When Morgan was born, she had the typical "cradle cap" and "baby acne" skin conditions. About 3 weeks ago, however, her baby acne had cleared up, but she was getting these red, scaley patches on her cheek and forehead. One night her forehead was looking very red and irritated and I decided that it needed to be looked at, by the pediatrician. The ped. took one look and said, "she has eczema," which is what I had suspected. I was given a prescription for a low-dose steroid gel for the bad spots and told to put vaseline on her face/eye area. I can't put the medicine on her face because she scratches her cheek and then puts her hand right in her mouth. The ped. said that we didn't have to bathe her every day, but if we did, to use a non-soap cleanser (Cetaphil) and keep the bath brief. We're to slather her in a dye-free/fragrance free lotion immediately out of the bath, to lock in the moisture. Three times a day, I reapply the lotion and keep her arms and legs covered to keep her from scratching. I asked what causes it and she said that it's fairly common in babies and some just have sensitive skin. It can also be a sign of food allergies, but it's hard to tell. I also mentioned that Morgan appears to have acid reflux and she suggested that I do "thickened feedings" where you add some rice cereal to her bottle, using a special "Y-cut" nipple. I asked if she was too young for that, but she said it was only recommended for issues like reflux, and not normally suggested until they are older.
The steroid gel cleared up the patches on her forehead by the next day, so that was good, but her cheek was slower to heal, because she constantly wanted to scratch it. She then started to develop patches on her arms, upper thigh and the back of her legs. It was getting worse and I wanted to know if we could find out if it was a food allergy, so I took her back to the pediatrician's office. They said at 3 months of age they can't tell, since the tests might come back showing no allergies and then, if run a few months later, they might show all kinds of allergies. She didn't think it was food-related, she said she just has sensitive skin and to keep up the regimen and that if I was slathering her in lotion 2-3 times a day, to step it up to 3-5 times per day. I asked her if I should try switching to formula for a bit, to see if her symptoms subside, and she said I could, but then Morgan wouldn't be getting the immunological benefits of my breastmilk.
So, back home we went with no real answers and no idea what to do. I kept doing what they told me, but it just seemed to be getting worse. I really worried that it was something I was eating that was bothering her, so I started researching the "elimination diet" where you stop eating all of the allergy-causing foods (eggs, dairy, wheat gluten, soy, tree nuts, etc.) for a couple of weeks and if she improves, then you slowly add back foods to find the culprit. I made a list of foods, mostly containing rice and went to HEB to read a thousand labels. There is just no way to cut out eggs, dairy and wheat gluten AND soy, at the same time! I ended up with a cart full of rice products, many with small amounts of soy. I had cream of rice, brown rice, rice puffs, rice Chex, rice "puffins", etc. I also got various types of fresh fruit. So, as of noon I switched over to just eliminating eggs, dairy, and wheat gluten. For lunch, I had a bowl of rice puffs, mixed with rice "puffins", rice Chex and raspberries. That was quite a dry lunch, even with the berries. I has forgotten to get rice milk when I was at the store. :P I pumped my breastmilk at 5 p.m. and I believe that was the first "batch" under the new menu plan. For dinner, I ate organic chicken with squash, zuchini, onions and green onions, seasoned with a salt-free seasoning and sea salt. I also ate a corn tortilla.
After dinner, Greg said I should go take a nap and he would feed Morgan. A little while into my nap, I hear her crying and crying and crying. I can't sleep when she is crying like that so I get up and we have no idea what's wrong with her, but real tears are coming out. I took her to the changing table to see if she needs a diaper change or if something is poking her and when I pull up her top I see that there are some spots on her belly, which were new. I thought she might want a change of clothes, so I took her to the crib to put her in her pajamas and I took her clothes all the way off and realized that her entire side was red and covered in slightly elevated patches. It looked so painful and I almost started crying right then. I turned her to the other side and it, too, was very red and splotchy. I called Greg in to look at it and we tried to think of what to do. Just earlier I had spoken to my friend, Christine, and she suggested chamomile tea to soothe the rash, so I brewed some up while Greg prepared a bath for Morgan. I got out the gauze from the first aid kit and watered down (and cooled down) the tea and made dressings for her most affected spots. We gave her a quick bath and she looked a lot more comfortable, although I think she was a little cold. She was "talking" to us, saying, "goo goo ah goo, gee" and I think she was trying to explain what had happened to her.
We got her out of the bath and I switched out her jammies for some 100% cotton ones, since I had her in a polyester outfit. She was calm by this point, but Greg and I were trying so hard to figure out what in the world happened.
This is my theory. Back when the ped. suggested the rice cereal for Morgan's reflux, I gave her small amounts in her bottle with the new nipples. She seemed to tolerate it well and it appeared to help somewhat with her reflux. However, it then constipated her and she didn't poop for days. So, it helped one thing and caused another problem. When she finally pooped, it was very thick and smelled worse than normal. I decided to stop with the rice cereal after that. Anyway, I've been told, and have read, that introducing rice cereal too early can sometimes cause a rice allergy. One thing I read said it was a smaller chance than getting hit by lightning, but it could happen. So, perhaps she doesn't have a full blown rice allergy, but I "over-riced" my diet that afternoon and it might have caused the big flare-up in her eczema. Of course, this is all speculation and I have no way of knowing for sure what happened. I've now abandoned the elimination diet, because on top of the effects on Morgan, I was starting to feel weak and we can't have that. Morgan is almost 17 pounds now and I need my strength!
I looked at Morgan's skin this morning and it's still red and splotchy, but not as bad. I've dressed her in a 100% cotton outfit. I'm thinking those "organic" outfits from Babies-R-Us, that I used to roll my eyes at, might now be a necessity when she has a big flare-up.
She slept fairly well, last night, considering her discomfort. She fell asleep in Greg's lap at around 9:30 p.m. and I took her to the crib at 10 p.m. She slept until 1:05 a.m. and awoke at 3:55 a.m. and 6:15 a.m. It makes me sad that she sleeps better when she has had a rough day. I wish she didn't have to go through anything to get a good night's rest.
She has her 4-month appointment on 3/16 and an appointment with a dermatologist on 3/17, so we'll see what they say, then. I need to get going to my eye doctor appointment. Morgan takes after her mommy's frequent doctor visiting...
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