Since we stopped bathing Oliver every day and switched to every three days, his skin has improved drastically! He no longer has an itchy patch of dry skin between his eyebrows, and he's stopped scratching that area open. Thankfully, less bathing hasn't resulted in more cradle cap, either.
To clarify, the dry, itchy skin on his face was not the eczema concern. The questionable eczema patch started behind his ears, and then the same type of patch appeared on the side of his abdomen. These spots, too, have improved drastically, either from less bathing or from ceasing his yogurt consumption (or both).
Showing posts with label skin. Show all posts
Showing posts with label skin. Show all posts
Friday, June 11, 2010
Friday, June 4, 2010
The Snoozer
For three nights in a row, Oliver slept from roughly 7pm to 4:30am straight. I couldn't believe it! What brought on the change? Your guess is as good as mine. OK, so maybe I have some idea. It seemed to start when we began putting Oliver to bed still awake. Errrr... let me say, for night time, we used to put him to bed slightly awake all the time, and then we did it occasionally. For the last week or so, we've been putting him to bed when he's sleepy, but completely awake.
Back to last night. He woke at 3am. Three o'clock is still OK in my book, but it left Andrew & me baffled. What should we do? Should we let him cry for a while and see if he goes back to sleep until 4:30am? Should I go back to nursing him? Should we try to soothe him in other ways and pick him up, or would that mess up any method of teaching him to put himself to sleep?
I think we did everything wrong! First, we let him cry for about 5 minutes. He wasn't crying hysterically or anything, just fussing. Andrew went in and tried to calm him. It didn't work. After ten minutes, I decided I'd nurse him. I mean, waiting 9 hours between feedings is probably a lot for a little guy. So I nursed him and put him back into bed. He didn't go to sleep. In fact, his crying worsened and got borderline hysterical. I changed his diaper and nursed him again, but he was still freaking out. Was he in pain from teething so much? Was he hot? Was he cold? He seemed fine.
Finally, at 4am, we decided that maybe he just wasn't tired. It was Andrew's turn to deal with a ridiculously early morning, so he got up and grabbed Ollie Bear. No sooner was he down the stairs than Oliver was asleep in his arms. Andrew went back upstairs, he laid Oliver down, and Oliver slept for 45 minutes. He woke up fussing, and we assumed he was up for the day. After 30 minutes of play time with Daddy, though, he fell back asleep and slept until 6:30am.
We're still not sure what the problem was. Heck, maybe it was nothing. After all, Oliver's a baby! But I can't help but worry that he was in pain or something. His skin was a lot worse today. I'm convinced that it is eczema because he's getting scaly patches on his sides and elbows. Also, he's cried in the tub the last three days. He started baby yogurt about a week ago, and I'm going to cut it out of his diet to see if that will help his skin.
Back to last night. He woke at 3am. Three o'clock is still OK in my book, but it left Andrew & me baffled. What should we do? Should we let him cry for a while and see if he goes back to sleep until 4:30am? Should I go back to nursing him? Should we try to soothe him in other ways and pick him up, or would that mess up any method of teaching him to put himself to sleep?
I think we did everything wrong! First, we let him cry for about 5 minutes. He wasn't crying hysterically or anything, just fussing. Andrew went in and tried to calm him. It didn't work. After ten minutes, I decided I'd nurse him. I mean, waiting 9 hours between feedings is probably a lot for a little guy. So I nursed him and put him back into bed. He didn't go to sleep. In fact, his crying worsened and got borderline hysterical. I changed his diaper and nursed him again, but he was still freaking out. Was he in pain from teething so much? Was he hot? Was he cold? He seemed fine.
Finally, at 4am, we decided that maybe he just wasn't tired. It was Andrew's turn to deal with a ridiculously early morning, so he got up and grabbed Ollie Bear. No sooner was he down the stairs than Oliver was asleep in his arms. Andrew went back upstairs, he laid Oliver down, and Oliver slept for 45 minutes. He woke up fussing, and we assumed he was up for the day. After 30 minutes of play time with Daddy, though, he fell back asleep and slept until 6:30am.
We're still not sure what the problem was. Heck, maybe it was nothing. After all, Oliver's a baby! But I can't help but worry that he was in pain or something. His skin was a lot worse today. I'm convinced that it is eczema because he's getting scaly patches on his sides and elbows. Also, he's cried in the tub the last three days. He started baby yogurt about a week ago, and I'm going to cut it out of his diet to see if that will help his skin.
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Teeth for Real This Time?
Oliver hasn't been sleeping well since Friday night. I thought it was from the vaccinations he'd received on Thursday. He slept very well Thursday night but was cranky throughout the day on Friday and cried throughout that night. Saturday night was the same, only he was screaming as well. At 11pm on Saturday, we took Oliver to the ER. To be honest, I was a little reluctant to go at first. What would I say? He didn't have a fever or anything. Still, Oliver is not usually a screamer, and I felt something was wrong.
The pediatrician at the hospital was so nice. I liked her a lot. She checked Oliver everywhere and examined every finger and toe. She was slightly concerned about his skin. She said she's reluctant to diagnose it as eczema yet but that we should keep an eye on it. Ollie's pediatrician had also questioned me on any family history of eczema (Grandma Jo had a mild case, and my sister, Julie, had a mild case). It makes me worry, but it also makes me feel good that neither of them diagnosed him with it. The pediatrician at the hospital said the rash on his body was not hives nor eczema, and it went away shortly after. I think it was from stress because that's what my skin does when I get stressed, too. In the end, she deemed Oliver a healthy baby but told me to come back if he developed a fever or any other new symptoms.
Neither of the pediatricians felt teeth in Oliver, but yesterday (Wednesday), there was a drastic change in his gums. His tooth buds are raised more, and I can see a line in each bud that looks like the top of a tooth. Also, looking at the gums straight on, I can see the outline of teeth (where you and I have our tooth roots). I think the teeth have been coming up slowly throughout the week and bothering him, but that's just speculation.
Today, Oliver woke up at 5:30am crying. He was exhausted and kept rubbing his eyes, but he wouldn't go back to sleep. He spent the morning crabby and tired, but he wouldn't go to sleep. Finally, at 7:30am, we gave him some infant Tylenol (don't worry; it's not the recalled lot), and he's been sleeping ever since.
I hope it's teeth because, if it's not, there's definitely something bothering him. If he doesn't have teeth by Monday and is still crabby, I'm going to call his pediatrician and have her check him out again.
The pediatrician at the hospital was so nice. I liked her a lot. She checked Oliver everywhere and examined every finger and toe. She was slightly concerned about his skin. She said she's reluctant to diagnose it as eczema yet but that we should keep an eye on it. Ollie's pediatrician had also questioned me on any family history of eczema (Grandma Jo had a mild case, and my sister, Julie, had a mild case). It makes me worry, but it also makes me feel good that neither of them diagnosed him with it. The pediatrician at the hospital said the rash on his body was not hives nor eczema, and it went away shortly after. I think it was from stress because that's what my skin does when I get stressed, too. In the end, she deemed Oliver a healthy baby but told me to come back if he developed a fever or any other new symptoms.
Neither of the pediatricians felt teeth in Oliver, but yesterday (Wednesday), there was a drastic change in his gums. His tooth buds are raised more, and I can see a line in each bud that looks like the top of a tooth. Also, looking at the gums straight on, I can see the outline of teeth (where you and I have our tooth roots). I think the teeth have been coming up slowly throughout the week and bothering him, but that's just speculation.
Today, Oliver woke up at 5:30am crying. He was exhausted and kept rubbing his eyes, but he wouldn't go back to sleep. He spent the morning crabby and tired, but he wouldn't go to sleep. Finally, at 7:30am, we gave him some infant Tylenol (don't worry; it's not the recalled lot), and he's been sleeping ever since.
I hope it's teeth because, if it's not, there's definitely something bothering him. If he doesn't have teeth by Monday and is still crabby, I'm going to call his pediatrician and have her check him out again.
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