Sensitive Baby

My poor baby. It seems we have another sensitive child - at least skin-wise. I took L to get his next two immunizations today and asked the nurse about his skin issues, primarily his face. He had baby acne for the first couple of months of his life. Well I thought by 2 months it would be all gone. It did clear up for a week or two, but then it seemed to come back. And over the past 1-2 weeks, his poor cheeks have just been constantly red, with anywhere from 1/2 a dozen to a dozen bumps on them. Plus, he has patches of eczema on the sides of his face, in his eyebrows and right above his mouth on the left side.

After looking at him the nurse went to get our pediatrician. We were not scheduled to see him today as we were just there for L's 3rd & 4th shot from the 2 month schedule. But Dr. H is WONDERFUL and took time to come see my sweet boy. He said he is definitely past the baby acne phase, and this is a rash. He said it could even be Keratosis pilaris, which some of you I know are familiar with. I actually have this on my upper arms, which is where it is most common. But occasionally, it can occur on the face and be mistaken for acne. Learn something new every day, dontcha?

So, we now have the great pleasure of making sure NOTHING with fragrance touches L's skin. Of course, I'm most worried about his face as it is the most affected right now, but he does have eczema patches popping up on his arms and legs now too. This means:

• we have to use all the fragrance-free products to not only wash his clothes and bedding, which I already did, but also our bedding as he lays in our bed on occasion


• anyone holding him must use a burp cloth or blanket so his face does not rub against your clothing (this includes me & hubby too, although I may use the "free" detergents on my clothes too)


• we must limit our "stinkum" use (what my dad used to call perfume!)


• we will be using hydrocortisone cream on his face for about a week, along with Aquaphor or Eucherin lotion - whatever we find works

Here are some pictures of L today. I haven't taken many this week due to his teenage acne appearance. And it looks better today than it has before. Poor little guy...please do not be offended if you come over and we cover you in a blankey or burp cloth before you hold him! And we would love it if for at least the next month you go easy on perfumes/colognes too. We don't care if you smell "au natural"!

He was talking to me in this picture. Still precious despite all those bumps! You can see one of his eczema patches right above his mouth on the left side. And scratches between his eyes and on his forehead from trying to itch himself. (He now wears socks on his hands at night!)