first sniffles, and more

Sly's first cold has settled in this weekend.  We had a solid five-and-a-half months of health before the sniffles and coughs came on, so I consider us lucky.  I made up a little cold medicine for him out of tinctures I had on hand: lemon balm, echinacea, and elder mixed with vegetable glycerine.  He's been taking it for about 24 hours now and seems better in spirits, if not in body.  Sly actually has a pretty good attitude considering his clogged nose and my frequent probing of it with a bulb syringe, (do any babies like the bulb syringe?).   But there's still lots of extra crying, holding and nursing going on, leaving me one tired mama.  Today we all felt groggy and sniffily.  Lots of tea, a eucalyptus bath and a pot of vegetable soup are my remedies of choice.

One of the few moments Sly's had floor play this weekend.  Mostly, he's been an in-arms baby.

In the last two weeks there were some serious immune suppressants happening for Sly that set the stage for the cold to get us.  We had a tough week of teething, the hardest yet, though no pearly whites have broken through yet.  And before that, we started dealing with a funky skin rash.  It started small and dry, slightly pink, and I was hopeful that it was teething rash.  Over the last two weeks it grew and grew, all over his cheeks , behind one thigh and spotchy in his diaper area.  It became obvious that this was a case of eczema.  It even changes in redness, dryness and just general intensity at different hours of the day.  Eczema, or any rash on the skin, can be seen as a big red flag for something off balance internally.  The imbalance can come from any toxin from the environment, food, emotions, and on and on. With a solely breastfed infant in a mostly controlled environment, the imbalance is often from digestion. 

What does this mean for us?  It means I'm altering my diet again.  I had almost three months off of dairy and cruciferous vegetables in the beginning due to a gassy baby.  I try to stay far away from peanuts and soy still, because the fussiness they caused in Sly is worthy never being repeated.  Otherwise though, I've really, really enjoyed eating what ever I want (and lots of it!  Thank you nursing!).  But food sensitivities have been a reality for us since the beginning, and Papa Bear also experienced them as a baby, making our children more likely to have them.  So for about one week now, I've been on the elimination diet, attempting to keep a food diary and seeing how it effects Sly's skin.  One week off of gluten and the eczema is way better.  I wish I had taken before and after pictures, but I didn't.  It's now pink, not red, and much less scaly.  I'm still on the look out for other possible allergens, because it is not totally gone, but the improvement is so much that it makes me feel positive about missing out on fresh bread and all the baked holiday goods I was getting excited for.  

Nothing like your kid to hold the mirror for you and point out what you really don't need.  When I was pregnant, Sly curbed my sweet tooth in a way I'd been hoping to do through sheer will power for years.  Those first few months off dairy put into check how much dairy I really need, and if I can only have a little, what will it be?  (For me that answer is butter, hands down.).  Now out goes the wheat, and with it, those nightly beers I've been savoring with Papa Bear.  Really, it's for the best.  And really, and truly, I'll do about anything for this boy.

Sick, scaly, or well, this little man's on the move!  He pushes up to hands and knees and rocks now!

Now, we rest, because that is the best medicine of all, I believe.  

{thanks for hanging on as i took that little hiatus!  i had big plans to change things on the blog format, but really didn't end up doing much here besides changing the photo.  life happened instead.  i plan to be here lots through out the week.}