Normally I am simply excited to see how she has grown (or not grown that much, my baby is a peanut). But this time I had things that I really wanted to accomplish with the pediatrician. Bradyn has been dealing with eczema for months and months and it is incredibly heartbreaking watching her scratch so much and so often that I can never have her wear just a onesie. I once had to be called into our church's nursery because she was scratching so much that she had caused major rashes on her little legs and was nearly bleeding because of it. Horrifying.
But as my sweet baby was getting the once over and I was trying to communicate with her doctor, I realized that I was not being heard. It was extraordinarily frustrating to try and deliver a message that says "Doctor please help me!", and the doctor is ignoring you. He just kept on with the usual remedies that I already know.
keep her nails short
lukewarm 5 minute baths
watch what she eats
None of these things were helpful. We were already doing these things.
I left feeling extremely frustrated, but more importantly I learned a lesson.
Bradyn is counting on ME and her DADDY to be her voice. We have to protect her because nobody else will.
And then almost like an angel intervention, my mom called and said that she had been doing some research on eczema and discovered some gems that I think I will be trying out.
Eczema news update: A study published in the May 2009 issue of Pediatrics tested treatments on kids with eczema ages 6 months to 17 years. They found that soaking for five to ten minutes twice a week in a diluted bleach bath (1/2 cup bleach per full standard-size tub) was five times more effective at treating eczema than plain water (used by the placebo group). The improvement was so dramatic that researchers stopped the study early to allow children in the placebo group to get relief with the method. Try it! (But ask your child's doctor first.)
Bleach?! In my baby's bath?! Hey, whatever works!
