2 years in braces, 10.5 weeks in functional teeth

It's true. Two days ago marked my second braces anniversary. I'm pretty sure that's longer than either of Britney Spears' marriages.
It's been almost 11 weeks since surgery. I'm still eating everything by cutting it up really small and chewing it with my back teeth. There's a lot of things I can eat, but I'm still avoiding anything hard, chewy, or cruncy, like crusty bread or, sadly, Craisins, which I love. Salad is edible, but it takes me quite a while to eat!
The swelling is still going down, fortunately. I'm having a little trouble adjusting to the way my face looks now. I can't pinpoint what it is, but there's something I just don't like when I look in the mirror. I hate my smile right now. I get these funny lines in my face when I smile, and my mouth looks really wide. Hopefully it's just because of swelling and will get better, because, even though it was crooked, I liked my smile before. Did anyone else feel this way getting used to the new look?
The good news is, I'm amazed by how much better I feel. The terrible headaches I used to just deal with two or three days a week are gone. I haven't had one since the surgery. It's amazing. So yes, I definitely think it was worth it, and will think so even more in a few months when I no longer look like a chipmunk!

8 weeks

I'm now 8 weeks post-op and loving having food again! I was telling a friend that I feel like I did after a summer of beans and rice (though delecious, not a lot of variety!) in Honduras. I might not even be hungry, but when I see food, I want to eat it, just because I can! I'm still technically limited to soft foods. However, I was told not to bite into anything harder than a french fry. Then I was told not to bite into anything with my front teeth. I am using this logic to declare breaking up Christmas cookies and chewing them with my back teeth totally legal. Other than that, lots of pasta, cooked vegetables, soup, and fish. I'm craving salad and pizza like crazy! I can't wait until February when I should be allowed to eat anything I want (within reason!)
I've been back at work for 2 weeks now. Friends, let me tell you, please be nice to your office staff. I've had record numbers of unhappy patients lately. It's hard for me to get through a full day because my job is so demanding. And even harder when being verbally abused several times daily. One man even made fun of the way I talk when he called in. I won't even tell you what he said, it was pretty offensive. I think I wiped the smirk off his face when I said, "Sir, I'm sorry if you're having trouble understanding me, but I just had major surgery and my jaw is broken. I would be happy to transfer you to another assistant if you feel that I'm not qualified to help you." Okay, I sort of exaggerated, but he deserved it ;)
I had my first ortho appointment today. It was fun. I love the compliments you get from people who understand what's going on! Then they got to the teeth, and that was less than fun! I did get my surgical hooks removed, YAY!!!! But then I became the proud wearer of not one but two powerchains across my front 6 teeth. One under the wire, and one over it. Also elastics that I'm supposed to wear in a box shape in the front. So I'll probably be back on the soup and applesauce diet for a few days, but so long as the soup doesn't need to go through the blender first, I am A-ok with that.
I hope that everyone is doing wonderfully!