Monday, March 27, 2017

Septum Piercing

I got my septum pierced!


I absolutely love it and decided I would write all about it here on the blog because there is a good amount to tell about it. I’ll be posting healing updates, and other future details about my piercing too.


I have always thought septum piercings were pretty. I have a few old friends from highschool who have them and really like the way they look. I brought it up to RJ for the first time Saturday, just over a week ago. I did not know that he absolutely loves them. He is not new to piercings (I have talked about his, in a previous piercing post). RJ has always thought septum piercings are sexy and thought I would look really good with one. He never brought it up before because it’s a pretty bold piercing, and is something he thought someone should decide on their own. As soon as I mentioned it he was really excited and suggested I go get it done the next day.  


A proper septum piercing is through the small bit of skin you have between where the cartilage in your nose ends, and the opening of your nose, near the tip. It’s called a, “soft spot” and everyone’s is different. You can feel your own by taking your pinky fingers and pinching the inside of your nose near the tip. Wiggle your fingers side to side parallel with the ground. You should be able to feel where the cartilage in your nose ends, and how big your, “soft spot” is. Not everyone has enough space there to have their septum pierced. Saturday night when I was testing myself to see if my soft spot was sufficient, I was not positive. I am not a professional, so we planned to head down there anyways with hope that I had the right anatomy for the piercing.  


The possibility of the piercing not happening, made me much less nervous on the way down to the piercing studio, which was nice. Sometimes, when I get really nervous, I get a stomach ache and avoid whatever I was supposed to do.


Sunday morning after having a nice big breakfast, we drove down to Atlanta to a good piercing shop. When we got there, I left RJ, Rose, and Heather in the car. Minors are not allowed in the studio till the age of 12, and anyone 12-17 in the studio must be the one getting pierced, and have a parent with them.


When I walked in I was happy to see 2 of the 3 women had septum piercings. Any time you get any sort of piercing make sure it’s a reputable place. A studio listed on the APP’s (Association of Professional Piercers) website should be good. I went to Virtue and Vice in Atlanta. I told the lady behind the front desk (I don’t remember her name) I wanted to get my septum pierced. She asked me when my last meal was (it is important to have eaten a meal in the last 4 hours, no one wants anyone fainting). I had breakfast about 2 hours beforehand and I also had a snack on the drive down because we live about 50 minutes from the studio. She said good, then asked me when my last alcoholic drink was. I had had one gin and tonic the night before around 11. Which was also good. Alcohol thins your blood. Thin blood and someone putting a hole through a part of your body do not go well together. I had not had enough alcohol to affect anything though.  


The lady behind the counter started the paperwork for my piercing, and showed me the jewelry I could choose from. Another lady, Lena, who would be piercing me, grabbed a pair of gloves and checked my nose to see if my soft spot was large enough. She said it was good, and a 16 gage piece of jewelry would be best. I chose a stainless steel circular barbell. I chose that because I wanted to start with something really basic.  


Right after Lena said I was good and I had picked jewlery, I started to get nervous. This was really happening. I was getting my septum pierced! I had a million questions running through my mind. How bad would it hurt? Would I really like it? What if I fainted? I have never fainted before.


My piercer took my jewelry to be sterilized, while I signed papers and paid. I was getting more and more nervous.


Just a couple minutes later, Lena said, “come on back”. I followed her to the first room, set my things down and took a seat on the table (this studio has doctor like tables, some have dentist-like chairs, I guess it’s the piercers preference). Lena chatted with me and made me feel comfortable. As she was getting everything ready, I told her I was a bit nervous. She said the build up/anticipation for this piercing is the worst part. Lena has two septum piercings herself. They look pretty close together, smaller gage and one behind the other. I get brazilian waxes about once a month and occasionally, I put it off because the anticipation of the pain is awful, even though the actual pain is never that bad.


Lena got everything ready, she cleaned my nose and drew a small horizontal guide line near the tip of my nose. She explained the basics of the piercing, then had me lie down and scoot up so my head was at the top of the table. She used a basic piercing guide, that looks like a small clamp with two round guides on the end. She placed it in my nose where the she would be piercing me. She checked to make sure it was not painful (apparently for some people the guide is extremely painful when it’s in place, it felt fine to me. Obviously having a hard metal thing clamped on my nose was not comfy! But it was not painful at all). Lena got the needle ready, she told me to take a deep breath and on the out she would pierce. It was over very quickly. My eyes watered a bit just because it’s a knee jerk reaction no one can stop. She then threaded the jewelry through which was more painful and eye watering than the actual piercing but it didn’t last long. I just kept breathing slowly (slow breathing helps me through any pain). The anticipation was definitely the worst part. The actual piercing was not too bad at all.


Lena cleaned my nose and had me sit up slowly. She told me to take a look in the mirror, and see what I thought. I was a little nervous but loved it instantly!


When I got out to the car RJ loved it. When Rose saw it she said, “oooo I like it!” I had showed her pictures before I got it so she wouldn’t be too surprised. She has not stopped telling me it’s pretty since I got it.


New piercings require a good amount of cleaning and aftercare. I have been doing sea salt water soaks twice a day. I have been very careful to not bump it or pull it. Today is the end of day 10. It’s a bit itchy at times (healing itchy). It’s a bit sore but not painful. The past two days my nose has gotten a bit raw. I have watered down my salt washes and that is helping a bit. The most annoying part is how ticklish it is. The day I got it, and the second day were the worst. I have gotten used to the majority of the ticklishness. Now it’s just ticklish sometimes, not all the time.


If you are thinking about getting any piercing please go to a good piercer! Find someone who is an APP member and go there over the questionable place close to home. Atlanta has three studios listed on APP’s website. I have been to two of them. The closest one is Virtue and Vice and it is 50 minutes from my home. The drive for a good piercing is worth it. Do not cheap out when it comes to getting a needle through your body. Go to a reliable place.


I cannot wait till my piercing is healed and I can put in all the cute jewelry!

I will keep posting updates here! Thanks for reading! Let me know if you have any questions!   

Monday, March 20, 2017

The Worst Family is a Sick Family

The past few weeks have been rough at the Ayres house. We all came down with a stomach bug. Being sick while taking care of two small humans is the type of thing that makes all us stay at home parents want to down a bottle of wine in the evening.


This was the worst day of our head colds, Rose was so out
of it. I love Heather's tired smile. 
Disclaimer: You might not want to read this post if you are a sympathetic puker. Or if someone describing puke makes you sick.


Thursday morning about two weeks ago I went to get Heather out of her crib. I opened her door and the overwhelming smell of puke wafted out. I have never smelled puke like that before, it was bad! I am not one to puke at the sight or smell of puke, but this made me want to. I have no idea at what time in the night she actually puked, she must not have cried about it much, because she didn’t wake me or RJ up. By the morning it was mostly dry and she was playing with whatever was left (I know, kids are disgusting). I quickly stripped her clothes off and threw her into the shower with RJ. I threw the large chunks and whole raisins into the toilet then started laundry, washing all her bedcovers and clothes. I retrieved a grumpy wet Heather from the shower and took her downstairs for a diaper. RJ steam cleaned the floor in her room and opened the windows. I am so glad RJ had not left for work yet.


Heather did not puke again that day. She had a fever around 99-100, had no appetite, and was very tired and snuggly all day. The following day, Friday she was still sick but did not puke. But I started to feel under the weather. Friday night I felt really sick and nauseous, I ended up puking my guts out early Saturday morning. I have not felt that sick in a very long time. I spent the entire day on the couch trying not to dry heave. It was rough. Heather was feeling better. No one else had come down with the the plague yet...   


Heather never falls asleep on the couch. She was so sick. I
am glad it did not last too long. 
I was worried Rose would catch it. She is not fun to handle when she is sick. Saturday evening Rose puked all over the carpet. It was bright orange and smelled like Cheetos. Rose puking made Heather cry, and attempting to keep both of the girls out of a large puddle of orange puke, while trying not to puke myself again took some serious skills. RJ cleaned up the puke while I cleaned up Rose and tried to calm both of the girls down (we had to shampoo the carpet an additional two times to get all the smell out. Every time someone walked over that part of the carpet the smell got kicked up till we deep cleaned it). Rose puked another one or two times that evening but RJ and I watched her closely and we were able to help her make it to the bathroom. It was not easy to do while feeling sick myself, but much easier than cleaning puke out of the carpet.


Sunday I was feeling much better. RJ thought he was in the clear and had passed through unscathed, but that Saturday night/Sunday morning the nasty stomach bug claimed it’s final victim. RJ said the last time he puked that hard he was definitely not sober! Luckily, I was feeling better on Sunday because Heather puked in her crib again at nap time. I think it was my fault. I sent her to bed with a sippie full of milk and her stomach wasn’t ready for it so it came right back up. I don’t think Rose puked again that day however it was a bit foggy, I was still recovering.


Having a family of four, all getting sick at the same time is awful. If you think you can handle puke everywhere, cleaning it up while being sleep deprived and nauseous, definitely start a family.


Rose still smiled on her worst day after puking a lot the
night before. 
What was worse than puking, was the awful head cold we all came down with a couple days later. I have never been so congested in my life. The pressure in my head was the worst part. RJ introduced me to nose spray, which helped a lot. After a very hot bath, cold medicine and a few days of nose spray I felt much better.  


Being sick sucks. Being a sick parent with sick kids is absolute hell. Still, I would not trade my family for anything, and I still want it twice as big as it is now!


Finally, I feel 100% again. I felt good enough this weekend to get my septum pierced! I’ll be writing a whole post about it next.

Sorry I went dark on the blog for a little while! I’m back!