Moo Moo Here, Eczema There

So a few weeks ago, in his 15th week, Griffin started getting little splotches on his legs. I immediately recognized it as eczema, since I have seen quite a bit of it on Ally.


Then it became more than just a few splotches ... it became a major red rash that covered his torso, legs, and much of his face! I took him to the doctor, who just confirmed that it was eczema and recommended hydro-cortisone and lotion. So I was diligent about applying the cortisone and slathering on the aquaphor for a few weeks, but it actually seemed to get worse. The rash started looking more and more like hives, and you could barely see his skin through all of the red bumps.

Then one night, I noticed that it got worse immediately after I nursed. Hmm. This was interesting. So I checked online, and read that nursing babies sometimes have allergic reactions to dairy consumed by their mothers. *Ding!* This was _very_ interesting. It turns out that I had purchased a new espresso machine right around the time his eczema first appeared. I was drinking 2-3 cappucinos a day, and this may have been what set off his eczema!

So I have been trying to avoid dairy for the last 2 weeks, and it really seems to have made a difference. I immediately switched from cappucinos to americanos, but it's taken some time for me to get used to avoiding _all_ dairy. One morning I noticed the splotches had reappeared, and then I realized that I had eaten half a pint of frozen yogurt the night before. I kept thinking "no milk, no milk", and had conveniently forgotten that fro-yo is still a dairy product.

Today his skin was looking great! It was pale and smooth -- that is, until I got home and ruined it for him. I broke down at work today and ate a butter cookie, and the red dots showed up on his body about an hour after I fed him. My poor little baby is suffering because Mama has a weakness for dessert!

Apparently many babies outgrow these allergies by 18 months or so. I'm planning on "testing" his reaction periodically (especially when I'm majorly craving some creamy dessert), but I will mostly avoid dairy for now.

There is certainly one side benefit to this ... I'm losing weight!

Back to work

so this is my last week of maternity leave. next week, i will leave this world of spit-up, baby talk, and diapers to return to the world of operations and project management.

it's been amazing how quickly the last 4 months have flown by. with ally, time really seemed to crawl, and the first 4 months felt like forever. i think it's because i wasn't working when i had ally, and so each day felt pretty much the same. but this time around, because i know my leave has a hard stop, i'm really cherishing my time off with griffin and am also trying to get all my little "projects" done.

what projects, you ask? sorting through my thousands of photos. updating our old website. going through our 18+ hours of home video and making some home movies. unpacking the 20+ remaining boxes from our move so that i can finally park my minivan in the garage.

so how many of these projects have i completed? uh ... well, none of the ones i had planned to complete. but i've done a bunch of unplanned stuff, like writing this blog! oh, and buying some new toys, like my new espresso machine and canon digital rebel xt.

i still have 4 days before i start work on monday, and i'll really _really_ try to put together at least ONE movie. actually, i'm quite lame in that i have only put together 1 movie ever, and it's entitled "ally's first month". she is now almost 3 years old. i guess that makes me Lame with a capital "L".

oh, i suppose i did make significant progress on 1 project, my main project, really -- griffin!
he's healthy, growing, and really doing well. hates the bottle (just like his sister did), gets really mad when we make him nap in his crib, loves grinning at people, and chats up a storm.

as for the other projects ... anyone know of a good project manager?