Stream of Consciousness: Part 7

I have gone shoe crazy! Except, I haven't purchased myself any new shoes - they are all for Porgie. In the past week, I purchased her 3 new pairs of shoes.I am thinking about buying these shoes...
They remind me of my own childhood. Did anyone else LOVE jelly sandals? Fond memories.
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The elimination diet is kicking my ass. Did you know that soy is in EVERYTHING? I have been eating cereal and bean burritos for a few weeks, because I just can't seem to find anything to eat. You would think that I'd be losing weight, but I am not. I guess it is all that Rice Dream ice cream I've been devouring every night.
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I have made 3 different appointments to have Izzy's three month pictures taken, but I ended up canceling each appointment. Izzy's eczema is really bad and it seems to flare up on picture day. I guess I am going to have to be content with 4 month photos instead.
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Porgie knows her colors! Isn't that exciting? I kept identifying her "cullies" during the day, and I started reading Brown Bear, Brown Bear every night, and now she knows red, yellow, brown, blue, green, purple, white, and black. Yes, my child is a genius.
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I tend to overuse exclamation points! I use them at the end of really boring sentences, where they obviously do not belong! Below I have listed actual examples from an email I recently sent to a friend...

Make sure you change my email address in your contacts!

I'm trying to find somewhere for Porgie to start swimming classes!

Well keep in touch, and I'll talk to you soon!

It is a sickness! I am making a resolution to stop overusing exclamation points today!
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I would like to entertain you with more hilarious stories from my extremely interesting life, but I can't think of anything else to say. So, I guess I am done.

Stream of Consciousness: Part 5

Breakfast foods are gross. Just ask Porgie. For some strange reason, I can't get Porgie to eat any foods that are commonly consumed for breakfast. Suddenly she hates yogurt, cereal, oatmeal, waffles, veggie sausage, and hash browns. I have basically given up on breakfast foods. This morning Porgie ate peas and pasta.
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In the past, I would get the crayons and drawing paper out for Porgie once or twice a month. She would scribble for a few minutes and then she was bored. Last week, she decided that she really liked drawing. She spent hours coloring. When I tried to put the crayons away, she flipped out. So, I gave them back to her, because who wants to fight over crayons? Every morning when Porgie wakes up, she sleepily says, "co co?" And we have to go get the crayons and drawing paper. She is such a little sweetie.
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For few months, Izzy's skin looked perfect. It was soft and smooth and beautiful. I thought he had escaped the dreaded eczema that has plagued Porgie for the past 20 months. Unfortunately, things have taken a tun for the worst. He has a sandpapery rash on his forehead and a round spot of eczema on his back. Darn. I seriously need to buy stock in this lotion, because I spend a fortune on it every week.
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My personal hygiene habits have really gone down hill lately. Have you ever tried getting in the shower, while caring for two young babies? Not easy. It is so difficult, that I often opt to just wait until John comes home before I get in the shower. The problem is that John works late a lot. By the time he gets home, we have just enough time to eat dinner before putting Porgie to bed. The bathroom is right across the hall from her bedroom and there is no way in hell I am going to risk waking her up. So I am dirty and stinky A LOT. Too much information? Maybe.
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I think my milk supply has gone into the crapper. For the last week or two, Izzy refuses to nurse during the day. Instead, he likes to binge eat at night. After hours of trying to get him to feed, I would go pump. By this time, I was usually engorged and uncomfortable. However things changed this week. Izzy is still not feeding very well during the day, but I am no longer engorged. Babies are a pain in the ass.
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Sleep deprivation continues to kick my ass. I am so jealous of mothers who have babies who actually sleep. I am so jealous, that I kind of hate them. Just a little. Okay, maybe I hate them a lot. If your baby is a great sleeper, I am rolling my eyes at you right now. Bitch.

Poop stories continued...

So, we are still having some poop problems over here. I am hoping that Porgie gets back on schedule soon, but I don't understand why it is taking so damn long.

Unfortunately, Porgie's constipation turned into diarrhea. She has had runny stools for about 5 days now. But the worst part is that she keeps pooping during the night. Sometimes she poops shortly after we put her down to sleep. And sometimes she wakes up super early to poop.

The most baffling part of this whole thing, is trying to figure out what caused this abrupt change in her bowel movements. I feed her breakfast, lunch, and dinner at the same times everyday. I put her down to sleep at the same times everyday. I give her snacks at the same times everyday.

On a related note, remember when I told you about the COVERED IN SHIT episode? Since that day, Porgie's Eczema has been really bad. Her little back and sides are covered in scaly patches. We have been putting lotion on her, but the rashes persist. When I took Porgie in for her check-up on Friday, the doctor once again prescribed corticosteroids. I really don't want to use a steroid ointment again, so I didn't have the prescription filled. I am going to continue lathering her up with lotion and hope for the best.

Eczema is a bitch!

Porgie has eczema. Periodically, a horrible rash will appear somewhere on her sweet little skin. Although Porgie is only 8 months old, she already has a long history with this pesky skin problem.

When Porgie was about a month old, she developed a rash on her forehead. The doctor said it was a newborn rash, nothing serious. I started putting Aveeno lotion on her bumpy little forehead, but the rash wouldn't go away. I knew it was itchy, because Porgie would rub her face back and forth across my chest.

After a few weeks, the rash had spread to her back. It wasn't just a little patch - it went from her neck to her butt. I called the pediatrician's office. A nurse told me start washing her with Dove soap and to use Eucerine lotion. I followed her orders, but the rash didn't go away. Instead, it spread even further.

At two months old, Porgie was covered in one big rash. It was on her face, her back, her stomach, her arms, and her legs. I made an appointment and went in to see a doctor. Immediately, he diagnosed her with eczema. He was surprised by the severity of her rash. He said that newborns do not typically have eczema so badly.

He prescribed her a lotion, which was very strong. It contained steroids, and could cause serious complications if it was used too liberally or for too long. My husband didn't even want to use the lotion, but I put it on her anyways. I couldn't imagine how horrible it would be to have an itch, but not be coordinated enough to scratch yourself.

Within days, the ezcema was all cleared up. However, Porgie continued to get rashes on her back and legs. I would just use regular lotion or hydrocortizone unless they got really bad. Then, I would pull out the steroid lotion.

Currently, Porgie has a rash on her scalp, behind one ear, and on the back of her neck. She is constantly scratching them and making herself bleed. I am nervous about putting the steroid lotion on her head - too close to my baby's developing brain.

I wish there was something I could do to get rid of this awful skin problem. My baby is miserable.

Look at that awful rash on her forehead. My poor baby.