Getting her groove on! [and other news]

So Popcorn will be 5 month old this week. Where did the time go?  A few months ago, she was a non-mobile newborn baby lump. Now she's a drooly, wiggly infant.  She has been diligently working on the physics of motion and is now able to get herself where she wants to be.  She has several manuevers, each of which works to a varying degree.

 The Roll is her signature move.   She rocks back and forth a few times, then uses the momentum to turn herself over. This is very effective, except when she gets her arm stuck under her.

She is working on the Booty Scooty, wherein she raises her butt-parts up and uses her feet to scoot forward.  The downside is the dragging of her face across the blanket.

Her latest move is the Flipper. It's more of a method of turning that utilizes a much smaller turning base.
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In other news, Astronaut is enjoying 6th grade and the iPad that comes with it. He had is first school dance this past Friday and missed it. He was trying so hard to be nonchalant that he got the time mixed up. Poor kid.  I worry about him having friends.  He's kind of introverted and it could be perceived as unfriendliness.

Princess is doing fantabulous, being in 4th grade and the oldest of the crew in elementary school. She has been selected to function as a :"tour guide" for community members who visit the school.  Awesome sauce.

Squirrel got her assistant from last year as her teacher from this year. That rocks!  Her eczema is still widely flaring. We finally were able to get a referral to a new allergist and, as I suspected, she developed new allergies.  Her list is now
Severe: Peanuts and tree nuts
Mild: dairy, eggs-new, dust, dogs, mold-new, cockroaches-new
Fun. And by fun, I mean absolutely no fun at all.  The good news is I am seeing improvement since we cut the eggs. She still looks like she's wearing an eczema suit, though.

Side Salad goes to schools starting this Friday. I cannot wait!  He is super excited about.it. Okay, TTFN. I need to catch some ZZZZs, but before I go:

I knew you'd like it.

My Squirrel is going NUTS , and it's not funny

My sweet girl

So my sweet six year old Squirrel's eczema is currently flaring with a rampage, the likes of which we haven't seen since she was a little baby and had to be wrapped in gauze like an infant mummy.  We've been to the doctors multiple times this summer.  She's also had cellulitis and a fungal infection as a result of it.  We've been to the pediatrician, the ER, and the dermatologist, and have another dermatologist and allergist visit coming up.  At the beginning of summer she was on two antibiotics (Keflex and Bactrim, I think), Cutivate, Atarax (to control the itching), desonide, and DermaSoothe. The antibiotics were just for 10 days.  The derm took her off everything and prescribe griseofluvin, fluocinolone acetonide, and prednisone.

My baby is going bonkers.

She is literally out of her mind right now and I am at my wit's end. Prednisone has some funky side effects on your head-mood swings, irritability, depression, difficulty sleeping, chills-and she's feeling all of them.  The stuff in her head is the worst.  You can't say boo to the poor baby with out her bursting into tears.  Case in point, This is a conversation that took place yesterday.

Me: Those socks don't match. Take them off and I'll find you some matching ones. (SN: one sock was yellow with "Monday" in magenta and the other was white with an aqua toe and heel and lime green polka dots.  And they belonged to Princess)Squirrel:  >bursts into tears<
Me: Why are you crying?
Squirrel: Because you told me to take of the sooooooooccccckkkkkksssssss

I'm not exaggerating. That's verbatim. Here's another example from today.

Me:  Come on, sweetie. Let met me do your hair. You can bring your [philly] ice with you. (SN: normally, I do not allow them to eat outside the kitchen. I was letting her eat in my room)
Squirrel: >bursts into tears<
Me: Why are you crying?
Squirrel: I don't knnnnnoooooowwwwww
Me: Okay, well, I'm not mad at you. Try to calm down.  Here, give me a hug.
Squirrel: >still crying< I don't want to hug yoooooooouuuuuuuuu
Me: Uh, that's okay. You don't have to hug me.  It's okay.
Squirrel: >sniff, sniff< Okay >bursts into fresh tears<
Me: Wait,why are you crying again?
Squirrel: Because I coughed on you earlieeeeerrrrrrrrrr!
Me, in my Pooh voice: Oh, bother.

I don't know how much more of this I can take. She is literally crying for everything, and I mean everything.  Eating, drinking, sitting, standing, laying down, getting dressed, taking baths, putting on jammies, putting on socks, taking off socks, getting in the car, being hugged, not being hugged, because it's hot, because it's cold, because there are gnats/flies, etc.  She is so....hypersensitive and it's making me edgy.  I can barely sleep.  On top of that, school starts soon and I barely have any milk pumped. I only pump 4-6 oz at a time and I can't see to get on a pump schedule.  The only thing that relaxes me is nursing Popcorn.

I'm getting off topic a bit.  The point is, prednisone is not going well for us and we still have 3 another day of it. Her skin still looks bad.  Plus, it suppress your immune system and I think she has cellulitis again.

I'll update you on her later. Oh, and Side Salad needed a breathing treatment last week. He may have allergic asthma, probably to ragweed. Last year, he ended up in the hospital for about 3 days. This time, I recognized the symptoms (wheezing, retraction, breathing around his words) and took him for treatment immediately. We were home in less than 2 hours. Bully for us.

In happy news, Popcorn is 4 months old and rolling like a wheel. She's getting efficient at it, understanding the need to build up momentum by rocking back and forth first.  She's also sitting some.

The Sulfur....Cure?

More expensive stuff-$15 an ounce

Yesterday, I went to the Vitamin Shoppe and got the sulfur and also some uritica urens for Squirrel. I got the Biorons brand ($6.99 each) and the girl gave me a sample of Peaceful Mountain Eczema Rescue homeopathic gel.  The gel is opaque and reddish, like a red clay mud.  I gave her 3 uritica urens (she had a few bites of orange sherbet at school today and uritica urens is indicated for rashes due to skin allergies) and 3 sulfur about 30-45 minutes later.  I rubbed on a bit of the gel on her to alleviate her itchies. I didn't want to give her everything at once, but the milk in the sherbet was a surprise and needed to be addressed.

The uritica urens was a one time shot. It's only being used as needed. Let me add that after using it, she didn't have her using crippling stomach ache from eating no-no foods.  I'll let you know if I have to repeat this in the future.

This is the regime that I will be using:

• 3 Sulfur 30c twice a day (morning and evening) NPO 15 minutes before or after
• Calendula oil or olive oil after baths
• Exederm cream for moisturizing (I have to reorder so it will be a coupe of days till we resume this one) 

I will continue to blog daily (or every other day) and I am also following another mama whose baby girl is in the same plight. Dawn at Everything Birth is chronicling the same treatment.  When I read her blog, I really felt her pain. I remember when Squirrel was a baby and then a toddler. I too wish she'd hurry up and grow up so she'd understand that scratching was bad.  It's like I couldn't enjoy her babyhood because I wanted her out of it. I got a little teary because even though she's older, she can't help but scratch. 

 This is how her skin looked today, day two of her treatment.

Less dryness and much more even toned

Less peeling, still very dry 

Still scaly, no peeling

Still dry and peely

Still peely and scaly

It's still scaly and dry but less so. Her legs look pretty rough but that's also because she insists on wearing these pants that are like windsuit pants lined with fleece. They look hot.  That heat and rubbing won't allow her skin to repair itself.  Remember, this is a 6 1/2 year old.  She has to have some autonomy.

Squirrel says that her skin feels softer and that it itches less. I noticed that she's been touching her skin as opposed to scratching.  Her neck looks more like a child and less like an old woman.  Her mood is much, much better. She's smiling and laughing as opposed to yelling and whining. There's no screaming at her siblings. My baby feels better.



Have we found the cure?  I'll keep you posted!

The Sulfur Treatment

So I know I've mentioned that Squirrel has severe eczema.  We've been working for years to find something that works for her. Of course, the first line of attack was steroids, but they had little to no effect.  She was on DermaSoothe at 2 years old, off label due to the severity of her condition.  But those types of prescriptions have side effects. Steriods can cause temporary lightening of the skin, something my daughter experienced. It also causes permanent thinning of the skin and changes to the blood vessels. Skin is also more easily bruised and infected.  Squirrel's been on antibiotics for that, too.

Currently, her skin is "not that bad," which is a relative term. Our "not that bad" means that she is not bleeding or oozing. She is super dry and a bit peel-y. I took these pics on her left side.

Elbow

Wrist and hand

Ankle and foot

Knee

But still smiling!

Recently, we've been trying to treat her with non-prescription, homeopathic therapies.  After much experimentation, we've found Exederm, a line of hypoallergenic skin care.  She's been responding very well to it.

After we apply it, we cover her worst spots (knees and wrists) with plastic wrap.  It's pricey, $15 per item but hey, we have to do what we have to do.  The only problem is we can't find it locally.  The only other commercial product that seems to work for her is Natralia Skin Nourishing Oil, which is even pricier. It's about $15 but for half as much product, meaning it costs twice as much.

I was reading one of my favorite blogs Everything Birth and they mentioned a study on homeopathic treatments for eczema using 30c sulfur.  I read the study and decided to try this particular therapy on Squirrel. I'm going to go to 14 Carrot, a locally owned natural food grocer,  to get the sulfur and we'll start it tonight. Dawn from the blog started her daughter on it yesterday and has seen improvement today. Her daughter also told her she isn't itchy today.  I may also try calendula 30c, per this article.

***Update: I sent Lettuce to the store to get the sulfur and they didn't have it. He did get her some Bodyceutical calendula oil. I will start the oil tonight and I'll get the sulfur tomorrow when I'm on a different side of town.***

Have you tried homeopathic remedies for any conditions?  Share your story.

Day 27: Sick, sick, sick. [[Warning: KINDA GROSS]]

Yesterday, I was quite ill. I mean, no posting statuses on Facebook ill. it really started the night before. Monday, my brother Butter Bean and I went to the Waffle House and then to get my oil changed. I noticed that my cheesesteak had a ridiculous amount of pepper on it. It tasted and smelled like pepper. I mentioned it to my brother, but didn't make more of it.

Uncle Butter Bean and Baby Popcorn, a couple of weeks ago

Later that night, I noticed that when I burped, it smelled and tasted like vomit. My daughter actually walked by and thought someone had been sick. That was my first sign that something was wrong.

About 5:30 am, I was hit with a stomach pain that can only be described as labor-like.  It was that bad. I had to vomit and it was like pure acid. I immediately sent for some baking soda just to neutralize the acidity.  Then I threw up a disgusting foamy, non-acidic mess.

Then, the real fun began.

The abdominal pains were foretellers of the watery diarrhea that would haunt me for the rest of the day. It was awful and painful and miserable. I was so dehydrated my tongue stuck to the roof of my mouth. My lips were all dry and whatnot. Lettuce went and got me some Gatorade.  I was extremely concerned about getting dehydrated, what with nursing and all. Mercifully, Popcorn slept nearly the entire day and night, as if she knew I was ill.

I'm not sure if it was a tummy bug or food poisoning but I suspect the latter.  I was the only one who was sick and tummy bugs are notoriously contagious. We are a family of seven living in a tiny house so someone else would have gotten sick.  Also, I think the random, copious pepper was a ruse to cover meat that was past its prime.  Let me explain. I used to work at the Waffle, way back in 2001, and then 2002-2003 (#1198, one of my absolutely favorite jobs ever!) when the cheesesteak was new.  Since its inception, I have only NOT ordered a cheesesteak once and that was because they were out.  And I almost went to another Waffle House (we literally had 4 in a ten minute radius) but I didn't want to waste gas.  I know how they are supposed to be made.  Not with pepper. I am going to call that Waffle House and let them know, tomorrow.

Plus I googled my symptoms ;) Sounds like Giardia, to me.

In baby news, Popcorn is getting heavy!  She has a healthy appetite. She is able to wear more of her outfits.  She's got double dimples in her elbows and kissable cheeks, though the excessive kissing is giving her a horrid case of baby acne.  She's also got what looks like contact dermatitis on her forehead, all through her eyebrow area.  It's flakey and yellowish. This terrifies me, especially in conjunction with her milk sensitivity. It's like Squirrel all over again.  Or maybe it's just cradle cap and I'm a paranoid mama.  I am about to start making detergent again, for the dipes, but we may use it for all the clothes.  That would be for the best.

SHARE TIME! SHARE TIME! SHARE TIME!

Gina's Laundry Detergent (I don't remember where I got the recipe from)

• Washing Powder
• Oxygen Cleaner
• Borax

Mix equal amounts of each ingredient.  Put it in the washing machine and use it.  If you want smells, add a couple drops of essential oil, but be careful because some can irritate skin.  

Day 24: Milk, My Nemisis

Popcorn is growing by leaps and bounds.  The mastitis is gone!  There was a lump for a couple more days but no pain.  I used more heat and massage on it.

I have cut most dairy out of my diet because I suspect Popcorn may have an issue with it.

I don't know if I mentioned this before, but Squirrel has severe eczema and several allergies: peanut, tree nut, dairy, dogs, dust.  {Princess had eczema as a baby but outgrew it.}  The boys are fine, for the most part.  Side Salad had a RAD-like episode in response to a virus last fall.  Allergies, eczema, and asthma are the trifecta, the three sisters.  That's part of the reason I am so committed to EBF.  The boys were breastfeed 13 and 21 months in contrast to the girls' 4 and 8 months.  I'm getting off topic. I cut dairy out because we have a genetic predisposition to these sorts of things. I myself and lactose intolerant.  Yes, I know ice cream is dairy. It makes me obscenely gassy and if I eat too much, it gives me horrendous diarrhea.  For Popcorn, it gave her colicky symptoms like excessive, inconsolable crying, gas, and possibly a funky rash.

This is how she looks when I don't drink milk.

For my sweet baby, I give up ice cream in copious amounts.  A good friend of mine offered me some replacements-almond milk (which I love in my cereal), almond milk ice cream, and coconut milk ice cream. I am going to grab these when I do my shopping this coming weekend.

I myself went to see my GP today. It wasn't baby related. He wanted to check out some things.  According to my last blood test, I have low levels of thyroid, a vitamin D deficiency, anemia, and high cholesterol.  He wants me to taking the fasting blood test so I have to go back but I am pleased to note that my blood pressure is a sassy 100/80 BAZINGA!