Expander...

Because Courtney's top jaw is so narrow she had to have an expander put in her mouth today. It is a metal think that is fastened to her back teeth and there is a little box at the roof of her mouth. Twice a day (for 14 days) I have to put a little key in that box and turn it to expand the device, which will then expand her jaw. After the 14 days we won't have to turn the key anymore but she will still have keep it on for a few months while the bone in the top of her mouth grows and fuses back together. A benefit to having this done is that they said once her jaw is a little wider it should open up her nasal passages and help her to breath a little better. She is such a heavy breather and they said a lot of that can be caused by having a narrow jaw. Hopefully it helps with that. It sounds like this is not a very comfortable process, so she will probably be sore for the next two weeks.

This is "before". She was zoned out watching the tv on the ceiling while they got everything prepped and ready.
This would be her "after". They sat her up right after putting it in and I was greeted with this lovely face. :) She really does have so much expression in her face, all the time. I do feel bad for her though because she has had a rough couple of weeks.

This isn't a great picture but you get the idea of what it looks like.

This is how she looks with her mouth open normal. You can't really see it too much (which is what she was worried about).

She is talking a little funny right now and drooling a lot, but once she gets used to it she won't really notice it's there anymore.