storbarnsförälder

Everyone was awake at four am and Rob and I have been awake most of the time since four am, with occasional falling-asleep-where-we-sit type dozes. Linnea and Emer were also awake a lot of that time.

I got them out to the dentist ok. We got the train, and bought a couple of magazines, and the waiting room was nice - goldfish and so on. Then we went to the dentist's room and Emer started to cry at the sight of the chair. The dentist was ok about me holding her down and holding her mouth open. At one point I used my fingertips as a bit so that Emer couldn't bite the dentist, and couldn't close her mouth. It wasn't very pleasant.

But the diagnosis is that she has no decay. Yet. One or two of her teeth are weak - demineralising - so we need to be sure to use a fluoridated toothpaste and keep her off fruit juice, raisins and so on. No more crisps, either. The good news is that teeth can and do remineralise - luckily she gets plenty of calcium and something called lactoferrin from breastmilk so the lack of cow's milk in her diet isn't a big problem.

She needs to be seen again in six months. And we need to be careful. Emer's teeth are not strong.

Oh well. Looks like Linnea got my teeth and Emer got my little sister's; she had very weak teeth when we were little.

After Emer got off the dentist's chair I gave her her magazine, which came with a toy, so she recovered very fast. And we went down and bought new toothbrushes for both of them, as a treat (they found this exciting). Then the dentist gave them both goody bags; cheapo toothbrushes, egg-timers for measuring a two-minute brushing, colouring in things, stickers, and so on. Very exciting; Linnea said it wasn't really a party bag, but it was clearly almost as good.

Poor Emer was a bit shaken though.

Anyway, we went to the library and returned all our books, went upstairs to the Refreshments Area and ate a snack (sandwiches), read some books, and met a friend. That was all very lovely, and we left when it was approachign lunchtime.

Things went a bit strange then. Linnea was engaged in a battle of wills with her bladder, and was cold (she threw her cardigan at me before leaving the house, so had just her coat), and was tired, obviously, so the 20-30 minute walk home took a loud, kicking, part-walk-part-carry-part sit-down-protest hour.

At least Emer napped. For two hours, in the end.

At home Linnea watched a bit of telly, ate, had a drink, and recovered enough to be able to visit neighbours. So that was lovely. We hadn't seen them for ages, for various reasons, and it was really relaxing and pleasant. It's amazing how much children grow and change when you don't see them.

Linnea had a mini-meltdown there too but it got sorted out. To be honest, she wasn't naughty today, just tired, and volatile. Rob cam and had a cup of tea and everyone watched an episode of Peppa Pig before we came home.

I wholly fail to see the point of Peppa Pig, myself, but the children liked it.

Now we're going to eat dinner and then cycle to Waitrose to run errands I couldn't run today because of meltdowns. Among other things, we're going to buy calcium-enriched rice milk, which is not the same as the organic-certified stuff. Sadly. And non-mint-flavoured fluoridated toothpaste. Emer finds mint "hot" and it makes her cry and gag.