Day 32 - Elba's birthday

It's been 3 years since our precious Elba was born. 3 years of being a parent. And one month exactly of being a mom to two beautiful babies.

With a rough start to the day...

Ian's been trying to go to gym... because it makes him feel good, but we're still figuring out how to do everything. He woke up earlier to go, but didn't get back before all of us were awake (this is the goal). So I started my morning with two kiddos... but with the extra issue of still having a horrible headache and as a result having not had much sleep.

Not great, but what is great is I can definitely feel I am becoming less overstimulated by two kids and finding the dynamic easier than I was! Little M lies on the floor while Elba and I brush teeth and get dressed and make the beds.

Little M goes in the carrier while I pack up the basket to go downstairs and throw all the laundry together for Ian to bring down later.

A while ago I thrifted Bug Bingo and Elba LOVES it (she literally has played it daily for nearly 2 months now). So for her birthday we got her Dog Bingo.

We had some family calls while unpacking dog bingo for Elba to get her happy birthdays from family.

I am still working on her cow...

And I really am not feeling good. I said I needed more rest, better digestion and more hydration. But I haven't done great at making that happen, so I am going to today. Starting with hydration and rest.

Although I felt this "pressure" to do things - like write these blogs, make the bra, or finish the crochet cow for Elba - I choose rest when Elba and Ian went off to their market outing.

Resting in the room with M - reading and napping. Reading a book, not scrolling (I have been good at not scrolling since I mentioned it 2 days ago). And a nap and drinking lots of fluids.

Ian and Elba had a sweet "pappa and Elba date" at the Farmers Market and they had tallow chips and beef burgers. They brought me from butter chicken and naan. And more reading... not scrolling.

I am reading Skin Deep and enjoying it a lot. I don't read much fiction, but I like the setting of this one - people getting imprints (tattoos) on their skin based on their emotions and experiences.

Did I say more hydration? Seriously I mean it... I feel so dried out from this furnace, but also breastfeeding.

A little bit of rest & hydration (and food) and I feel better

Better enough to do my projects

And when M wants to walk around I work on the bra.

I am in the phase of life where I am going to have several on going projects and depending on my kids and capacity - work on whichever one I can. In this case when M wants to move around I put him in the carrier and I work on the bra. When he wants to lie solo on the floor or be on my lap - then I crochet. When he wants to be held or breastfeeding - I do not work on projects. I just sit there or read.

Elba put her "baby" (a crocheted dog) in her carrier and we walk around the house.

While Ian is making her birthday cake.

It is Ian's first time making cake. I have made several, but I am not very good at it... Also I am not going to attempt to make one now.I suggested Ian buy one, but... haha it's not happening. He won't settle for ingredients he doesn't want in the cake, so he is making one.

And Elba really enjoys the cake and candles part of birthdays. So cake and candles are happening.

Happy birthday girl cutting her cake.

Ian's first cake turned out pretty good (definitely compared to the cakes I made).

And the cow is not done, but getting there.

Tooth Health

Ending today I feel so much better from just having rested, less phone time and hydration. It makes such a difference if we do the things we know our body and mind wants us to do.

But in feeling better I also remembered oral health needs focus.

I am grateful to share that since 2019 I have not had any issues with my teeth. That is 7 years. From someone who regularly had to get fillings and had constant tooth pain and sensitivity.

Even through two pregnancies and Elba being a baby (I drank adrenal cocktails with OJ throughout the night and day for 2 years and didn't necessarily rinse my mouth out very often) - my teeth have been great.

With Elba having weak enamel I did a deep dive into teeth health and read what I already had experienced myself - your teeth will be healthy if your inside is healthy, and they will happily withstand things like sugar on them if they are strong (which is why I could drink all that juice and have better teeth than when I regularly brushed and flossed and saw the dentist & oral hygienist but was internally unhealthy). See the book - Cure Tooth Decay: Heal & Prevent Cavities with Nutrition.

If you're wondering if I have a book recommendation for all aspects of life - probably. I read books are my choice for information gathering and I choose to be informed on things impacting our lives.

Anyways... My teeth are feeling a little sensitive now. So I am reminded that while I continue to focus on internal health, there are some external things that help too.

Internally I focus on good nutrition in general, but in particular Vit C, calcium and fat soluble vitamins.

Externally: I blot (not as frequently as I'd like), brush with a natural, but remineralizing toothpaste twice a day, salt rinses and I did a bicarb brush tonight (using a very fine bicarb - I know some people think it is too abrasive. Ours isn't).

And I continue to drink juice all the time, because high Vit C and other nutrients. And I drink it through a straw. So, it kind of lessens how much is just lying on my teeth. But IMO the internal benefits of my adrenal cocktails exceeds the concern of it being on my teeth. I am not willing to wake up every 1.5 hours in the night to breastfeed in a fasted state. That doesn't feel healthy to me.

Oh and I did mention I have been added pearl powder into my coffee. And we are doing egg shells in the broth. But we haven't done carrot salad or the milky cacoas... so we will get back to doing that again (hopefully from tomorrow).

Pain Management

I don't know if it worth sharing more on this - let me know. I choose to recover from birth without pain meds, but I can't always manage through my headaches and migraines without pain meds. There is a lot of conflicting opinions on which pain meds are preferred if any are taken when breastfeeding.

I subscribe to the prometabolic / Ray Peat view on this one.

And that is Day 32! Thanks for being here.

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