Heart’s Day is fast approaching – one week to go!

If you are celebrating valentine’s day, now is the time to buy your loved one a gift. For your woman/wife, you may give her this bracelet with the words…

“I Am Glad Your Path Crossed Mine”

…inscribed on it.

Sterling Silver “I Am Glad Your Path Crossed Mine” with Hearts Two Entwined Cuff Bracelets

A few days back, I blogged about winter skin care for babies, that is, too much bathing is dangerous for their skin. Since last week, we decided to bath baby1 every two days. The dryness started to diminish, but, still my baby1 got rashes in almost 50% of her lower body.

We went to my baby’s pedia last 29th at Al Salam, and he advised us to use Cetaphil Lotion. We told him that we’ve been using cetaphil lotion to no avail so he advised us to cancel the 5KD consultation (baby has a health card; no health card @20KD), and go instead to a dermatologist at Al-Messila. My baby’s dermatologist said that my baby has Atopic Dermatitis, and he prescribed Nutraderm and Elocom Mometasone Furoate Cream for two weeks.

Atopic Dermatitis (AD)

My baby’s dermatologist said that AD is a type of eczema that is non-contagious but chronically reverting skin disorder. It is triggered by irritants in food (sweets, softdrinks), wool clothing, and other allergens. It is often itchy.

There’s no cure for eczema but can be relieved through using creams and moisturizers. My baby’s doc also told us that baby should not eat chocolates and drink softdrinks. We should also bath her every other day, and apply moisturizing lotion when her body is still damp.

I hope there will be an improvement in her skin after two weeks.

Read more about atopic dermatitis…

UPDATE:

Nutraderm and Elocom Mometasone are effective. After just four days, I saw a huge improvement in my baby’s skin.

Sometimes, being a new mom isn’t easy. There’s always trial and error in taking care of the 1st born. I should increase my reading habit when it comes to baby care. Even though my baby’s born in Kuwait, and she’s used to the weather here, still, her skin is delicate.

We’ve been using cetaphil lotion and soap on her body since her newborn days. But when there’s no stock of cetaphil lotion at home, we just use her mothercare lotion. A few months back, I noticed that her skin were flaky and rough. Normally, I’d just use Alfacort cream. The dryness and roughness weren’t that stubborn then. However, since the start of the year, the Alfacort and any other lotion that we applied (Glysolid Cream) didn’t do wonders anymore. My baby started to be fussy at night. She would ask me to scratch her legs for her (which I didn’t do so she’d end up scratching her legs!). I’d get up at night and put anything that would sooth the itchiness of her legs…and not it’s almost all over her body (arms, back). Poor baby.

THE CULPRIT

We’ve been bathing my baby daily (of course, hygiene is very much important), with occasional washing of her face and body anytime of the day (when she poops, and before bed time). The result? DRY SKIN. We think that rosy cheeks are cute to have (all babies in Kuwait have rosy cheeks during winter) but, hell, rosy cheeks do hurt. Now, my baby’s cheeks have gone from rosy to flaky. It’s not good.

Too much bathing and soap removes the skin’s natural oils. This is the main cause of dry skin. Dry climates make it worse, as does winter weather (“winter itch”) ~ KidsGrowth

NATURAL REMEDY

From KidsGrowth, here are the things that we can do to take good care of our kids’ skin:

• Soap and bathing – avoid soaps, detergents, and bubble bath
• Twice a week bathe or shower in plain water
• Use lubricating cream
• Use humidifier (we have in our room, and it’s not helping, I think)

I applied greenbarley juice (topical) in my baby’s skin, and the roughness has started to fade. I will continue applying the juice until my baby’s skin has gotten back to normal.

Oh, I hope winter’s over soon…but I also hate the scorching heat of the sun at over 50 degrees. Well, at least, our skin is normal during summer.

Sometimes working at home full time as a mom is enough to consume our energy and time. For the past few days, even at sleep, all I could think of was the next big idea. It was already 5a.m this morning when sleep finally chased me. The lesson I learned is to get enough sleep! I now take a nap for 30minutes or 1 hour a day, enough to refresh my tired body and mind.

Having a WAHM Career is a challenge because most of the time, I can only sit in front of my laptop when everyone in the household, especially, my baby is asleep. But well, after all, she’s the reason why I opted to work from home. I want to witness every single bit of her development.

What’s your utmost reason for being a work-at-home mom, and how do you manage to get enough sleep with all the demands of running the household and your personal career as a WAHM?