Matilda's Eczema

After battling with Matilda's eczema for well over a year now I have decided to keep a diary on the products we use and advice we are given and it's effectiveness.

Matilda has had eczema since she was six months old. At first she had a few small patches on the backs of her knees and the tops of her arms. This quickly spread to her back, shoulders and tummy. I made a doctors appointment and Matilda (like so many others suffering with eczema) was prescribed hydrocortisone cream. I was reluctant to use steroid cream on a baby considering the below side effects and the fact it can only be used for three consecutive days (for babies/toddlers)

• drying or cracking of the skin
• acne
• itching
• burning
• change in skin colour and thinning of skin

Doctors seem to offer little to no advice and will only prescribe a cocktail of creams. Over the course of a year we tried eliminating dairy from Matilda's diet and switching to soy formula. We have switched all our washing detergents to Eczema Society approved products. We have increased the amount of omega-3 in her diet. We have tried a whole host of creams and lotions. Aveeno and coconut oil were great to use as moisturisers but the main problem was the itching. Even when flare ups and dry patches subside Matilda will still be constantly scratching. There have been times when I go to get her up in the morning and she has been covered in blood. Below is a photo of her tummy after she managed to remove her scratch mitts during an afternoon nap. It's heartbreaking and extremely frustrating. It takes two of us to change and bath her. One to hold her hands while the other changes/washes. 

Recently we have been using Diprobase and Cetraben (a bath emollient) upon our doctors advice and after weeks of use have not noticed an improvement. After yet another evening researching eczema and skin conditions last night, a considerable amount of eczema sufferers actually have a reaction to paraffin which is present in almost all prescription emollients. So this morning instead of generously applying Diprobase I switched to cold pressed coconut oil and have already noticed that Matilda has been scratching far less. I have also ordered some unrefined shea butter after a recommendation by @birthyogagmama on instagram and yet more research. I will post again after it's arrived to update on its effectiveness. Fingers crossed!  

I am still waiting on a call from the health visitor to see if she can make a referral to a dermatologist so we can get Matilda allergy tested. Jason has asthma, which is why we think Matilda has eczema, but it still has triggers. For Jason this is cats and dust mites to name a couple, so there must be something that triggers Matilda's eczema flare ups. It might seem like a minor problem but it effects our lives on a daily basis. At 20 months of age she has still not been swimming because of the chemicals in swimming pools would damage her skin further. She couldn't wear any short sleeved dresses over summer without us pulling her hands away from scratching herself every two minutes. 

Matilda now has to wear scratch sleeves or mitts almost all of the time. It breaks my heart. She rarely complains and I just pray we can get to the bottom of it soon. If you have or have had eczema and found something that has worked, or found something to help with the itching please drop me an email - emmalcday@gmail.com. If you have a little one that is also suffering I'd love to hear from you!

This was all written slightly frantically between feeding our newborn (he's almost always hungry!) so I hope there aren't too many mistakes. I plan to do another post again in a few days with another update and some of my research sources. 

Thanks for reading x

Eleven Things (Liebster Award)

My lovely friend Nicki who blogs at On The Changing Mat nominated me to answer her eleven questions for the Liebster Award. 

Please forgive my terrible writing. Here we go....

1. Would you consider yourself to be a tidy person or a messy person? 

I wish to be a tidy person. I do try but it's just not in me and never has been! Clutter just seems to follow me wherever I go. Even my desk at work is horribly untidy (although I blame that on samples and magazines that get left on my desk). I'm hoping my nesting instinct will kick in soon for my 26+6 week baby bump and I'll remain a tidy person forever!

2. Would you consider yourself to be a hoarder? 

Yes, I am a massive hoarder! I've kept my birthday cards since I was ten. I keep nice wrapping paper in case I can reuse it, the same for gift bags. I can't bear to throw these things away. When I think that someone that loves me has put thought and effort into a choosing a card I just can't throw it away. Saying that, I am getting better and only keeping cards from my closest family and friends. Jason tries to throw away the gift bags I've kept without me realising. Sometimes I spy them in the recycling and hide them in the house!

I've realised that the clutter in my house makes me stressed so I'm working hard to get out of the hoarder mentality and throw/recycle/give things away. 

3. Would you consider yourself to be career driven?

Growing up, it was always instilled in me that I MUST be career driven to succeed in life. If I didn't get a good job, earn lots of money, have a nice car, a rich husband then I couldn't be happy. 

For me this couldn't be further from the truth, I've tried to be career driven and it has made me miserable. We have a house and our health, Matilda is growing, learning and happy, this is what's most important to us. 

This may be different if I was in a more preferred line of work, if I was working in my dream job, or at least a job that made a positive difference in the world then I'm sure I would be career driven. I admire anyone that is, and it certainly is nice to be able to work hard and treat yourself! 

4. What book or books are you reading at the moment?

I used to get through a book a week, but lately (over the past couple of years) I just can't seem to finish a book. I blame the internet and my waning attention span.

I have 5 books on the go at the moment:

The Road - Cormac McCarthy

Ways of seeing - John Berger

French Children Don't Throw Food - Pamela Druckerman

Where I Lived and What I Lived For - Henry David Thoreau

Nature and it's Symbols - Lucia Impelluso

5. What are the 5 most recent websites you’ve visited?

1. We Transfer - downloading the exhibition posters a graphic designer friend has put together for the exhibition I'm curating

2. https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/VelveteenBabies - wishing I could buy everything in this Etsy shop for Matilda and baby bump

3. My tumblr that I'm currently updating with my photography and working on getting a        domain name for

4. http://www.ohcomely.co.uk/

5. Pinterest - for garden and interiors inspiration.

6. What was the last thing you bought?

The last thing I bought was a new phone case - not very exciting!

7. What are your thoughts on exercise? Do you do it? Are you a regular do-er?

I used to love it, and now I seem to just love the idea of it. I can't ever seem to get motivated. As soon as I found out I was pregnant I bought a pregnancy yoga DVD. I've only done it once so far, in SIX months. Everyday at work I sit at my desk and tell myself I will do it tonight, but I get home and bath, feed and change Matilda with Jason, he then goes to work and I find it hard to get myself motivated to do anything.

I used to go running and did the Folkestone half marathon a couple of years ago, which I enjoyed and hope to do again next year! 

8. What’s your favourite smell?

Jo Malone's Peony and Blush perfume. It's heavenly. Also, the smell after it has rained in the summer. 

9. How does a typical day go? 

My alarm goes off at 6.45am, I usually snooze until Matilda wakes up around 7.15 - 7.30 and go and get her bottle. I bring her into our room where she has her first bottle and I get ready for work. 

I leave for work at 8 to start at 8.30 working through until 5. As soon as the clock hits 17:00 I'm out the door excited to get home and hear about Jason and Matilda's day together. 

Jason usually has dinner ready for when I get home unless he has to go straight out to work. We then bath Matilda and get her ready for bed, she watches In the Night Garden with her bottle and then walks out of the room to climb the stairs to her bedroom. She likes going to bed, strange child!

I then usually tidy up Matilda's toys and watch The Simpsons. At 26 I still love it. 

I'll put some washing on and then try to tackle my massive To Do list. At the moment my evenings are spent on exhibition planning. I'm curating an exhibition at the end of July, which I am also exhibiting in. So my evenings are spent sending emails, shortlisting which images to show and figuring out space and logistics of the gallery. 

I usually go to bed at around 11, although I could easily be asleep by 9!

10. When did you start your blog and why?

I started my blog a long time ago just before we bought our house (I think). To document the progress we were making and just as a way for me to store memories. I never intended it to be something I'd have to work at. Partly because I'm a terrible writer and could never be a successful blogger! I've been blogging on and off every since. I keep meaning to do another pregnancy post, which I hope I'll get round to this weekend. 

11. What are your nails like right now?

Awful. I plan to paint them before going to see from friends tomorrow. I find it hard to keep my nails pristine once I have painted them. I also have a tendency to peel off my nail varnish. One day I hope I can take more pride in my appearance!

I'll add my eleven questions for fellow IGers when I've had a cuppa and a teacake!

18 Weeks - Baby Frye is the Size of a Bell Pepper

18 weeks + 2 days and baby Frye is now the size of a bell pepper! The tiny flutters and kicks are becoming more noticeable and I'm so excited for our 20 week scan appointment to arrive any day now. I've started to look at double buggies (who knew they were so expensive!), I've got my eye on an iCandy Peach 3 Blossom but I'm still trawling through reviews of other options. 

Cravings - ugh! I'm so embarrassed to say that I have given in on several occasions to late night McDonalds chips. Luckily Jason works late and so he didn't have to make any special trips getting my salty fix. Every part of me usually hates McDonalds but I just couldn't resist. Thankfully this craving has now passed and I'm onto orange juice with bits in and ice lollies. Many of my friends I've spoken to have had only one or two cravings throughout pregnancy, has anyone else had more? 

I'm still finding it difficult to find maternity clothes I like. I have a few weddings to go to this year and am finding it so difficult finding anything to wear, despite searching ASOS and eBay most nights. It's been easier to find more casual maternity wear but anything slightly formal seems to be near impossible! I have found a couple of things lately, that I'm not 100% in love with but will be great for summer. My best find by far are some super comfy Minnetonka sandals I found in TK Maxx today, it pays to have a good look, I usually give up after 5 minutes!

Orange stripe dress - Topshop maternity

Tie dye tunic/top - ASOS maternity

Changing the subject, whilst working away this weekend (I'm currently on working day 8/12) I was told on more than one occasion not to lift certain things 'don't worry it's not an illness'. What does that even mean? I'm fully aware that I'm not ill. I love being pregnant! I'd love to hear if anyone reading this has experienced similar or as equally strange comments!

Thanks for reading x

Pregnancy Diary - 15 Weeks

At 15 weeks pregnant I've decided to keep a pregnancy diary. It's something I wish I had done with Matilda and so far this pregnancy has already had significant differences, so I thought it would be good to write it all down! This photo is from last Friday. With Matilda, my baby bump was probably 20 weeks at this size.

We found out I was pregnant a couple of days before Christmas although I already had a good idea I had a bun in the oven before that. All over Christmas and New Year we kept it a secret, it was so hard, we were so excited for Matilda to be having a little brother or sister!

In the first 12 weeks of my pregnancy with Matilda I did not feel good. I felt sick nearly all day everyday. The smallest thing such as peeling an avocado would make me ill. From weeks 8-11 I was being sick everyday. This time round I felt sick for 2-3 weeks and that was it. I have certainly felt more tired too, and I've been having a lot of early nights but, working full time then coming home to a one year old and very excitable Miniature Schnauzer might have something to do with it!

I'm going to make sure that over the next few months I'm going to spend as much quality time with Matilda as possible. I work full time but finish at 1pm on a Friday. It's so lovely to have the extra half a day and we always make sure that we try and go to the beach with Matilda and Buckley for a long walk to blow the cobwebs away. Yesterday afternoon was no exception and made all the better by the sun! Matilda is getting steadier on her feet now and had a little toddle about on the sand. 

Maternity clothes are something that I found a bit difficult last time, I'm so fussy when it comes to buying clothes so finding anything I'd like to wear from any maternity range is a challenge! I have been lucky enough to find a few classic and comfortable maternity staples that will hopefully see me through my pregnancy. These two are from Topshop. Asos is also a favourite for maternity wear, but I've found in the past their sizing isn't always so great. I will keep posting about my maternity finds and if anyone reading this has any maternity style gems they'd like to share please let me know!

Finally, here is our little pea pod! I've started to feel a couple of tiny movements already. I love being pregnant and know we will get to meet this little guy/lady in 25 weeks time fills me with so much excitement (and a little bit of nervousness).

Thanks for reading <3

Eight Months Old!

Today Matilda turned eight months old. A whole eight months of smiles, tears, giggles, cuddles, washing, feeding, changing, washing & feeding!

All the while I was pregnant and since Matilda was born people would always say to me 'the time goes so quickly, cherish every moment.' I'd sometimes roll my eyes and think to myself 'yeah, yeah, I know, I know'. It couldn't be more true! The time flies and now I feel sad that in a few months time Matilda will no longer be a baby. As soon as she takes those first steps we are taken into toddler territory. From little baby to a tiny walking human. 

 

Matilda is so alert and really seems to take in her surroundings. She loves other babies and often sees Joseph (son of awesome mum blogger, Nicki) and Indigo (daughter of another great mum blogger, Hannah). Seeing them together just melts my heart! 

Indigo & Matilda <3 (stolen from Hannah's instagram - @hannahsunited)

Veg Again

Since the age of 16 I've been vegetarian twice, each time for two years before giving in to meat cravings. I was always annoyed at myself each time I caved in and felt I could no longer commit to vegetarianism due to my lack of will power! Having vegan and vegetarian best friends I have never found it difficult to to cook vegan or vegetarian meals, I more often than not prefer to cook and eat this way and I love vegan baking!

Since having Matilda, I have been very health conscious and as a mother I want to be here for as much of Matilda's life as possible. Doing my bit to help try and preserve our environment for future generations coupled with the moral and ethical issues surrounding the meat industry I have decided to become vegetarian again. This time around it has been far more of an informed decision rather than just acting on a 'whim'. The meat industry is the largest contributor to global warming, despite not actually being all that good for you. But, what stands out for me most is that in years to come there will not be enough food on this planet for everyone. 45% of crops grown today are used as animal feed, in just over 30 years time, there will not be enough food on this planet for human beings. 

A lot of illnesses are caused by animal proteins, and if I can prevent myself from getting a life threatening disease then I will be any means do my best to do so. 

I have never liked it when people try and put their opinions onto me, and that is by no means what I am trying to do here, but this is why I feel that it is the best decision for me. I've already been asked about my decision to go vegetarian only to see people rolls their eyes at me and say 'I can't stand fussy eaters'. Fussy? Really?

Peace out!

How long should you take for maternity leave?

On May 19th I started a new job working full time (36 1/4 hours per week) after having only three and a half months maternity leave. I always knew I wouldn't be taking the full nine months, although I would have loved to! I knew that I didn't want to go back to spending two hours a day travelling, especially when I had a baby to go home to each night. 

In April I started looking for jobs, and it just so happened I found, what appeared to be the perfect job just a ten minute drive away. The position was for Assistant Market Planner. I applied, had an interview two weeks later, got a call a few hours after my presentation/interview, I'd got the job! I was over the moon, then I realised, I'd be going back to work full time. No more maternity leave. 

At the time I knew it was the right decision, I'd be close to home and everyone finishes at 1pm on a Friday. Perfect! Or so I thought until I realised I'd be having to work some weekends. I have worked 12 days straight, from last Monday through to today. I am exhausted, BUT, I get to be close to home close to Matilda should anything happen and in the long term it's hopefully a move in the right direction in terms of my career!

I do sometimes feel a bit down in the dumps about having to go back to work so soon, but I don't feel like Matilda is missing out at all. Jason is with her three weekdays and I am with her every evening and weekend. I cherish every minute that we get to spend together and I don't regret the decision I had to make. We still get to do everything that we would have done had I continued my maternity leave, it's just in a shorter amount of time. I'm OK with that. 

I'm also lucky that Jason sends me regular updates and photos whilst I am at work, it's great. I sometimes get to see Matilda during my lunch break to, breaks the day up perfectly! 

Today I gave Matilda fruit puree for the first time, her face was priceless!