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The past 48 hours have been so intense... first in a bad way, now in a really really good way. Andy's eczema battle reached a zenith early this week. His poor face was red, cracked and oozing. Any time he wasn't tightly swaddled he rubbed his elbow on any surface he could in hopes of finding relief from the constant, maddening itch. At least 75% of Andy's awake time was spent crying. And he was awake most of the time. The only time he could rest was when he slept face-down on top of me. Tuesday night going into Wednesday morning I'd been up since 3:30am. Wednesday night going into Thursday I'd been up since 2:30. Our entire family was feeling the strain. Grant was stressed because of Andy's constant crying and because I was a zombie with a fuse that was about a millimeter long. Drew and I were stressed because I wasn't sleeping and Andy cries when Drew holds him. Our house has been a tense powder keg. I can safely say though... it's over. Thursday morning Andy saw a pediatric dermatologist. And now, my friends, we have answers, solutions and sleep. The dermatologist was surprising in her methods and suggestions and I couldn't be more thrilled. She examined him closely. I asked if the eczema is the result of a milk-protein allergy. She said “No.” Apparently milk-allergy eczema has a specific look to it and that's not Andy's rash. Whew! Our plan of action: a 3- 5 minute bath every night. Yes, I was surprised! I'd been bathing him once a week because I felt the water would dry his skin out. Nope, she (and actually, Dr. Sears) recommends a bath every single night. No soap. No shampoo. Only warm water and baking soda. After his bath we have a cream for the spots on his body. Another cream for the spots on his face. We also have an anti-histamine syrup to give him every night (also during the day if he's really uncomfortable from itching) This routine goes for two weeks. Then we go back to the dermatologist and get the next step.
The doctor says right now Andy's in the “red zone.” Open wounds, constant itch. Think of it like an asthma attack but on the skin. Right now he's having an active attack. We'll get it under control... then move to the “yellow zone” where we're doing preventative maintenance. Then, eventually we'll move into the “green zone” where we'll just moisturize. He'll have flares and move into the yellow zone, but the goal is to keep him out of the red zone. Last night we started our whole routine. Thanks to the medicines... Andy slept from 10:30 until 7. He was up for an hour or two.
Then he slept from 9 until noon. He was up for two hours Then he slept from two until four. His body is finally getting rest. He's finally not having to fight every second of his life to be comfortable. That also means the entire family slept through the night. Today was a dream day. Grant and I got to play, we had learning time, we painted, we ran, I taught him where middle-C is on the piano. It was fun to be a mom again. I don't feel like a failure. I feel empowered to help my poor infant who was so uncomfortable. We're likely to be flooded in all weekend... and that's perfectly fine. We're functioning for the first time in months.
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