Reasons my kid is crying

Usually when I hear from Macmillan books, they are asking me to review one of their fabulous children’s books with Libby. That’s why I was so pleased when this time, they asked me to review a book that was one for me to read! 

Reasons My Kid is Crying by Greg Pembroke is a fabulous book that was published as a result of a photograph that Greg Pembroke had published online. The photograph was of his toddler in the depths of a tantrum, caused by the fact that he had broken his piece of cheese. Understandably, many parents related to this and sent photographs of their own children crying about slightly odd things. 

I particularly like this one:

And I’m equally fond of the little lad who can’t be any older than four who appears to be shedding proper tears over the fact that his parents wouldn’t let him get a tattoo. 

This is a great coffee table book, there are fabulous photos on each page and every one makes you chuckle. Parents and grandparents in particular will relate to it. I was delighted to see that there was one little baby girl crying because her parents had taken a glass of red wine away from her… I can sympathise with that, if someone took my glass of wine away, I’d cry too! 

Coping with morning sickness

When I was pregnant with Libby, my morning sickness consisted of being sick every morning, after which I felt pretty much ok for the rest of the day. This time I unfortunately haven’t been so lucky. 

I knew my morning sickness was going to be worse this time when I felt ill really early on in the pregnancy, probably at about 5 weeks. I was feeling nauseous all the time and being sick at random times during the day, which made looking after a 16 month old (and associated nappy changing) a total nightmare. 

I was lucky enough to be sent a couple of boxes of the delicious Lillipops iced soothies to try. These are ice-pops made of natural ingredients with no artificial colours or sweeteners. They are specially formulated for pregnancy and can help with a dry mouth and indigestion. Early on, these were enough to sooth my morning sickness too. During the latter part of my pregnancy with Libby, I suffered terribly with indigestion and ice pops were the only thing that helped. This time I will definitely be using Lillipops to help during the third trimester. 

As time has gone on this pregnancy, I haven’t been able to manage my morning sickness as well as working and looking after Libby. The doctor prescribed me phenergan, which I take morning and evening. This has helped a lot with the morning sickness and although I’m still not feeling great, I’m coping a lot better. 

As for Libby, how does she feel about being a big sister? 

I don’t think she quite understands! 

Gum health through the generations

Before launching into the purpose of this post I feel it right to tell you that I very nearly made a disastrous start to it. I spent about 5 minutes pondering the title and then entered the words “Bum health through the generations.” Thanks for reading. Anyway, take two… 

When I was a child, my mum always drummed into me the importance of looking after both my teeth and my gums. The reason for this was because of the terrible problems she has suffered throughout her life, caused by gum disease.

Luckily for me, her experience has meant that I have always been incredibly careful both to brush my teeth twice a day and not to eat an excess of sugary food. As a result, I have had no problems at all with my teeth or gums, never having had a filling or any gum problems identified by a dentist. 

These days, I am keen to pass on to my own children the fabulous advice that my mum gave to me. Yes… children in the plural. Libby will be a big sister in April or May next year. That’s why when I had the opportunity to review Oral-B’s new Pro-Expert Premium gum protection toothpaste, I jumped at the chance. 

Pregnancy is one of the most important times to look after your gums. Shockingly, Oral-B have revealed that a massive 50 to 70% of women develop gum problems at some point during their pregnancy. The hormones produced make your gums more vulnerable at this time. You might notice gums bleeding, receding, and becoming more sensitive. You could even experience loose teeth and terribly bad breath. 

Luckily, Oral-B pro-expert has been great for me over the last few weeks. It tastes great and I was particularly pleased to notice that as well as the benefits for my gums, it is gradually whitening my teeth. Strangely, I have found it easier to use this toothpaste, probably because of it’s distinctive taste. I was really struggling to brush my teeth previously because it caused me to feel nauseous. I’m so glad I can brush them a bit easier now though because it really is important to keep up with regular brushing during pregnancy. 

Tooth and gum care is so important to me that I’m already trying to pass on the importance of it to Libby. I make sure her teeth are brushed twice a day with a 0-3 toothpaste. Myself or my husband brush her teeth for her but then we let her have a go once we’re sure they’re brushed properly. Here are mine and Libby’s secret weapons for looking after our teeth and gums at the moment… 

This post is an entry for Britmums’ #ORALBLoveYourGums Challenge sponsored by Oral-B, promoting healthy gums – something especially important for pregnant women. Get tips and advice on www.oralb-loveyourgums.com.

It’s all about you…

My blog is named Plutonium Sox after my two dogs, Pluto and Soxa. Whilst both dogs have their own personalities, Soxa is what can only be described as “a character”. 

Soxa is a bit of a hypochondriac and the vets all know her by name. Possibly because they remember the time when the usual dog head collars wouldn’t stop her from pulling out the stitches in her tail and they had to put a bucket on her head… 

A bucket isn’t the only ridiculous thing Soxa has been subjected to wearing. After falling out of our kayak too many times, we decided it was time she had her own boat. And of course, she needed a life jacket! 

And I have to admit there was one occasion when dressing her up wasn’t purely for practical purposes. She was invited to a halloween party but being the only non-human guest didn’t excuse her from having to dress up… 

Soxa has always had health problems. She was born with a shot jaw and a wonky eye and ended up with half a tail as a puppy because it wagged so much that she caught it on all the furniture and ended up getting it infected. In later life, she has suffered from two strokes and arthritis as well as regular injuries resulting from her somewhat carefree attitude to life. Despite this, she has been a fabulously faithful pet. She’s always full of energy, whatever the weather… 

And she always helps out when she can… 

She’s had a tough time the last couple of years what with her health problems and the disruption of Libby turning up. That’s why I’m entering her into a fabulous competition to win £500 to spend on one of the Swell UK, Swell Pets or Swell Reptiles websites. I think it’s about time her luck changed! 

This is an entry into the Tots100/Swell Uk competition. 

Making new friends and finding new blogs to read #2

Last month, I put a link-up post on my blog for newbies like me to find new blogs to read and hopefully make some friends and pick up new followers along the way.

The link-up was really successful but I realised I’d made a bit of a mistake with it. You see, it wasn’t just new bloggers who wanted to join in. A few more experienced bloggers contacted me to say that they’d love to link up. So this time, there are no rules. Just sit back, relax and link up your blog! It’s up to you whether you link to your blog as a whole or whether you put a link to your favourite post. 

document.write(”);