"What Kinda Nasty Disease You Give this Child Jonatin??"

When you think of a baby, don’t you think of super soft skin and that heavenly baby smell amidst snuggles?  I experienced that for about a year with Isaac until the dreaded eczema hit.  What is eczema?  From what I’ve observed with my boys, it’s extreme dry patches in your skin that become inflamed, cracked, itchy and even bloody at times.  I didn’t know what the heck was happening with Isaac’s skin because I’ve always had oily skin.  I showed my scientist hubby and he immediately knew what it was.  He was like, “Uh oh he’s got eczema.  I had it as a kid and grew out of it.”  I remember my dramatic island mommy was around when he said this and was like, “Ohhh my gosh, wha kinda nasty disease you give this child Jonatin??  EckZzema?! Put some aloe on it and watch it heal right up.”  (FYI, my mom is like the dad off of My Big Fat Greek Wedding, who believed Windex was the cure for all, except substitute aloe-my friends and fam know the dealio lol!) 

Initially, when Isaac’s eczema developed I was like okay, I’m just going to apply some extra baby lotion to those dry areas, which were located on his upper back, in the folds of his arms, behind his knees and on his neck.  Isaac was a chubster (he was 90-95% for height and weight up until around 2 years old), so at first I thought his chunk rolls were giving him a rash, but when it started to get really inflamed, where it looked blistered and was causing him a lot of discomfort, I knew more had to be done.  His pediatrician confirmed that he had eczema and prescribed a hydrocortisone cream.  I used that on the severe spots and that provided visible relief, but we noticed that overall his skin was still really dry and that’s when we went through a plethora of creams to see what would work.  We tried Aveeno, Vanicream, California Baby, Babyganics, Burt’s Bees, pure coconut oil, pure aloe, etc…and none of these worked.  It wasn’t until we started to use Aquaphor in combination with the hydrocortisone that we saw results and his blistered skin started to heal. We also noticed that skipping baths or bathing him every other day seemed to further irritate his skin, so we gave him baths every day and that provided the relief he needed.  

As warmer months ushered in, we wanted to use a lighter lotion (Aquaphor is super thick and who wants that when it’s hot out??).  That’s when I discovered the Honest Company and oh.my.gosh it saved my baby boy’s skin!  It completely agreed with him and to this very day we use their products (shampoo and wash, healing lotion, leave in conditioner spray, face and body lotion, organic body oil, soothing bottom wash spray for Ian, all natural bug spray, sunscreen and I keep their sanitizer spray in my purse).  I absolutely love that these products are natural because I’m all about that and they smell so good too!  Now, the wash and lotion worked great for Isaac, but Ian is another story.  Ian's skin did not agree with the Honest Company shampoo and body wash.

When Ian was born, after only a couple of months we noticed that he had insanely dry skin and we were like oh no!  Turns out that Ian’s eczema is worse than Isaac’s and he scratches like he has a tick!  To the point that he has scars all over his legs, arms and upper back from grating his skin off and making himself bleed. I remember looking at his nails and noting how disgusting they were.  I thought he had dirt under them, until my hubby pointed out that the said “dirt” was in fact his skin from his vicious itching. When I took him to his pediatrician he referred us to a dermatologist because of the severity of his eczema.  Nothing was working on Ian, so when we took him to the dermatologist she prescribed antibiotics to clear up his inflammation and a steroid cream.  His eczema cleared up while on these prescriptions, but quickly returned once done. 

At that point, I was like okay, I’ve tried the medicated route, now I’m going to try my all natural route that I prefer, so I started to research and found hazelwood cream. Other parents with babies suffering from the dreaded eczema used it and had marked improvement in their little one’s condition.  I bought it and guess what, it works!! It is really thick and has the consistency and texture of sunblock, which is why we apply it to the extra dry areas.  In addition, our dermatologist recommended that we use Dove body wash on Ian for eczema and we still use it (for sensitive skin and it agrees with his skin type).  We also use the eczema relief lotions from Mustela for the remainder of his body and man, his skin is back to feeling smooth and he rarely goes into his crazy itching attacks!  I don’t know if you remember from my first pregnancy with Isaac, but I used Mustela on my belly and didn’t get any stretch marks.  I didn’t use it when preggers with Ian because I couldn’t stomach the smell.  It would literally make me puke my guts up and yup, you guessed it, I welcomed some stretch marks to my belly.  Oh well, c’est la vie!  I say this because that fund will be in full effect once we’re done having kids.  You best believe that!

We’re praying that Ian grows out of his eczema like his daddy and big brother.  In the meantime, we will continue to administer palliative care until it decides to leave for good.  

 **These are all products purchased and used by us**

Taking a Chill Pill the Second Time Around

I don’t know if you’ve ever seen those Luv’s diaper commercials documenting the differences between parenting your first born and second.  It’s hilarious, but oh so true!  For your first you are all up on them, disinfecting everywhere and everything, always cleaning them, always making sure they don’t venture into any unknown zone and constantly referring to the mommy books you read.  Now I’m not suggesting that you neglect your second child, but you do learn from your first and realize hey, chill out and just enjoy this time because they’re only this small for such a short period.  I’m certainly not saying you put your child in harm’s way or ignore them, but you honestly take a more relaxed approach the second time around, at least that’s how it’s been in our household.

For Isaac I was dead set on that boy not getting sick for as long as possible and that meant me limiting his time around kids.  Let’s face it, when your kid hangs around other kids they’re bound to get sick.   I managed to do this until he was at around 2 years old.  When Ian came I knew there was no avoiding this because his older brother is obviously a kid.  Also, whenever we want a date night we take them to Parents Night Out at our church or the Y, they attend Sunday school, we drop them off with the other kids at the YMCA when we work out and Isaac now attends Parents Morning Out at the YMCA a couple times a week.  Ian didn’t get sick until he was around 1, but I remember if that happened with Isaac I probably would have freaked out.  I really feel like I was one of those crazy moms looking back lol.  We have come to grips with sickness and just know this is unavoidable and a normal part of growing up. 

Another thing is that with Isaac we were so apprehensive to have anyone but each other or our parents babysit him.  We actually vowed that we wouldn’t have anyone watch him until he could talk.  I’m sorry, but Dateline, 20/20, the news really put the fear in us.  When Ian arrived, we were still really cautious, but by the time he was 6 months he was attending Sunday school and participating in the babysitting services at our church or the YMCA.  We loosened up and realized that we really like them being in a group setting, engaging in fun activities.  It allows us to have date nights and the boys to have fun socializing with other kids who are the same age.   And let’s be honest, having 2 young kids is incredibly difficult and tiresome, so we not only want, but beckon the breaks!

With Isaac we wanted to make sure we had every gadget, newest and coolest baby product out there.  Let me tell you, looking back, that was so foolish on our part because it’s incredibly expensive and a lot of these products were a total waste. Trust me, I have had many a buyer’s remorse on account of this “addiction.”  There are essentials that are needed and valuable assets, as well as some fave toys, but if you take a trip to any baby store you will end up talking yourself into purchasing some craziness.  However, when Ian was born, the only items we bought were the essentials and an activity jumper that was and still is a lifesaver lol.  Even hubby noticed this lol.

Our tiny "diaper bag" by BUILT

I am laughing as I write about this one, but O.M.G. the diaper bag lol!  Isaac’s diaper bags were huge and full of stuff. I remember it being so heavy and definitely needing a stroller to lug that thing around.  Did I use the products in there?  Some of them, but the majority, heck no.  For Ian, we carry diapers, wipes, a nursing cover-up and a change of clothes in the smallest bag.  Also, we completely ditched the stroller and exclusively carry in our Boba or Tula. For us, this has made for an easy going life this time around lol.  With two active little boys, we have to be able to move, run and act quickly, so the less material items to worry about, the better!

This is going to sound horrible, but was Isaac our guinea pig to parenting?  Hmm, yeah, kinda lol.  We made mistakes, we saw things that worked and continue to keep all of this in mind with Ian.  Each child is different and our boys are like night and day, so we have to tailor our parenting to each, but the basics remain the same, and having been there done that, really takes the edge off.  No way am I saying that we’re pros or experts when it comes to parenting, but we’ve just found our groove and what works for our little family and I think this is true for most parents as time progresses. We get thrown curve balls all.the.time, but instead of panicking about it, we assess and work towards the least stressful solution.  Why complicate life?  In my book, simplicity = happiness.  I say find out what works for you and your family and don’t be disheartened.  It’s rough at first (if anyone tells you otherwise they’re straight up lying lol), but it gets better and just seeing those sweet innocent little faces will make all the difference!  

Smash Cake Cake Cake Cake!

Ian's rosette smash cake with Paddington Brown bear

When our Baby Beary turned 1 initially my hubby and I thought we would throw a party similar to his older brother, but utter exhaustion, winter, and my sanity obliterated those plans.  I felt badly about this, but Ian is born in the dead of winter and I’m from a tropical climate and grew up in Florida, I’m just not built for this type of cold.  I know, I know, get over it, well I simply can’t.  I hibernate during winter and the thought of trying to plan and host a birthday party with two very young boys was not going to happen.  Normally I would sacrifice my mental sanity and do it, but this time I opted out and it was the best decision for us.   Let’s face it, the 1 year old birthday extravaganza is for the parents.  The basic tenets are about creating great memories and celebrating this milestone with loved ones.  In going along with that, I decided to get professional pictures taken of our nugget with a smash cake and to have a simple and sweet bday celebration with our little family at home with cupcakes.   

Once I came up with a game plan I had to find a photographer I liked, pick a theme for the pictures, order a smash cake, figure out the attire/décor, and get the whole fam on board.  Through internet research I found a photographer very close to where I live who has a studio in her home.  This was important to me because it would allow us to give Ian a quick bath after his smash cake indulgence.  And she had a really fun play area next to the studio that we could use as a distraction.  We also decided that we would use this opportunity to take a couple of family pictures beforehand, take some pics with the boys, change Ian into his smash cake outfit, get pics of him in that,  introduce the smash cake, and have him delve in. 

We came up with Paddington bear theme because one of our nicknames for Ian is Baby Beary and while there is Winnie the Pooh and Corduroy, we liked the idea of Paddington because he is known for loving his orange marmalade.  With this is mind, when ordering Ian’s smash cake I knew I wanted it to be an orange rosette cake.  I personally like how they photograph.  I found a really cute Paddington print smash cake outfit on Etsy.  I ordered the hat with fluffy tassle, the diaper cover, and a bowtie.  I wanted his little belly out and knew this would make for easier cleanup, so it was a win win.  One of Ian’s aunties also bought him a Paddington bear and book that we used in the photos to carry through the theme and we bought colorful balloons to add some simple flair. 

The morning of Ian’s smash cake shoot was very hectic.  Actually, whenever you’re trying to get everyone ready, looking nice, and out at a set time it is very stressful when you have kids.  By the time you feed them, have them dressed and ready to go, they either need a diaper change, need to potty, are hungry again so you have to feed them, cranky because they’re sleepy, or in our case, all of the above lol.  It was a chilly morning as would be expected in the middle of February and by the grace of God we left on time.  Luckily, the photographer was only 10 minutes from our home and when we got there she was ready to go because she knew it would only be a matter of time before the meltdowns began (she has young kids as well). 

We tried and tried to get a nice family shot, but the boys refused to cooperate.  Trying to get both of them to look at the camera at the same time and smile was just not happening.  After about 10 min of that I was like eh let’s move on because our mission was to capture cute bday pics of Ian.  We also tried to get cute shots of the brothers together and that was a hot mess as well lol.  Isaac was cooperating, but Ian decided he wanted to run everywhere, so after 15 min, that was that.  Then when

we changed Ian into his smash cake outfit our little Isaac’s attitude took a turn and Mr. Grumpy Pants made an appearance.  We suspected this would happen because the attention was not focused on him, so daddy took him out of the studio and into the play area.  Praise God for that!.  Meanwhile, I was trying to get Ian to stay on the white backdrop to take pics without him running off.  It was a serious work out!  I was sweating and the amount of squats I did was simply ridiculous.  No wonder I was incredibly sore the next day!  Taking these pics were definitely not easy like his newborn shots where he stayed put.  I honestly wish we could have done the pics outside, but alas it was too cold and I didn’t want to risk our boys getting sick for the sake of pictures. 

It was worth getting these shots of our sweet beary

After the pics were done and we were all packed up, I remember I sat in the car, looked at my hubby and was like, “That was straight up torture.”  Jon told me he knew it was going to be like that and had mentally prepared for it.  I don’t know why I thought it was going to be all sunshine and flowers lol.  Must have been the chocolate flavored coffee I downed that morning. Turns out I wasn’t the only one exhausted, when we got home, after eating lunch, the boys were knocked out and I had a “mommy drink” to unwind. 

That week, we celebrated Ian’s bday on his actual birth date by getting 4 cupcakes and singing to him. Isaac became really upset when we did that because boyfriend doesn’t like it when you sing happy bday to anyone besides him.  He then proceeded to blow out Ian’s candle and had a huge grin afterwards.  All we could do was look at one another and smile because well, that’s our Isaac and Ian doesn’t know how to blow out a candle, so no biggie.  You honestly just learn to go with the flow and don’t sweat the small stuff.  It was a cute and quaint bday for our little guy and man oh man what they say about the second child is so true lol.  That’s something I’ll discuss in my next post.  Check out the bday pics below as well and you'll see I don't exaggerate when I document our experiences lol.  

He started off sour then got super sweet lol

 

About to light candle and start singing

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Blowing out his brother's candle

So happy he blew out his brother's candle

Very upset when we were singing happy bday to Ian

Face while we're singing

His annoyance lol