Dermatologist Follow Up

Gavin had his follow up appointment with the dermatologist yesterday.  We've been able to maintain his eczema on his face by applying his steriod cream twice a day and the new prescribed cream once a day/every other day.  The new cream is rather pricey, so we've been trying to make the samples last as long as possible!

While his face is looking better, we're worried about continuously applying steriod ointment.  Out of curiosity, we'd didn't apply it one morning and his eczema returned by the afternoon.

The doctor explained that his skin has become addicted to the steriod.  The rash returns quickly after not applying the ointment because his skin is "craving" it.  That's right, our baby is addicted to steriods!  She predicts that his skin will improve on it's own as the weather warms up.  She recommended weaning him off of the steriod ointment, only applying it once a day (or occasionally twice a day while we're weaning him), and then not at all.  She warned us that his eczema may flare up while his skin is adjusting.  She recommended applying the non-steriod cream more often while his skin adjusts.   We only applied the new cream this morning and his skin looked great tonight. We hope this continues!

The doctor also commented about how great Gavin's scalp looks! We've only given him two treatments since our last appointment, instead of the recommended 2-3 times a week.  It was recommended that we use it overnight.  The directions also wanted us to use a shower cap during the treatment.  Instead, we've been doing the treatments for a few hours in the afternoon.  Putting a plastic shower cap over our infant's head overnight goes against our parenting instincts!

We call him Gavin.

Brennan seems to be more accepting of his baby brother.  He didn't pay him a lot of attention in the past.  Now, he'll bring him toys, want to know where he is, let us know when he's awake, give unprompted hugs, etc.  Gavin enjoys watching Brennan play.  It's neat to watch them interact and I look forward to seeing their friendship grow!

The babysitter recently told me a humorous story.  A school-aged girl was at the sitter's house over spring break. Pointing to Gavin, she asked Brennan if he was his baby brother.  Brennan, in a very matter of fact tone of voice replied, "Yes.  We call him Gavin."  Brennan, hearing the babysitter tell this story chimed in, "I call him Gabin, but his name is Gavin."  Apparently our correcting of his pronunciation is working.

Bouncy Baby!

Gavin loves to bounce! He enjoys making himself bounce in his exersaucer, on someone's lap, while sitting on the floor, while being carried, etc.

He's not crawling yet, but he's working on becoming mobile.  While on his stomach, he can turn himself 360 degrees! He's rolled from back to belly a few times, sometimes needing a teeny push.

Dermatologist Appointment

Gavin had an appointment with a dermatologist last week.  She explained that his red skin is "definitely eczema."  She anticipates that it will improve with warmer weather and gave us two prescriptions-one for his scalp and another for his skin.  We've used the scalp medicine once.  He looked rather cute in his shower cap during the treatment!  So far, the cream doesn't seem to be working as well as we'd like as his flare ups continue to come and go.  We have a follow up appointment in a few weeks in case it doesn't clear up with the new medicines.  

New Furniture!

We recently purchased new furniture for our family room!  We had been using a combination of hand-me-down furniture.  While they were much appreciated, we were ready for new!  Merry Christmas, Happy Anniversary, etc. to us!

7 Months Old!

 

Gavin is 7 months old!  He continues to be such a joy and it's so amazing to watch him grow and learn!

~He's doing a wonderful job at tummy time and is able to push himself up to his knees.
~He sleeps through the night most of the time.  If he wakes up overnight, he goes back to sleep quickly with a diaper change (he's normally soaked!) and a brief nursing session.  He continues to a great job of putting himself to sleep.  He normally goes to sleep between 7:30-8:00pm and wakes up at 5:30-6:00am.
~We've been giving him a taggie blanket at nap and bed time.  He'll reach for it when put to bed and frequently falls asleep with it over his face.  If possible, we try to move it.
~He loves food!  He gets excited when put him into his high chair.  He's enjoyed everything we've introduced.  The only funny faces we've received are reactions to cold temperatures and textures.  He's had a combination of store-bought and homemade food.
~Gavin loves giving "kisses".  He'll hold your face and come at you with an open mouth.  While it's more likely to be an attempt to mouth yet another object, it's cuter to consider it a kiss!
~He loves Peek-A-Boo, tickles, and belly nuzzles!  You're almost always guaranteed to receive a huge smile and giggle in return!
~We've started bathing him in the big tub rather than the baby tub.  He enjoys splashing in the water and chewing on his brother's foam bath letters and bath books.

6 Month Appointment

Gavin had his 6 month check up today.  We're a bit off of schedule for his check ups due to his 4th month birthday landing around the holidays.

Current statistics:
18 lbs  (less than recent appointments, but he was naked for this weigh-in)
27 3/4 inches
43.75 cm head circumference

The doctor was pleased with everything.  The doctor, nurse, and intern commented multiple times about how happy and compliant he is!  I chuckle every time they look in his ears because they usually say "Wow!" or "They're perfect!"  I hope that continues!

As usual, we discussed his skin.  It's looking great!  We gave him antibiotics for a week, applied his steroid ointment twice a day for nearly two weeks, and have religiously applied Vaseline.  While his skin improved with this regimen, it still wasn't 100%.  We're continuing using a thinner application of steroid ointment, Vaseline, and Eucerin lotion. What has seemed to help the most was eliminating cereal (oatmeal) from his diet.  Within 2-3 days with only fruits and veggies, his face looked wonderful!  We're not sure if it's a coincidence.  We're also not convinced that they are related since its worse on his face and we clean it well after eating.  The doctor suggested reintroducing cereal for a week, eliminating it for another week, giving it to him again for a week, and then eliminating it for yet another week.  He also mentioned again that we could see a dermatologist.  We haven't made the appointment yet.

Gavin received four vaccines, one oral and three shots.  Ouch!