Not really here

No, we haven't been away. Just out of it. The weather was erratic past week or so and it has hit the little man and I with a really bad cold! It is awful. K was a snotty baby who couldn't understand why he was spluttering when he was guzzling his milk. He was miserable and frustrated. My poor baby.

And then, when he was at the tail of it, I came crashing down with the cold too. It was inevitable I guess. All he wanted was for me to cuddle him. Snot and all (I meant the both of us). So the both of us were huddled up in bed most of the afternoons.

I'm feeling well enough to post this entry. But not looking well enough to post a photo of us. So hence, this photo instead.

I see light at the end of the tunnel. I'll be back!

Those were the days...

Thankfully, the above isn't our routine anymore. He was just over a week old. No more of that 2-3 hourly feeds!  Look at my scribbling towards the end (or rather the beginning of a new day which I wasn't ready to start). I was losing it. I never slept more than 3 hours at one go. Geez, how in the world did I manage that! Sheer Supermommy power!

And of course, due to my pregnancy brain which is still hanging around, I didn't realise it actually takes a baby some time to get used to not being breastfed anymore. So instead of stopping the breastfeeds at 6 months as I had preferred, he stopped at 7 months.

In the times I was weaning him off, I still wake up several times in the night. Right up until perhaps 2 months ago I was still doing that. I remember even when Kayden actually slept for 3 hours straight in the early days, I STILL woke up anyway, just to check on him. I was afraid he was starving, but was just too hungry to even cry. I know of other moms out there who jump out of bed in the middle of the night because they thought they heard their baby cry. When you are a new mother, every little sound makes you think your baby is awake and needs you. When I went into his room, of course I found my baby fast asleep, sometimes doing a little baby snore. It was just silly me waking up for nothing. He was fine.

I still jot the times down in the sleeping diary till this day. I don't do it every single day like I used to, but often enough. I like going through it and marveling at how far my baby has come along since.

Today, he sleeps through the night. But he is still like clockwork with his routines! Check back again soon, it'll be for another post later on.

Eczema

Since about 3 months of age, Kayden has been diagnosed with atopic eczema. Eczema is a very common dry skin condition here in Australia that affects 1 in every 3 Australians.  Unfortunately, Kayden is one of them.  The skin becomes red, dry and is extremely itchy. Eczema is not contagious, but when infected, it may weep, bleed and crust over, and so, as you can imagine, it is extremely uncomfortable. It can be caused by many factors including allergens, (eg.washing detergent, dust mites, pollen, foods, pets, soaps, cosmetics) and clothing such as wool, fleece - 100% cotton is preferred); irritants ( changes in weather hot/cold , dry/wet;, cigarette smoke, airconditioning and overheating) and even stress. Particularly so if there is a family history of eczema itself, hayfever and asthma. There is currently no cure for eczema.

Keeping the skin well moisturized is crucial here. I apply moisturizer on his face at every single nappy change! And I try to apply them on his body as well whenever possible. It is important that he uses something that is non fragranced and natural. His skin is pretty dry, and to keep it looking the way it is (soft and baby smooth like its supposed to be!) we've tried so many brands of moisturizers! Some keeps him sufficiently moisturized for a week or so then stops working the next week! It has been A LOT of trial and errors for months now!

Ointments are better than creams and lotions, they seal in the moisture much better. 

At the moment, dermeze is working for him

Kayden recently had a flare of the condition, it got so bad we had to bring him to a specialist. He was so frustrated and was constantly grumpy. He didn't know where to put his hands! He was sooo itchy! He gorges holes into his scalp with his fingernails when he scratches, it was a sore sight.

And what you see below is his daily 'facial' routine' now. The treatment to ease it, is a regular application of steroid creams on the affected areas. He uses more products than I do!

He is currently on a eczema treatment plan as instructed by his allergist. We apply the lot about 3 times daily and I also moisturize him at every nappy change.. We first put on the Elocon ointment (sometimes Sigmacort) on the affected areas on his face, then Elocon cream for his body, Elocon Lotion on his scalp, moisturize his whole body and face with dermeze and then put his nappy barrier cream on before we dress him up. Bonjella is also applied to soothe his gums if necessary. 

He is also on oral antibiotics twice a day and has been instructed to take bleach baths. Yes, you read me right - BLEACH. A quarter cup of household bleach goes into his bath instead of his soap free bath gels. It is a bit like taking a swim in the pool, the bleach helps kill off the bacteria that causes the infection.

So as u can imagine, it takes some skill and more than a few minutes to do all of that on methodically  every single time on a wriggly baby! After dinner, he goes for his bath, and it is a 2 man mission  every time! It is getting very cold here at night even with the heater on, so quick hands are crucial! 

After all that frantic application of his ointments, creams and lotions,  strapping his nappy on, and then twisting his arms and legs into his jumpsuit, the poor baby's all tired out  And when put into his cot, he's out like a light, snoozing away usually within a minute or two.

Most children grow out of their eczema by around 5 years of age, but a small percentage continues into adulthood. I am keeping my fingers crossed for the best!

Kayden's eczema is now totally under control, YAY!

Good skin

= less grumpy Kayden

= Happy better rested Mommy!

Kayden at 7 weeks - Sleep deprivation

Kayden is 7 weeks old. And I am a walking zombie. Sleep? What is that? Gone were the days where I sleep for at least 6 hours! Going into REM mode for 2 hours is bliss these days! Kayden is still on 3 hourly feeds. It can take up to an hour or so to feed him at times. He suckles for about 30 minutes then I burp him. He tends to throw up abit of his feed most times, so I prop him up on my sholder for a little while more to make sure it all stays down. Otherwise, he will be grizzly again in 2 hours. And that, is exhausting. Because eg. it means, 2pm feed, finish at 3pm, and then at 4pm *waaaaa!!!!* and its feed time again. NOT fun. And makes mommy highly grouchy.



I have started him on formula feeds for night time in bid he sleeps longer (as formula takes longer to digest compared to breast milk). However, it still means that I am up hazy eyed twice during the night. Hazy eyed, legs, arms and eyes in auto pilot mode shuffling around and feeding him.

He has started sleeping for 4-5 hour stretches duringt he night this week. Its either the start of a sleeping pattern or that he is exhausted from all the X'mas festivities! The poor little man was so exhausted he managed to sleep through all the noise at the annual Christmas day dinner at a cousin's!


Edited to add: Oh my, I've read over this entry 7 months later. I was sleep deprived back then alright! All those spelling and grammatical errors! Haha!