Day 40- Stretch, Stretch, Stretch!!!

I'm sorry I haven't posted in a while. I guess I've been getting caught up in post-op life... I know I say this a lot, but time is really flying by. I can't believe I was under the knife 40! days ago already. I remember sitting in the waiting room like it was yesterday. I'm pretty much back to normal as far as talking goes. I still have a little lisp, but that will go away after the splint comes out. Oh yeah! I almost forgot; I'm getting my splint out this week! I was supposed to get it out last week, but I purposely called in and missed my appointment so that I could get an extra week of healing in. I know my OS knows what he's doing, but I really just wanted to make sure that everything was healed enough to prevent any sort of relapse.

I've been stretching about 10 times a day, for about 10 minutes every time. I have noticed a little improvement, but only in mm. I need to get at least another 1/2" and it's going to really hurt. I know every day now it will get harder and harder to stretch, but I just don't have the nerve to force it open... I'm trying the slow and steady method. If there is improvement, I think that's all that matters, not how fast I can do it.

One thing that has been bothering me is my "mushy" pallate. Every time I make a suction (straw) or pretty much whenever I'm eating, I can feel my pallate flex and bend. It's not a fun feeling at all! It kind of reminds me of a baby's head after they're born (soft spot). I'm sure that the bone hasn't filled in the space left by the expansion and the bone that IS there isn't very strong yet. I'm sure with time it will get harder and more rigid. I really hope that my teeth don't start moving around after my splint comes off!