a good DAY FOUR an update

I am officially four days post-op if you count surgery-day as "Day Zero", which I do. Today is supposedly the peak for swelling, but I have to say that I think day #2 was the worst of it. At least based on pictures. Overall, my face has felt pretty consistently like a humongous, puffy, awkward, big-numb-blob, and if I looked anything like how I feel, my face would be the size of a watermelon. But the thing is, I don't think my swelling ever got that bad, except for maybe my lips. I had prepared myself to appear relatively horrifying, and here I am, just kinda looking like I got my wisdom teeth out, with my face stuck in a bit of a stiff/angry/tired position. Here are some comparative shots over the past few days for you to take a gander at:

UPDATE

Here's a look at day five (I just wanted to include these in this list of pre-bandage-removal photos)

As far as day-to-day life is going...well, it's not really. Not yet, at least. Overall I take a lot of baths and naps, wear an icepack almost constantly, and drink more soup than I'd prefer—through a syringe, nonetheless, which is a bit dehumanizing. But enough of the dramatics. So far the diet has mostly consisted of tomato bisque, mashed potatoes, and blended chicken pot pie. Nathan created a concoction in which my terrible, awful pain meds are drowned in chocolatey-peanutbuttery milkshake, so I also drink that a few times a day along with my other prescriptions. And milk, obviously. If you know me, you know that lots of milk is involved.

Like I said before, my pain and nausea have been on the relatively low side. The worst pain comes from the roof of my mouth (oh right, that's where my top jaw is), so swallowing can become a bit excruciating after a few hours without medication. One of my biggest frustrations, though, is the numbness—oh how I wish I could feel my cheeks and lips! I've always loathed that post-Novocaine feeling after the dentist, and this is obviously a lot, lot worse. Does anyone who's been through this have some tips as to get feeling back a bit quicker? (exercises, vitamins, anything?). 

As for highlights, there aren't many: today I went for a walk, tomorrow I might venture to visit with the future-in-laws, and on Monday I see the surgeon again. Baby steps. I'll keep trying to update this here blog o' mine, and in the mean time, if there's anything in particular you'd like to know, just post a comment or write me an email and I'll do my best to get back to you...ya know, when pressing matters like naps and baths are at bay :)