Swaddling and rolling over in sleep

[strmis]

So... DD is nearly 7 mos old.  She's got really itchy eczema on her face, so we swaddle her at night in a woombie to keep her from scratching herself raw. Now she can easily roll over in her sleep while wearing the woombie, so i can't imagine this would be an option anymore. Does anyone have any suggestions on how we can keep her from scratching her face/head at night? I know we can use mittens, but the problem is, once she starts, she can't stop and I can't imagine how it would be if she had free access to her face.  URGH!!! this is a whole new ballgame for this eczema. :(

[cat13]

Are you crafty at all? I'm imagining some kind of PJ that has covered hands similar to how they do the feeties. Then she couldn't get them free.

[foreverinbluejeans]

I know how difficult this is for you and your baby. My grandson has eczema problems. So do I. Anything touching eczema at night drives me crazy and getting overheated makes things worse. We have to keep my grandson in only a diaper and keep him cool. When he was that age for naps I would hold him on my chest on the reclining chair under the ceiling fan and hold his arms so he wouldn't scratch. He would be in just a diaper. I think swaddling could drive a baby that old with eczema crazy (like torture).

Eczema in babies is almost always a warning sign of allergies. You can talk to your baby's doctor about a seeing an allergist. It turned out my grandson was allergic to a lot of foods, cats, trees, some weeds, ect. Of course they don't test for everything in the world so he is probably allergic to things they don't test for. I am. I'm allergic to chemicals like propylene glycol and formaldehyde that they have special skin tests for. Benedryl and hydrocortosone skin creams help. My grandson is 3 now and when his skin is bothering him he asks for medicine. He doesn't like the cream but it helps.

If you find out what is bothering your baby you may be able to eliminate it and the eczema will go away. Medications may make it better or make it go away. I think it would be better to find out what is going on than to let your baby suffer with eczema. Eczema is usually in the cracks of the back of the knees and elbows along with other places. She may not have eczema if it is only on her face and may have some other skin condition.

[GoddessKristie]

What about those sleep gowns that have the fold over things on the hands for newborns? I know we have some that go to 6 mos. If she could fit in something like that you could fold the little flappy thingy over her hands to keep them covered. If you can't find any like that it would be super easy to sew a little square of fabric onto the sleeve of a footy sleeper. You could even do that by hand with a piece cut from an old t-shirt, it's such a small piece of fabric. 

I second considering food intolerance. My DS had terrible eczema. We took him to an allergist and he tested negative for any allergies. I did an elimination diet and discovered it was caused by soy and dairy.When I got them out of his diet his skin cleared up and looked so beautiful. It was so nice to see him not scratching!

[Ruthie's momma]

Here is a link to a really sweet looking sleep sack from New Zealand...

http://pekemoe.co.nz/

[Mummoth]

My DD has eczema and when she was a baby I put socks over her hands at night. I had some that were big enough to pull right up to her arm pits, and then I'd put her sleeper on over top, so they weren't easy for her to pull off.

[GoddessKristie]

How are things going? Did you find something that works?

[strmis]

Originally Posted by GoddessKristie 

How are things going? Did you find something that works?

Sorry I haven't replied! Been so caught up

Ups and downs, right now is definitely down. I think her eczema is getting worse, spreading to the rest of her body. She's also congested, sneezing, watery eyed, coughing... Etc. I ended up giving her some Benadryl to hopefully get her over the hump but she is still congested. Either the congestion isn't allergies but a bug, or I didn't give her enough. I gave 1/4 tsp.

As for sleep, I put he between these sleep bumper things and it hmade her " too wide" to roll over, so to speak. So now she's in a woombie with bumpers on her. I might have to get crafty soon if she figures out ho to roll with these.