see the comings and goings of everyone on Wellington. And it’s nice to be able to walk out our front door and have the local tavern, coffee shop, Giant Tiger, and restaurants all on the same block!!

So, if we love it so much, why are we leaving? Well, we recently found out that I’m pregnant, and there are a couple of things that we used to be able to live with that now seem pretty bad when a baby is thrown into the mix:

Both downstairs tenants are heavy smokers. While the smell of cigarettes only wafted up to our place from time to time, now with my heightened sense of smell, I smell it every day, and on EVERYTHING, including our towels and the cats. Living with smokers is NO good for us or the pets, let alone a newborn baby.

No laundry on the premises. This was such a huge battle between Angelo and me. He thought we could manage; I tried to explain to him that with a baby in cloth diapers, we’d be doing laundry every other day (or more). And while taking a stroll down to the laundromat might seem charming and wonderful in the summer and fall, it would be the death of me in the winter.

We’re on the third floor. We mostly use the back entrance, up the fire escape, because it’s closer to our parking spot, and the thought of lugging groceries and laundry with a baby up those steep stairs seems daunting to me.

So we found a place in the neighbourhood (thank God!!) and we’re actually going to be closer to my mom’s house. And even though we don’t immediately love the place the way we fell for this one, we know that we’ll be able to make it our own and settle into it the way we have here. Or at least, that’s the plan.