Monday, May 10, 2010
Milestones
After 13 months this little cutie finally got her first tooth! It was immediately followed by... her second tooth! I am so excited, it was taking so long! As if that wasn't enough, she took her first step today! She thought it was cool so she tried it again later and took three steps! At first I was excited....but then I realized her learning to walk would give me three kids to chase after. Oh well! At least her knees won't be black anymore!
Posted by Jilynn at 7:36 PM 1 comments
Labels: milestones, Ruby
Friday, April 23, 2010
Eczema, Witchcraft and Failure
Dave just took the kids to the gym and I am having one of those rare moments where I have the whole house to myself. It's one of those times where I can actually think and not get interrupted. Although I was excited to have some time to myself I didn't realize it would lead to me breaking down. As a mother, I of course want the best for my children. Most things if I feel they aren't going the right way I am able to make a change so that I feel they're on the right path, getting better. There is one area that I can't control, I can't solve, and I feel like a total failure. It's Isabelle's eczema.
Today she woke up from her nap screaming her head off, big crocodile tears falling down her cheeks, and saying between sobs, "It hurts, It hurts." Her skin has been particularly bad today and she must have been itching her feet or rubbing them together (because I am always telling her not to itch, so she rubs) and because they are so sensitive it was really hurting her. I picked her up, hugged her tight, and then put lotion on her feet and covered them in socks. It stopped the tears but did not get rid of the eczema.
Here is the background on Isabelle and her eczema. At two months old she started having red, dry patches all over her body. When I took her to her two month well check the first thing the nurse said to me was, "Looks like she has that newborn skin!" I was relieved when she said that because if it's newborn skin then that means it will go away, right? Wrong. Isabelle is almost three now and her "newborn skin" is worse then ever. On a bad day, she is pretty much covered from head to toe with dry, itchy spots. She looks like a leper. Her face, the back of her neck, her arms (especially her elbows and wrists), her hands, her legs (especially her knees and behind her knees), and her feet. I would say overall her feet are the worse because of having to wear shoes which irritates it even more. On a good day it is only her knees and feet. The spots are bad enough but because she itches them so much she is constantly scratching herself until she bleeds resulting in scabs all over her body. I'm scared that one day she will get an infection because she has so many open wounds all over her body. She looks awful and it saddens me just to look at her. I am constantly cutting her fingernails but she still finds a way to scratch herself. She is so full of life and she shouldn't have to go through something like this at such a young age. It hurts me that I can't fix it or heal it.
Does that make you wonder what's in your lotion? It is supposed to be for sensitive skin but if I put it on Isabelle she screams her head off because it stings so badly. The allergist also prescribed a 24 hour antihistimine that was supposed to help with the itching and not make her drowsy. It doesn't make her drowsy but she definitely still itches. Apparently you have to stop the itching or else it's likes a vicious cycle. The more you itch, the worse your eczema gets. The one thing all of the doctors have said is that the only way she will truly get rid of it is to "grow out of it." I refuse to accept that as the answer.
I'm now trying to figure out how to heal her homeopathically. I truly believe that Heavenly Father put everything on this earth for a reason and somewhere I will find the answer of how to heal her without smothering her with steroid cremes. I refuse to lather those steroid cremes on her twice a day for who knows how many years. I can't even imagine what they do to her body, her development, and I know they affect the way that she acts. One of the cremes that the dermatologist prescribed for her literally makes her crazy when we use it. I don't mean like out of control, hyper crazy, I mean CRAZY. We will NEVER use that one again.
Thankfully, the internet is full of information on how to heal it naturally, but the one thing I've figured out is what works for one person doesn't mean it will work for another. Some people believe it is caused by the many chemicals that touch our skin. I switched to all natural cleaners, and laundry detergent and threw out the bleach, which is one of the few things that I know for sure makes her skin break out. I didn't notice much of a difference by doing these things. I heard from someone during a "twitter party" (I know, lame right?) that she has healed her eczema for 20 years by boiling dried Calendula for 20 minutes and then adding it to her bath water. After some difficulty of finding where to buy Calendula I found this cool store in downtown Mesa. Check it out here. They are full of all things natural when it comes to healing any ailment you can think of and were very helpful. They even taught me how to make my own salve.
Posted by Jilynn at 9:57 PM 8 comments
Sunday, April 18, 2010
T-ball
Justin is having a great time playing t-ball. The coaches are great but kind of forgot to start with the basics, like showing them the order the bases go and where the positions are. During the first practice one of the coaches asked Justin where "home" is and Justin started pointing far away towards our house! Another classic moment was Justin's first at bat in a game and he totally skipped first base and ran straight to second! Luckily, at this age no one really cares and they're just having a great time!
Posted by Jilynn at 8:36 PM 3 comments
Easter Extravaganza
Dyeing Easter eggs:
Posted by Jilynn at 8:16 PM 0 comments
Monday, March 29, 2010
Happy Birthday Ruby!
Posted by Jilynn at 9:56 PM 2 comments
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Does it Get Any Cuter?!
Posted by Jilynn at 8:16 PM 3 comments
Dave's Latest Project
Many of you know that Dave LOVES reptiles but you might not know that he also LOVES to make cages for his reptiles! He has always wanted to do one outside but I have never wanted him to do anything that would be permanent. Let's face it, not many people want to buy a house with a reptile habitat in the backyard, right?! So, he came up with a great idea that allows them to be outside but it's not permanent. Check it out!
Posted by Jilynn at 8:07 PM 0 comments