Experiment

Kid #2 is finally getting old enough now that I can lay him down and let him "play" for a good while before he starts to fuss. Yay for free hands! In the mean time, though, I decided to focus that time on house work and not the blog. I generally think about what I would type every couple days or so. My heart is there; the typing is not.

Yesterday I started a full out experiment. My midwife said that when she started the postpartum shed after her last baby, she started taking fermented cod liver oil and butter oil supplements (I'll just call this fclo from now on), and the excessive shedding completely stopped. Well, at almost three months postpartum on the dot, I started shedding...a lot. So, I bought some fclo and started taking it yesterday. I bought the gel combination because it's a bit cheaper than in capsule form. The problem for me with this is not the smell. The problem is that I apparently cannot handle semi-solid masses in my mouth, as proved by my reaction to the not melted coconut oil for my first oil pulling and also a spoonful of honey I took (with garlic) to help ward off a cold (both items I had to spit out and/or heaved). I tried putting the fclo in a smoothie, but my stomach says smoothies are not supposed to taste or smell that way (there is no hiding that taste or that smell in any food, at least not for me). I asked around for some advice on how to take this supplement and combined a few of the suggestions, as well as adding an idea of my own. So how do I do it? I take a sip of orange juice and hold it in my mouth. In the mean time, I pour a cup of orange juice and add one tablespoon of apple cider vinegar to it. Then, I take one teaspoon of fclo and put it in my mouth, on top of the orange juice, and I swallow AS FAST AS POSSIBLE! Then I chase it with the cup of orange juice.

Now, the experiment is whether or not my shedding stops if I take the fclo on a daily basis. There is a minor experiment along with this one, though, and it deals with my dental health. One is the acv in the orange juice. I have heard numerous praises for acv including that it helps remove (albeit slowly) tartar buildup on teeth. I have also heard the same thing for oil pulling. Now, I know I dropped the ball on op, but that was a bad ball to pick up anyway when having a baby. So yesterday I started op again, at least once a day if not more; though, this is something I will continue to do even if it does not affect my teeth. Another is brushing once or twice a day with a baking soda and crushed salt mixture, which apparently can help loosen and/or remove tartar as well as whiten teeth.

And the other is not an experiment, but simply healthy habits finally put into practice--brushing and flossing. Yes, I have been brushing and (usually) flossing; however, not very well. Yesterday, I started paying attention to how I was brushing. I am making it a point to brush each tooth with each section that I do, and to do it slowly, to focus on getting all sides clean. I am also brushing after every op (which is part of the op regimen) and after almost every meal/snack. I want to build up to flossing twice a day, but I'm going slow on that one. My gums are tender enough from the brushing at the moment.

My biggest place of tartar is between my two bottom, middle teeth. Today is only day two of this experiment, but while flossing, I noticed this tartar turn a lighter color, like plastic does when you bend it the wrong way, kind of like stress marks. Hmm.

A big reason for this dental jump? Kid #1 has teeth that are angled like mine (and the angling/overlapping is where the tartar is for me). It is not at a bad degree, seeing as no dentist has mentioned anything about braves to me, but it is enough to cause problems. I want to bring him up with good hygiene habits--not just that brushing and flossing is good, but the quality of each. If I cannot take care of my own teeth, how will I teach my kids to take care of theirs?