Jonah - 15 weeks

Jonah - 15 weeks / Eczema is going away!

So apparently I skipped a few weeks so I have lot's to update, so here we go!

Jonah was suffering really bad from reflux. We had him on prevacid and had to double his dose. The pediatrician recommend that we do a swallow study and upper GI. Neither one was I really happy about due to the early exposure to radiation, but we needed to make sure he wasn't aspirating and that everything was anatomically correct. I will skip to the chase, both tests came out just fine. Both doctors conducting the test noted he had pretty bad reflux and could see them on both tests. Ugh! My fear was that he would never be able to lay on his back and never get into his crib.

The GI doctor recommended I start thickening his milk. I was SO conflicted about this. I felt like it may be too early, I would miss nursing, there is a chance of him developing food allergies when starting solids too soon, and the list of objections in my mind went on and on. I thought about it for two days and prayed. While he was sitting in front of me he started refluxing and choking and decided to thicken his milk. This was going to be a pain because now I had to pump, add brown rice cereal, then feed him. This adds more to my day, but honestly I would do whatever is best for him without question. Within a few hours I noticed a difference. No more spitting up, choking or refluxing. So it convinced me it was the right thing to do. Jonah actually enjoys tummy time and being on his back now. Yay! We also bought the nap nanny and he is going to be in his crib from now on. Double yay for big boy beds!

Jonah was also diagnosed with eczema around 6 weeks old. He has been seen by a pediatric allergist for that. We had been using Eucerin Cream on his skin and Cetaphil to bathe him in and we weren't really noticing a difference. I did some research and found a blog with a woman who went to school with my sister in law whose son had the exact same issues as Jonah. She started making her own lotions and soaps for her baby. So I decided I was going to do the same. I made my own balm for his skin out of coconut oil, beeswax, eucalyptus essential oil and distilled water. I was so proud of myself. I also added a little olive oil to his bath water and after 5 days his eczema was gone! I couldn't believe it. So from now on I will be making everything he needs. Currently I am using Castille Soap by Dr. Brommer for his bath time and I only use soap twice a week. Since he doesn't crawl around much he doesn't get very dirty so no need to use soap every time. This keeps his skin from drying out which makes the eczema worse. We have also switched to cloth diapers. I am not looking forward to extra laundry, but tired of the thought of a landfill filling up with all these poopy diapers. :(

Recently he has become quite the chatterbox. He has started squealing, make fart noises and still shoves his hands in his mouth. It's amazing to see all the new stuff he learns everyday. He really enjoys fish tanks. I had to go to Petco today for the dog and took him out to look at all the fish. He loved it! I am thinking we need a fish tank now. :)

Well we are just a couple weeks away from 4 months old and his next round of shots. Oh my! Hopefully I can make it through those.