The joys of pregnancy continue...

I went to the dentist recently and found out that I have pregnancy induced gingivitis.  The joys of pregnancy continue to rear their ugly head.  Apparently, it is common and is caused by all the hormonal changes during pregnancy.  I am sure the return of my exaggerated gag reflex towards the end of my pregnancy preventing me from flossing my back teeth did not help.  Neither does the fact that after she arrived, flossing was not very high on the priority list.  However, now I need to make flossing a priority again and I also want to make oil-pulling a regular part of my oral care routine.  I have done oil pulling a few times, but I need to get in the habit of doing it daily.  

Oil pulling has many health benefits, including fighting gingivitis.  I use coconut oil and had to slowly get up to the recommended 20 minutes.  I started at 5 minutes and then increased the duration each time I did it until I was at 20 minutes.  It helps if you are doing something else, like getting ready for the day or surfing the Internet. 

The process: Take a spoonful of coconut oil (olive and sesame work as well), put it in your mouth, and swish it around for 5-20 minutes (the longer the better).  Similar to mouthwash without the gargling.  Also, make sure to spit it out in a trashcan, because the oil can clog up your sinks/toilets.  I use this coconut oil, it starts off as a semi-solid, but melts into an oil once it is in your mouth.    

**After doing oil pulling regularly, I started having detox symptoms, which apparently is common.  I have always had issues with my sinuses, and my "detox" was some major sinus drainage.  I woke up with a sore throat and post nasal drainage.  I thought I was getting sick, but I never felt bad, just drainage.  After several days, the drainage stopped and I do not have the sinus pressure I normally have.  Just a FYI if you end up with some of the detox symptoms you can get when you begin oil pulling.  

I have actually become quite obsessed with coconut oil lately (like most people on Pinterest) and use it all around the house.  Here are some of the ways I have personally used it:

• Diaper rash ointment- Mia had a mild yeast infection after wearing pants that were too tight and chaffing in the groin area.  I applied the coconut oil and the yeast infection was gone within days, without any anti-fungal medication.  Coconut oil has an anti-fungal/bacterial/inflammatory component!  However, you have to use the unrefined coconut oil to reap this benefit.
• Cradle cap- Mia also has cradle cap.  I rub the coconut oil into my hands to soften it and then rub it into Mia’s hair and scalp.  I put a cap on her (so the oil does not get everywhere) and let it sit for a while (10-20 minutes).  I then use a soft brush in a circular motion to loosen the flakes.  After the flakes are loose, I take a fine tooth comb and comb them out.  Her hair is greasy afterwards, so I always do this before her bath. 
• Instead of Neosporin- I recently had a mommy fail, when I cut Mia’s nail too short and made her bleed.  I felt horrible and was crying along with her!  After the bleeding stopped, my first instinct was to put Neosporin on it.  However, since it was her finger I did not want her to end up with that in her mouth, so I used my handy dandy coconut oil for its anti-bacterial properties.

My poor baby,  I felt HORRIBLE

• Instead of lanolin- I put coconut oil on my nipples when they are dry.  This could also be helpful if Mia ends up with thrush (hopefully not!) since it is anti-fungal. 
• As lotion- I frequently put in on my hands to moisturize them.  My husband has started using it for this purpose as well. 
• For my keratosis pilaris- I put it on my arms to help with my keratosis pilaris
• Instead of butter/oil- I now use coconut oil on toast, waffles, baked potatoes, etc. 
• Smoothies- I really like what it does to the texture of the smoothie, it makes it thicker and creamier.  

Mia getting her coconut oil hair treatment

My husband makes fun of me about how often I turn to coconut oil these days, but it really does have so many uses!  Does anyone else use coconut oil, if so, how?