We, as parents, are in the business of taking care of all of our babies business and diaper rashes are....the business! Man those things are persistant and their sweet little bottoms need our help! Can you imagine depending on someone to make sure your pants were dry?!?! Better yet can you imagine not being able to tell that person that you are wet? Oh the defeat! Sometimes I feel so bad when I open a super soaked diaper, poor guy, its got to feel like a swamp down there. My dude has had quite the rash as of late. I have been reading that getting his new set of chompers could be part of the problem. Nevertheless, I have been on a mighty mission to relieve him of it.
Since I have been waging war with this stubborn enemy, I have found a few things that work so I thought I would share. Now, I am not a doctor! I am just a mommy doin' the thing, so I would encourage anyone to call their Pediatrician about anything that seems out of the ordinary when it comes to their little.
Two days passed of using diaper cream and there was no change, in fact it was getting worse. I called the doctor to see about a new rememdy. At this point she said she felt like it had morphed into yeast...sad. Like a butt rash isn't bad enough....
Yeast is not just a lady problem because all it needs is a dark, damp area to set up shop in - enter my sons diaper and sweet baby fat folds. According to BabyCenter.com, you can tell it is yeast if in a few days your efforts with diaper rash cream and powder do not help. It typically looks like little pin dots known as 'satilite lesions' as opposed to just a pink patch, but a lot of pin dots can mesh into a large patch so look carfully at the edges of the site to see if you can see what looks like pin dots and raised borders. If your eyes behold these dots, its time for the big guns. My pediatrician recommended the following steps to take to help get rid of this unwelcomed visitor.
1) Get some Lotrimin or Miconazole Nitrate and apply it four times a day to the site
2) Use powder or cornstarch during the other diaper changes to keep the area dry
2) Change diapers frequently as to keep the buns dry
3) Stop using wipes and start using a wet washcloth for every change. Wipes can spread the yeast and slow healing. Also for every poopy diaper, a quick rinse in the sink would be best. The stool is acidic, irritating the yeast rash. This has increased my laundry but it has helped my dude and that is my job right?? Well so is the laundry...... I am a stay-at-home-mommy
4) Let the booty air out completely before applying the cream/powder and slappin' on the next diaper
5) Some play time with no diaper on is good
6) Natural sunlight, yeast hates it. So strip the baby down and open the window shades, shed some light on the problem!! (you know you smiled at my word play)
I also added baking soda soaks to the mix. A small tub or sink full of warm water and 1/4 of cup baking soda helps restore the normal acid base balance and soothe the area. With some determination and consistancy coupled the above mentioned methods, I am happy to report that Jacksons issue is clearing up. I have been applying Aquaphor to the area to help heal the dry skin now that the yeast has backed off as well applying Desitin at night since he goes longer without a diaper change. The Desitin really shields from the wetness. I have put the 'Butt Paste' on the shelf for the time being, it has proved just to be a 'cute name'.
God's Word says that we are to be 'more that conquerors' in Romans 8 and while it is the inspired writer of Romans has our spiritual lives and freedom from sin in mind I have put this verse to use on my diaper rash issue because I believe God's Word is to be applied to all things in life. So with that said, we are 'more than conquerors', the rash is gone and we have learned how to battle it next time.
Can I get an AMEN!
Friday, October 21, 2011
Monday, October 10, 2011
'Rome Wasn't Built in a Day'
*Caution...If you are uninterested in a breastfeeding post, you might want to come back another day*
When I wrote this about breastfeeding, I was in the throes of it. For some, one day the baby and mommy just 'get it' and breastfeeding becomes second nature. That is not how our tale goes because Jackson was off of this mommy at 5 weeks and we never looked back so I will never know if we just 'would have gotten it'. That is ok though because what we did worked. Pumping was the name of our game and I am happy to report that so far my baby has been breast-milk-fed for 5 months. One of pros of exclusively pumping for so long is that when a baby cries my milk doesn't let down! But turn on something that remotely sounds like the humming of my pump and my milk ducts go wild. Weird how our bodies do that. Huh, anyways.....My pumping status also allowed us to stockpile my liquid gold for the months to come so our plan is for Jackson to be breast-milk-fed till at least 7 months (yes, I have that much frozen)....D.A.I.R.Y.
With that said, can you tell where this is going......I am in the process of closin' up shop.
Some mommies dread the day they stop breastfeeding which I will NEVER understand because I think I have been dreaming about this day since the moment we started this fiasco. You know that saying, Rome wasn't build in a day......well, I have two Romes that are not going to stop in a day. Closing up this shop is going to take at least a couple of weeks. This, again, is something no one wants to tell you about. What I don't understand is why something that hurts so bad when it comes has to hurt so bad when it goes. Can't we get a break?? The answer is in Genesis 3:16 when the Lord is punishing Eve for eating the apple by telling her that her pains in childbearing will increase. This boob business is a part of childbearing as far as I am concerned. So until I am done having children me and my boobs will be at odds.
The world wide web offers a variety of different ways that assist in this painful process. It suggests everything from cabbage leaves, to drinking sage tea, wearing sports bra, to icing them, stopping 'cold turkey', to binding them.....you name it, someone has probably tried it because desperate times calls for desperate measures. Me, I have chosen simply to gradually stop breastfeeding by decreasing how often and how much I pump. I may give the cabbage leaves or the tea a go if in a couple of days if things don't let up but we'll see. I started this process by decreasing my pumps using Jackson feedings as a marker so when he decreased, I decreased. I went from 8 times a day to 6 times. Then I decreased to 4 pumps a day even though J was eating 5 times and at that point I was able to sleeping through the night!! I have stayed at 4 pumps a day for a while now out of fear; full ducts hurt. This weekend, with the encouragement of my life friend Pam, I dropped another pump. I am at three pumps a day now. PTL!
I would think everyone finds this process hard for different reasons but for me the hardest part has been not pumping as much as I know will offer some relief. Its a small form of torture to know that just 5 more minutes and a few more ounces could be life changing and you can't do it. To make less, you've got to pump less. Less is more people.
Best part about closing up shop is that I get to eat things that did not agree with Jackson like beans, garlic, broccoli, COFFEE, ice cream, and cheese. That is seriously exciting. Mommies with sensitive babies can 'Amen' to this part! And can we talk about the time I am about to acquire. Pumping moms, you know what I am talking about!! Maybe my house will be cleaner or dinner started on time....maybe!
I think it is important to stop when you feel that YOU are ready. It a place in mommyland that only you can decide. I am happy my time has come and I am so thankful I am in a good place to stop. So, in my baby memory bank I am adding breastfeeding to the list of things under the category 'this too shall pass'. I esteem all you milk makin' mamas!!
When I wrote this about breastfeeding, I was in the throes of it. For some, one day the baby and mommy just 'get it' and breastfeeding becomes second nature. That is not how our tale goes because Jackson was off of this mommy at 5 weeks and we never looked back so I will never know if we just 'would have gotten it'. That is ok though because what we did worked. Pumping was the name of our game and I am happy to report that so far my baby has been breast-milk-fed for 5 months. One of pros of exclusively pumping for so long is that when a baby cries my milk doesn't let down! But turn on something that remotely sounds like the humming of my pump and my milk ducts go wild. Weird how our bodies do that. Huh, anyways.....My pumping status also allowed us to stockpile my liquid gold for the months to come so our plan is for Jackson to be breast-milk-fed till at least 7 months (yes, I have that much frozen)....D.A.I.R.Y.
With that said, can you tell where this is going......I am in the process of closin' up shop.
Some mommies dread the day they stop breastfeeding which I will NEVER understand because I think I have been dreaming about this day since the moment we started this fiasco. You know that saying, Rome wasn't build in a day......well, I have two Romes that are not going to stop in a day. Closing up this shop is going to take at least a couple of weeks. This, again, is something no one wants to tell you about. What I don't understand is why something that hurts so bad when it comes has to hurt so bad when it goes. Can't we get a break?? The answer is in Genesis 3:16 when the Lord is punishing Eve for eating the apple by telling her that her pains in childbearing will increase. This boob business is a part of childbearing as far as I am concerned. So until I am done having children me and my boobs will be at odds.
The world wide web offers a variety of different ways that assist in this painful process. It suggests everything from cabbage leaves, to drinking sage tea, wearing sports bra, to icing them, stopping 'cold turkey', to binding them.....you name it, someone has probably tried it because desperate times calls for desperate measures. Me, I have chosen simply to gradually stop breastfeeding by decreasing how often and how much I pump. I may give the cabbage leaves or the tea a go if in a couple of days if things don't let up but we'll see. I started this process by decreasing my pumps using Jackson feedings as a marker so when he decreased, I decreased. I went from 8 times a day to 6 times. Then I decreased to 4 pumps a day even though J was eating 5 times and at that point I was able to sleeping through the night!! I have stayed at 4 pumps a day for a while now out of fear; full ducts hurt. This weekend, with the encouragement of my life friend Pam, I dropped another pump. I am at three pumps a day now. PTL!
I would think everyone finds this process hard for different reasons but for me the hardest part has been not pumping as much as I know will offer some relief. Its a small form of torture to know that just 5 more minutes and a few more ounces could be life changing and you can't do it. To make less, you've got to pump less. Less is more people.
Best part about closing up shop is that I get to eat things that did not agree with Jackson like beans, garlic, broccoli, COFFEE, ice cream, and cheese. That is seriously exciting. Mommies with sensitive babies can 'Amen' to this part! And can we talk about the time I am about to acquire. Pumping moms, you know what I am talking about!! Maybe my house will be cleaner or dinner started on time....maybe!
I think it is important to stop when you feel that YOU are ready. It a place in mommyland that only you can decide. I am happy my time has come and I am so thankful I am in a good place to stop. So, in my baby memory bank I am adding breastfeeding to the list of things under the category 'this too shall pass'. I esteem all you milk makin' mamas!!
Friday, October 7, 2011
Blowing Raspberries and a Soak
Jarrod's grandparents live on the Central Coast. Have you been to the Central Coast?? The weather is beautiful, the beaches are clean, the air is fresh, the fish and chips rock and the towns are one of a kind. We love it there and while it is our trips to the beach are wonderful, I would trade them all in if it meant Jarrod's grandparents would be here in Fresno with us all the time.
Why you may ask......................
This is why
I want Jackson to know what cloth he is cut from. I want him to grow up being around his Great Grandma and Great Grandpa Farmer. He needs to see the Matriarch of this family cook every delicious meal with bacon grease and sew ANYTHING that needs fixing. He needs to sit with the Patriarch of this family and root for Dale Earnhardt Jr as he laps a race track 600 times. And when he is old enough, he needs to learn how to bait a fishing line from that same man. There is something to be said about being in the presence of those that have gone before us. We are making it a goal to take Jackson to spend the weekend with his Great Grandparents once a month.
We just got back from one of our trips to go see them and it was such a wonderful visit. They could not get enough of that baby!! More than once they shoo'ed us out the door, babyless. On the evening of our visit, Grandma had Jackson on her lap and she was asking him if he would blow raspberries at her and then she would show him how to do it. She would stick her tongue out and blow making her tongue vibrate between her lips, Jackson giggled with delight every time she did it. He would stick out his tongue like he wanted to do it back but then would just smile and giggle. It was the sweetest thing to watch him play with her like that.
The next day he had a major blowout and what did Grandma Farmer do, strip him down and plop him in the sink for a rinse. Forget the wipes, lets just soak him....HE LOVED IT!!!
It is moments like these that motivates us to get Jackson to see his great grandparents each month. I never got a chance to know my great grandparents and since Jackson gets to, I am not about to let him miss it. They are something special.
Who else is going to teach him how to blow raspberries.
Why you may ask......................
This is why
I want Jackson to know what cloth he is cut from. I want him to grow up being around his Great Grandma and Great Grandpa Farmer. He needs to see the Matriarch of this family cook every delicious meal with bacon grease and sew ANYTHING that needs fixing. He needs to sit with the Patriarch of this family and root for Dale Earnhardt Jr as he laps a race track 600 times. And when he is old enough, he needs to learn how to bait a fishing line from that same man. There is something to be said about being in the presence of those that have gone before us. We are making it a goal to take Jackson to spend the weekend with his Great Grandparents once a month.
We just got back from one of our trips to go see them and it was such a wonderful visit. They could not get enough of that baby!! More than once they shoo'ed us out the door, babyless. On the evening of our visit, Grandma had Jackson on her lap and she was asking him if he would blow raspberries at her and then she would show him how to do it. She would stick her tongue out and blow making her tongue vibrate between her lips, Jackson giggled with delight every time she did it. He would stick out his tongue like he wanted to do it back but then would just smile and giggle. It was the sweetest thing to watch him play with her like that.
The next day he had a major blowout and what did Grandma Farmer do, strip him down and plop him in the sink for a rinse. Forget the wipes, lets just soak him....HE LOVED IT!!!
And so did she.....
It is moments like these that motivates us to get Jackson to see his great grandparents each month. I never got a chance to know my great grandparents and since Jackson gets to, I am not about to let him miss it. They are something special.
Who else is going to teach him how to blow raspberries.
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