Incognito. Gone. Absent. Though there's lots to post about, or rather, complain about, thought I might keep them to myself for a bit. But I'm probably about to explode, and while the beans are boiling and the chicken is cooking and the babe is sleeping and the hubby is out networking, I might have a few minutes to unload so I don't. I apologize in advance if this is not coherent.
Explode in a good way, that is. A friend of ours is friends with another couple who just had a baby. And talking to them about their baby and talking to us about our baby is like night and day. The other couple is so negative, as in the baby did this, the baby did that (as if the baby is doing it to piss them off). On the other hand, we just bubble over when we talk about LR. Incidentally, I'm changing his name from July to LR. Anyway, our friend loves that we just love love love our baby, and that the other couple doesn't know how good they have it.
Probably because they don't know how bad they could have it. We know.
So lately my world has been all about battling this darn eczema on LR. Poor little dude, his cradle cap got infected and weepy, has been I swear since Christmas. He started solids on the first of the year, baby oatmeal, then mixed with mashed bananas, then switched to rice, then rice with sweet potatoes, which I think gave him diarrhea. At the same time his cheeks were raw and weepy, so he was on antibiotics till last Saturday. Then Sunday started more diarrhea after he came off the antibiotics for the infected cheekies, then he had avocado, which on the 3rd day of having it he got a nice red rash around his mouth. No more avo. With the diarrhea came a lovely diaper rash, and he cries every time we clean his little bum. It kills me! He is finally over his 2nd cold, the first one was due to sicky relatives at Christmas, the 2nd one from his 6-month shots.
Welcome to motherhood! And we couldn't be any happier! she said with a smile.
In other news, I have fit back into my pre-twin pregnancy pants. I was all ready to sell them, all 10 measly pairs of non-branded pants and jeans of various shades of blues and blacks. They fit. Don't know if this is a good thing, especially since I have no muscle mass, and I think my milk supply is low (getting over a cold as well), and by the way to help LR's eczema (I think I'm helping? Can't tell) For the past three weeks I have not had dairy, soy, wheat, eggs, what else, tomatoes, citrus, so that means no yogurt, coffee with milk or soy milk, ice cream, cereal which I looove (Honey Bunches of Oats), oranges or lemons, cheese my favorite food group! Subway sandwiches! No little glasses of wine here and there because of sulfites. Who knows. Needless to say I am HUNGRY and feeling that I may have to do this for a while until LR's eczema improves which it may or may not and when the weather gets better in April it might go away anyway. I'm just worried that I'm not getting enough nutrition for my milk supply. I've been very good, except for absentmindedly inhaling two large cookies two weeks ago, one week into the "diet" (note: I am NOT dieting. No reason to.). It was just pure instinct.
What else. Oh yes, my hair is thin. I have always had thick hair, black, straight, thick, the kind that could do well in a shampoo commercial. Now? Meh. Limp, thin, no body. Doesn't matter, since it's always in a ponytail anyway. And the lack of thickness keeps me from getting a ponytail headache. Yeah! And the hair is growing back because I see through the pulled-back hair of the ponytail, thousands of little hairs sticking up and out. It is truly a sight to behold. I should get a mullet and be done with it. Then perm it.
And LR has been going to the neighbor's house once a week for the last two weeks. She watches two other children plus her own, but no babies. She is very nice and her kids are great with LR, always trying to make him laugh (a very easy thing to do). I just wish our business was steady so we could afford to use her even three times a week. But the hardest thing to do is get out of the house; once I master that (will I ever?) it's actually just easier to stay home! He goes over there tomorrow, I don't know if I have enough milk to send with him, since my freezer stash of probably five gallons of pumped milk is chock full of possible allergens, I can't use them for a while, but I need to do something with them before they go bad.
So much to do and think about. Some days it's overwhelming, like when LR doesn't take his naps and is consequently overtired and crying, or when I have assignments for work and all he wants to do is not be put down, or nurse till my nipple is floppy in his mouth, I know he's sleeping but when I gently ease it out he complains. It is too cute, watching that chubby face, those big brown eyes, that huge toothless smile, those soft chubby legs.
***
Below is the regimen for LR's eczema, which is mainly affecting both cheeks, his nose (from using us as scratching posts when we burp him), below his lower lids in the outside corners of his eyes. He also has raised pink bumps on the front of his elbows, pink patches in his neck folds, bumps in/on the front of his armpit folds, knee pits, and the outside edge of one wrist, pink raised patches on his upper chest and pink bumps on his torso.
-10 minute bath in nearly warm water, every other day, use Dove soap recommended by derm, only on his neck, armpits, and diaper area. J&J baby shampoo on his head. Sometimes use Gentle Naturals Cradle Cap care to soften the dry pus scales on his head, then comb out during the shampoo. I never get them all or we could be there for hours. Wait till the next bath. Might start daily baths.
-we have a water softener, the water here is hard well water.
-get out of bath and slather Cerave cream all over. LR is allergic to Aveeno.
-apply Aquaphor on trouble spots, over the Cerave.
-if any areas are blistery or angry red, use Alclometasone steroid ointment
-we have Hydroxyzine for the itchiness, but he ends up spitting it out so we haven't used it consistently. It's minty and baby no likey.
-LR was on Keflex/Cephalexin to combat the infected cheeks (though it did nothing for his weepy head), for 10 days, until the 31st. Oh yeah, the 31st was the one year anniversary of my cerclage.
-I've been using a 50/50 mix of apple cider vinegar and water, sprayed on LR's head once a day, for the last four days. It stings him for maybe 20 seconds, though it could be the coldness of the liquid on his head that makes him cry a bit, but it seems to curb the itchiness. He doesn't smell very good. On day 3 his head appeared to be drying up, with some clear spots, that was the same day as a bath, day 4 it looked wetter than day 3, but the clear spots were still clear. I also put Desitin on a fingertip spot on his weepy head after a bath, which the next day didn't show any improvement. Don't know if I should continue to use it.
-LR is swaddled at night to keep him from scratching.
-I apply Cerave and Aquaphor four to five times a day, the steroid ointment on any bright red spots.
-I don't wear any perfume. The body wash I use is fragrance free. My hair is always in a ponytail. Laundry detergent is Tide Free & Clear. Might switch to All Free & Clear once the Tide is low.
Would love any help/advice/suggestions from others who have dealt with something similar. Someone suggested a detox for me and LR but I'm kinda wary about that.
