My Love is 11 months old!

What's my 11 month old up to these days?

• curious about a lot of things, lots of hand gestures and sometimes pointing towards an object and says "ayyyyy" or "ohhhhh"
• loves the toilet paper roll
• he really enjoys going on his belly and looking for stuff under big furniture (ie. the couch) so i just drop stuff under there and he gets them ...and then he drops it again to see where it goes, watches it come back, and then retrieves it again 
• he's finally noticing (not just looking) things above him and things that surround him like photos, decals, lights
• he's got mild patches of eczema throughout (thanks Winter!), he's been getting daily applications of Aquaphor and so far under control
• footless sleepers! size 12-18months for tops and 6-12 months for bottoms, size 3 Pampers cruisers
• he can turn his walker on his own and even do a full 360
• sleeping from 8pm and waking up sometime between 6-745am (towards the latter part of his 10th month he's been sleeping 8pm-730am with no feeds or wakeups overnight)
• 2 naps a day, first nap 2-2.5hours after waking up and he can go about 4 hours awake until the next nap. Average length 1.25hours
• still naps in my arms, i LOVE our special time together, so though not the best thing for someone who has to go back to work, im not in a panic to change this yet
• he used to enjoy me throwing (in the lightest sense of the word) him up in the air and catching him, now he gets frightened

                        

 

• 3 breastfeeds a day, 3 solids a day and sometimes he gets a snack (i think his favorite food are bananas, he can eat the whole thing in one sitting just cut in half)
• he's a good eater but needs to be on my lap and me pretending to eat it if it's a new food item
• he does not like goats milk ...tried it just after 10.5months and he's not into it at all
• loves watching birds fly
• cries when men he doesnt know interact with him, but not so with women 9/10 times
• developed a separation anxiety with husband, but only when we're grocery shopping and he's on the cart. even if im in front of him, he's still wants Gene
• can crawl while holding onto something or pushing his cars
• sometimes walking or cruising with one hand! a few times ive caught him standing on his own without support and then he drops to the ground
• super clingy with me just after waking up, he needs to be carried/held for quite a bit
• if im not making eye contact with him, he pulls on my pant leg and holds on to my leg jumping and escalating until he's picked up
• lots of high pitched squeals and shrieks when happy, excited, and having fun
• shares everything but doesnt always let go of it (he'll offer someone his food, but just let their mouths touch it and then he eats it) 
• shy around new situations and doesnt really interact with other babies in groups. sometimes he's even scared of other babies and will cry
• able to do partial waves but not always on queue (think open your hand and drop finger each down to make a loose fist
• you know that pampers commercial where the baby is moving chairs and other furniture around? yep that's what Max is doing
• about 21.5lbs, 2 upper 2 lower teeth (i can see two more coming in the upper part, but they haven't cut through the gums yet)
• arms up when wants to be picked up or just held 
• i just need to lean in and i get kisses kisses kisses! (ok open mouthed wet kisses)

• he took his first steps on December 17th at approx 6pm! Since then, he's been able to walk 3-4 steps and stand up on his own for like 10 seconds or so. he wont do it on command (naturally) but instead suprises us by either ditching the walker and just going to walk or ditching a toy and coming to us a few steps away!

crappy quality video with even worse lighting!

Current schedule +/- 30 minutes

745am wakeup and feed

10 am nap

1115 am wakeup and breakfast

2pm lunch

245pm breastfeed and 2nd nap

430pm wakeup

530pm dinner

630pm snack

730pm bedtime routine and breastfeed

8pm in bed, lights out, hopefully asleep

Celebrating 6 months!

Wow! We're at the 6 month mark! What an incredible journey it has been for Max and I (and husband). as strange as it may sound, just recently did i feel the actual beauty of life created. Sure I knew 1 egg + 1 sperm = baby, but this was just scientific vocabulary to me. But now, when I look at Max, I just am AMAZED at how 1 egg and 1 sperm became this growing human being.  I'm not going to get all religious on anyone, but this miracle and beauty cannot be explained by science alone! 

Whats Maxiboy like these days? 

- temperament: love how he's laughing at things he finds amusing or when he's having fun

  he's definitely playing around with how sounds feel in his mouth. Lots of high pitched squeals again and long vowel sounds

  some moderate separation anxiety. My parents and sister have first hand experiences with his   

 escalated cries. I honestly can't leave for more than 5 minutes without him getting upset

  smiles at the first moment he sees me, i LOVE this (trade off for the separation anxiety)

  short attention span, easily distracted (hard for breastfeeding, even nursing cover doesn't help)

  gets pretty upset lately when he knows he's confined to the carseat. soothers are always necessary

- motor/ mobility: with some help getting into position, he can stay sitting up on his own! (pillows   

  around him when/if he tips over)

  turns 360 on his belly, whatever direction he wants with intention. he can move backwards, but  

  not forwards yet

  bending knees while on tummy...ready to lunge forward but not doing so. crawling in no time!

  rolls from back to tummy A LOT, but hasn't figured out that another option is tummy to back when    

  he's uncomfortable...although he can do this.

  reaches for things he wants

  raised the jumperoo to level 2

  can take pacifier out of his mouth. also able to put it back but not correctly, Pincer grasp pending for 

  some baby led weaning

  so restless on the crib, i can lie him in the centre, and if i spend enough time watching he's covered the 

  entire surface area with his exploring and crawling

  grabbing at his feet and more high kicks. i think his legs are too chubs for him to put his feet in mouth

  can be pretty difficult to get clothes and diapers on him as always wants to turn on the change table,   

  can't stay still

  

- eczema: mild dry patches on his scalp, I'm using his eczema oil less frequently than before but at least he's still scratching without drawing blood. 

 no further outbreaks on his face, but his back and torso seems to get it now. I'm keeping him  

 moisturized with Eucerin's Aquaphor, his face moisturized with the calendula cream and if it's a really 

 bad patch, then i go to the hydrocortisone. when he sweats, he breaks out on his body.

- sleep: bedtime is at 830pm and his body knows it. he wakes up at around 12am and 4am-ish and I   

 nurse him. maybe he just IS hungry as he's always eating, or he just needs to comfort that is Mom. 

 He starts struggling to stay asleep around 530am and that's about the time when i bring him into bed   

 with me, pop a soother in briefly to calm him down and just so he doesn't escalate and he eventually 

 spits it out. we co-sleep until wake up time 7am. Next nap 830 am.

 I've been putting him down awake when i see the first signs of sleepiness and he manages to put 

 himself to sleep with the occasional cries for help

 sleeps on his belly in odd positions

 naps have improved from the old 30-45minutes pattern to, 45-2 hours pattern!

 the longest he's stayed up is 4 hours, but the longest he's stayed up and is still happy was 3 hours

general: #3 pampers cruisers

still loves the sound and feel of water - whether it's running water, or pool, or his bathtub

lots of yummy chubs

very easily entertained/distracted by Moe the cat's movements

hair grabbing

lots of pinching (OW)

sucking his thumb when he feels the need to soothe himself

Oh so many changes! I honestly can't name them all. I think this last month was the biggest in change that i've seen...or I'm getting enough sleep that i can actually pay attention without looking at life in a sleep deprived daze. who knows what i mean? hehe

Little Man is 5 months!

My little man is 5 months old now! Woot!

So many changes in him that it's hard to name each one...hmmm..

• the eczema has i think migrated to his scalp...so he's been drawing blood every now and then when he's scratching his head. he loves doing this when he's very frustrated, really wants to sleep and i haven't clued in, and even in his sleep. it's particularly localized on the left side of his head so he sleeps with a sock on that hand
• eyes are grey brown
• awesome double chin which sadly is pooling a lot of the spit up so he's got a rash under there despite my vigilance in keeping the site dry. i've been putting a lot of cornstarch lately to keep the moisture down
• i don't know how to describe it but he just seems bigger, solid, firmer this month. clothes he wore last week, don't really fit this week...one of those type of changes before my very eyes. i thought it was laundry shrinkage but they've been washed so many times and the collar on some of the clothes are like mid sternum area and the snaps at the bottom of his onesies are kind of hard to connect! still in 3-6 month clothing though, but realistically on the top end of that spectrum
• he loves chewing on his hands, and definitely are now a source of comfort though it doesn't always pull through. when he's crying, i see those fingers go in his mouth instantly. at night, i hear sucking sounds at times
• i think he's in the preliminary stage of becoming a full fledged thumb sucker. i saw that the thumb in his mouth last night. it was cute, i didn't stop him
• he had a stage of doing high pitched squeals which i loved, but that only lasted a couple of weeks
• he finally has taken to the rainforest Jumperoo. he spins around in it discovering all the toys, and jumps like crazy. he no longer needs my nursing textbook under him to reach the ground, but still needs a little height as his toes to mid foot are solidly on the floor. i think it's bad though to jump on tip toes right? can't be good for feet development
• still loving the jolly jumper, still on link 8, and less puking when on it
• not spitting up as much
• hasn't rolled from back to belly but very close. still temperamental when rolling from belly to back
• i think he likes tummy time, he can stay in that position for over 10 minutes playing with his toys
• definitely grasping at stuff (like my hair) and can hold on to his toys 
• so easily distracted while breastfeeding, i have to go into a quiet semi-darkened room when feeding. doesn't feed as well when I'm in the mall using a nursing cover, but enough to last an hour or so
• sleep ....separate post
• giggles are here and it's easier to get them out of him but again, whats funny last hour isn't always funny the next hour
• doesn't stay asleep long in his carseat anymore...once motion stops, he's awake (boo)
• when in crib or bed, he lifts his legs up in the air and slams them on the mattress multiple multiple times
• even though he still turns his head side to side often, his bald spot is improving, flat spot not getting worse
• #3 diapers in the next two weeks!

next month food!

Looking good

We had a pediatric dermatologist appointment on May 15th and it went well. Of course on the day of the appointment, Max's skin was the BEST it had ever looked and well, im just glad that I took some pictures during the height of his breakout to show the experts what I was talking about without having to describe it. However, they just needed to see Max's cradle cap, feel his dry skin patches on his body, and see the odd non facial red patch to diagnose him as having seborrheic dermatitis on his scalp and atopic dermatitis on his body. Essentially just fancy words for eczema.

They prescribed this scalp oil called Derma-smoothe/Fs aka Fluocinolone Acetonide Topical Oil 0.01% for his scalp and said to use it prn to make him more comfortable. I was of course hesitant as all babies get cradle cap and eventually grow out of it right? but the the specialist said based on the scratch marks on his head, it would stop the itch and make him more comfortable. Also that this scalp oil was prn so i don't have to use it all the time, just when i notice that he's scratching his head plenty again. I THINK this has a steroid in it. I used it twice and his cradle cap is all gone. If the dry scalp comes back, I will probably use this if he starts scratching and bleeding again, but so far...there's small flaky scalp patches, but no further scratching.

For his face and body, they prescribed hydrocortisone 2.5% in aquaphor. To bathe him daily and apply cream to affected areas. I used it hesitantly for 3 nights and his face is all clear and body baby soft as it should be. YAY! But let me emphasize how hesitant i was to use the hydrocortisone especially since his skin cleared up 98% with the emollients i was using. Right now, we are just water bathing him for a few minutes as part of a night routine, still on his probiotics, and im still using the same california baby and aveeno cream. The prescription was really vague and even the pharmacy who made it didn't give me an clear cut answer. with all the stuff i've been reading about undertreating eczema and for it to come back once the steroids were stopped, i wasn't sure how i was supposed to use this cream...

use until i no longer see a rash? (gone in 1 day)
use until i no longer feel a rash (gone in max 3 days)
use until the container is done? (it's a big container)

I chose the "until i no longer see and feel a rash route." We have a follow up appointment in July.
I'm still not convinced that hydrocortisone is the best route if this is a chronic issue (which i hope it isnt). The doctor did explain the benefits of treating with the cortisone...blah blah blah..went way over my head, but it had something to do with "you don't need to use as much if you use it right." She also did say that his skin inbetween flareups was great, so this may just be something he'll grow out of but we won't know until that does happen. I still have no idea what caused it though! Ugh! Is it wrong to be in the medical field and not be comfortable with what the doctors are prescribing? At work, i freely (yet critically) give out so many meds and tell patients how important it is to comply...yet in my own world, it's a different story.

Agony = sleep training

After not sleeping well for the last month and a half (by not sleeping well, I mean waking up q2-3hrs a night for various reasons and me taking an hour to get back to sleep after almost every waking), I've decided to start sleep training Max. I think he's ready. He definitely has gone 7 hrs without waking approx 5 days before his first set of shots, and looking at the weight he's been gaining, I think he has plenty of reserves.

As I'm writing this, I'm on night 3 of the Sleepeasy method. Yes, a form of crying out (don't judge), but we'll see what happens. It is definitely hard as i sleep in the same room as him, so im listening to him cry under the covers. AGONY! Believe me, during the day he gets LOTS of hugs and kisses. Plus, he still gives me the biggest smiles once he sees me in the morning.

I feel guilty, but I also don't...as he needs to learn, and plus, besides the odd freak in the work place, can you really tell what sleep training method was used amongst your own coworkers when they were infants?
Nope. I doubt baby will think I'm no longer there for him.

I've been logging each day to see our progress, I will definitely share it after week 1!

Below is Max, taken today, his skin much much improved. I've been using the calendula cream on his breakouts and continuing the probiotics...so far it is under control!

It's not over

Ok, so just when I think things are under control, I look at max's forehead under a diff light and I get THIS! Ugh!

Yesterday his skin was amazing...now, WTF?! The mystery continues...

- detergent? He loves rubbing his face on my shoulder but is that the cause or was he itchy hence why rubbing his face?
- I ate yogurt again after a few days of not, but I've been using milk with my cereal
- I had 2 Reese's cups in 3 days
- the shirt I was wearing wasn't newly washed

Any detergent recommendations?

98% better

Anyone else having issues with blogger? I can sign in but it doesn't show a dashboard...a blank page instead, how annoying. I'm typing this on the iPad blogger app...yay for technology!

It has been 1 week since I took maxs face pic...and as you see from below, his face is SO MUCH BETTER! The tide turned on April 16th when I was fed up and subsequently blogged.so that day, I just washed his face with plain water and after a few seconds of towel patting to dry, I just slapped on the aveeno eczema to trap the moisture in.

I saw an immediate change the next day...something that caused major hope and weight lifted off my shoulders! By the 19th, all that was left was a welt like line from ear to his eyes area which was stubborn and would flare up when he got upset. The GP told me to apply zinc (penaten) on it and see what would happen. She made the referral to the ped dermatologist as I told her it would be easier to cancel than wait for another appointment.

I put on zinc on a small patch as I don't really know what's in those creams as I only had a sample container. The next day the small patch was better in color but still raised slightly. I was happy with it but was still waiting for my calendula cream.

Last night I finally received it and slathered it on his face after being swaddled so he wouldn't rub it off. I also said to myself my fav phrase for patients who won't sleep, "sleep is a part of healing." it's true! Well anyhow the pics are of his face today...what a frickin miracle!

I still don't know what caused it as it can't be dietary. I haven't changed anything about what I ate and still use the same laundry soap. My conclusion right now is that when I blasted the heat in the bedroom, it dried out a protective barrier on his face and with that compromised his skin barrier letting in whatever that proliferated on his face. By washing his face and applying the emollient, I created a moist environment that allowed healing and renourishing of his largest organ. What do you think of that? LOL

So for now I wouldn't say he's completely cured. I'm not even sure if this is a regimen I'm going to maintain for as long as possible. But for now, I'm keeping with the probiotics, calendula at night before bed and aveeno during the day for that extra kick.

My little love is 3 months old tomorrow!

My beautiful baby boy will be 3 months tomorrow, i almost can't believe it!

april 16th - the height of the eczema? or allergy? breakout. erythematous skin

Despite how his skin is right now, he remains to be a happy bouncing baby. I love this little one to bits and there is no doubt in my mind that him and i have truly bonded like no other.  Im not sure how much he weighs or how much longer he's become, but he has definitely changed right before my eyes without me really REALLY noticing it. thank God that my dad loves taking videos with his digi cam! i love watching Max's first month on the screen and comparing with not only how much he's grown, but the changes in his demeanor...especially his cries!  LOVE WATCHING them! Unfortunately, my dad hasnt been a fan of taking videos/pics right now because he "doesnt want Max to see his face like this" in the future. I understand, but I also don't! I must take my own vids to savor these moments

Let's do a head to toe assessment shall we?

Head: max still has cradle cap, or at least dry flaky skin on his scalp without the yellow crustiness most of the time. we are using the baking soda paste mixture to clear that up once or twice a week and it works but it comes back. his hair has grown and it looks like a nice acorn-ish colored brown. he has a minor flat spot at the back of his head, as well as a bald spot hahaa. i think that's normal? well im not really that concerned at this moment

Cries: I hear a lot of "neh" cries, grunt/constipated/frustrated type of cries, and i can definitely distinguish his cry if he was in pain or hurt. i havent mastered it yet, but when he's crying for no obvious reason, i conclude that it's the "nap time" cry. whoever said that distinguishing a baby's cry was easy must have a special gift...as it ISNT!

Skin: blast you eczema! however, on the night of april 16th i washed his face and immediately applied the aveeno cream. and it got better by 60% in my opinion the next day! like the inflammation of his forehead is nearly gone but the patches on the side of his face are still there but not as raised or angry. we have the GP appt tomorrow so hopefully i can get some more insight. my calendula cream hasnt arrived yet...im eagerly waiting to apply this on those stubborn patches! right now, it looks like Max was in a UFC fight and he got hit on the sides of the face. awwwww. he's also got this rash around his mouth, i dont know if this is correlated with increased saliva and the use of the pacifier...it bothers me but it isnt spreading or looking angry like the other patches on his face.

april 18 (see the marked improvement? flash shows everything!)



Eyes: still grey/blue. long lashes. adorable and heartmelting

Mouth: he's doing a lot of tongue rolling and drooling of saliva. he's also learned to pout, and it is so so adorable

Body: i love his chunky but not fat build. he's definitely firm! i LOVE holding him when he's naked and about to get into the bath. he is just so small and pillowy soft and totally kissable

communication: he wakes up, takes a one second look at me and smiles. I LOVE IT. we also have conversations with each other every now and then...most of his coos are extended vowel sounds...love it! love it love it! he's also got giggles starting...i wouldnt say they're full on giggles...but a couple of beats every now and then. can it say it again? LOVE IT!

Muscle strength: he hasnt really rolled over to his back consistently yet, but he has. it's coming. i can definitely see a marked length of time and increased degree of back arch when he has tummy time. his face does still smash on the ground though...awwww. but he can sit up and it appears he's holding his head. a work in progress though as i cant see his neck the entire time..still tilting forward.

arms: i love his forearms, they're massive. i wonder if he'll have popeye-like forearms when he's older like Gene? they're again, so kissable. i love it when he holds his superman position with one arm straight out and the other bent...you know what i mean. i love it!

hands: i also love his hands. i think they're my favorite part of his body. he loves sticking his hands in his mouth and just sucking on them. i know it's part of discovery, and i feel kind of bad for putting socks on them so he won't scratch his face off. i dont think a few days or a few weeks will affect his learning right? nah...he gets breaks from the socks anyways. I also love it when he's sleeping and he has his hands stretched out in a "talk to the hand" type of motion. he used to do it a lot when he was startled in his sleep, but now it's fading or rather not occuring as often. it's hard to capture it at the time as im scrambling for a camera.

april 4th

Legs: he still does a lot of the frog leg stances, especially when on the changing table. im sure his legs will stretch out eventually. he loves pretend walking..so im getting plenty of bicep workouts.

night Sleep: his bedtime is around 10-1030pm. he wakes up at 4am like clockwork to feed, then goes back to sleep until 7am. sometimes i get lucky and he goes back to sleep until 830, instantly. and sometimes i have to take him in the bed with me and just let him make the noise and hopefully find inspiration to go BACK to sleep.  He was waking up 2-3 times a night from march 21st to about april 2nd, so im OK with this 4am feedtime and waking up again when it's light out. for both nap and night sleep, ive let him fall asleep on his own...mind you sometimes he has the pacifier in his mouth, but he can fall asleep on his own 8/10 times. thank goodness!!

nap sleep: i finally figured out that babies need a lot of naps. Max gets fussy after being awake and stimulated for 2 hours so we're on a continuous loop from 0830-1030 of wake up ...play ...eat....nap...wake up...play ....eat...nap. sometimes it's eat-play-snack-nap. whatever, im going with the flow. so for those that are wondering, he get's about 4 naps a day with the last wake up time at 830 pm so his night sleep isnt screwed over...i wish they were longer but they're often 45 minutes long when not in car seat, or 1-4 hours long when in carseat. i dread the day when he no longer fits in the car seat as it's my crutch for those times like tonight when i have time and free hands to do some blogging!

how to sleep: max NEEDS to be swaddled to go to sleep. ive picked up the summer infant swaddleme for his naps during the day and continue to use the Halo swaddle/sleepsack for the night.  why the difference? honestly, it was just the price. the swaddlme was on sale whereas the Halo swaddler is expensive. Im also finding it annoying to unzip him everytime he wakes up (Halo) and with the swaddleme, it's just an open the wings and the leg flap. easy breezy!

GI/GU:  voiding well...lots of golden showers! haha. Poops every other day as always. it's been a week since i started the probiotics..so we'll see.

As for me, I remain the same in my opinion. Still pigging out but trying not to. it's not like im eating like im pregnant, but i just want those superstore "muffins" every time i go there. i dont know why...and im there 2-3x a week. tsk tsk! i finally have some funds to buy something for myself, and did so without feeling guilty. it's easier now that all the first-time-mom stuff has been bought and used so there's really nothing huge i need to buy or can't buy off of craigslist.

What do you all think of the exersaucer? it's not a great space saver that's for sure. i wonder if it can keep Max occupied? I need some hands free time, and he's not loving the ergo as much right now- nor am i as i want his skin to breathe for now. hmmmm...we'll see.

blast you eczema!! argh!!

So if you can't really tell from the title of this post, im quite pissed off-frustrated-disheartened as to what is going on with Max's face. I HATE IT!

april 7

Here's little Maxeroo with a mild forehead and temple rash, nothing major...i think i took this picture just to get an upside down shot, not because i was overly concerned with it. At this time we were doing renovations already ...i wonder if that aggravated something?

Well we started renos on March 31st, and according to my agenda, i started noticing a skin issue on April 4th. hmmmm...

Anyhow, i started Aveeno eczema cream to his face on April 9th after being told by countless number of people and even on forums how awesome it was for eczema. His forehead, by this time, was angry and in nursing terms, i would describe as "red, angry, raised." so what the heck, i used it. At this time (april 16th), it's only done so-so. maybe improved it by max 5%.  I was previously using just regular aveeno but i was told eczema needed an emollient based moisturizer- and that meant "water" wasn't the first ingredient.

Of course i went to the doctor, twice in fact...two walk in clinics cuz I was being impatient and needed solutions. The first walk in, i was given the term "seborrheic" which makes sense after most of the pictures I saw. but that doctor gave me a steroid cream rx, which i didn't and haven't filled.  I went to another walk in around  last weds just for a second opinion. he said he didn't think a steroid cream was necessary just yet, just watch it, and he gave me a sample of Spectro Eczema cream which again, i haven't used, mainly because there's no indication of whats in the medication on the box, the tube, or the instruction/advertisement manual. super weird!

Between the two doctors, i searched countless hours on forums and talked with people and some sage advice that I did listen to was start Max on some probiotics. I asked the 2nd walk in clinic doctor about it, he didn't think it was necessary (evidence based) but i didn't really listen to him, and bought it anyways...honestly, the only thing that would've kept me from buying it was if he had said, "no, it can harm him." but alas, after that appt, we went to whole foods and bought a bottle.

I chose Udo's due to the fact that it was a strong consensus that it was awesome. Right now it indicates "Toddler" on the  bottle just because it was approved by Canada-something and with that, they had to take away the made-for-infant type of vocabulary probably for liability reasons. Whatever! It's the same everything as it was previously minus the new label. I started Max on it on April 12th. The dosage was for 1/4tsp 1-3x daily, but i just have him on 1/8tsp once a day just to watch what's going on. He hates it, he gags, but maybe it's because im using a spoon to give it to him vs. a dropper.  A silver spoon just seems more sanitary...what do you think?! I dissolve it in some breastmilk and spoon feed it every morning, but cautious as to not connect it with breastfeeding. Just a standalone morning med.  My rationale for using this was it may improve his immune system, it'll introduce good bacteria into his gut and possibly prevent food allergies/reactions/sensitivities...i dont know. something natural!

Because i wasn't sure how much probiotics were in breastmilk, or at least how much was passed on...i also have started to increase my intake of probiotics via yogourt consumption. Im happy to find a yogourt that actually taste good! Love the balkan style yogourt!!

i got french vanilla ...i think it was 5% milk fat. awesome!

Though this is yummy, im not going to buy a whole case of it because maybe Max has a senstivity to dairy? and this obviously is a dairy product.  The only foods i know i've eaten "a lot" this last couple of weeks are shellfish via mussels and clams, some fish via salmon sandwiches and rainbow trout feasts, and well ...that's really it. UGH!!! The frustration! Im cutting myself off of fish and shellfish as of today and see what happens in a couple of weeks.

first thing in the morning dryness

yep, i would consider this patch as having gotten bigger in the last 2 days

It definitely bothers ME more than it does Max. Damn you eczema for "disfiguring" my little boy! ARGH! currently, it's located down the sides of face, forehead, eyelids with right worse than left, and that's IT (thank God). I wouldn't say he scratches like mad, he definitely rubs his eyes, and if it bothered him more, i think he would have a bleeding scratched up face right now which he doesnt. just extra dry patches.

Right now, im waiting for the California Baby Calendula Cream, which i've also heard does wonders.  Of course, just to make things harder, i had to get my mother in law to bring it/send it up as it's not available in canada. WTF?  I've also got an appt with Max's real GP this thurs. More posts to come.

can i just say one more time how frustrating this is? ARGH! Im really thankful though that it is just on Max's face. and although it's possibly one of the worst possible spots, it's not EVERYWHERE and I pray it won't get that far. Im also thankful that Max still wakes up every morning, takes a quick look at me and has the biggest smile imaginable...makes me even more determined to find something to help him. I guess one would call this the essence of motherhood- when you will do anything and spend copious amounts of money on products that you may use for no longer than 1 week,  just to help your baby!

Full plate

Ok so our crazy DIY renos finished yesterday! With the exception of insults thrown back and forth, Gene and I survived yet another project. If you really want a true test of your relationship, honestly, do a renovation! We have done plenty before but now with time not on our side and 1/2 a helper (me) cuz of baby...boy oh boy! I don't know how couples can say they "love it"- they're either just always on the same mind path (that's just swell), or one is always the boss or yes man, or they actually are just choosing what needs to be done vs. having to actually do the work and be stuck together for long periods of time in cramped messy quarters! Ok, enough rambling hehe


Poor little Max is experiencing a large outbreak of eczema. I think I saw patches here and there about a week and a half ago but I think I woke up and was like "WTF is that rash on his face?" It is reddened, some parts pimply looking some are more clustered, down both sides of his cheeks like sideburns, around eyebrows and some on eyelids, all over forehead and temple area extending to scalp. I'm not sure if he is itchy but it looks itchy. He isn't scratching per say but rubbing his eyes and usual face rubs like before. Hmmmm....not sure what caused it as with most eczema cases:

Did I use too much heat and dried out his skin?
Was it because of his immature immune system?
Were we wearing something that caused this?
Did he rub his face on our clothing that had crud on it from renos?


Did I eat something wrong? Am I eating something wrong?

So many questions not enough answers! Currently prescribed some steroid cream but I didn't fill the rx. Seeing how aveeno eczema will affect this...