Hello eczema, goodbye sleep

[Livi's Mama]

I DO feel really bad for ds, who's eczema is flaring up right now. He's had it about a month, we've known what it is for a couple of weeks & are trudging through the muck trying to figure out what *might* be causing this & what *might* help him. My champion sleeper is gone & so is all my patience. During the day, I think rational thoughts, but at night i become a monster. DS went from sleeping big stretches & falling right back to sleep to these mini sleep sessions. it takes me just as long to be able to put him back down as he sleeps sometimes. i did the co-sleep thing w/dd & it just didn't work well. ds has always joined me for the last couple hours of sleep each morning, but i don't think i could have him there all night & I'm not even sure he'd do alright w/it. he used to nearly "pass out" after a middle of the night feeding. i could practically fling him back into his bassinette next to the bed. now he's the lightest sleeper alive. here i am awake again in teh middle of the night. just yelled at dd, who woke up when i had to elave the room to change ds's diaper. "just go back to sleep! i'm just changing his diaper!" (she sleeps separately in our room). Like she ever deserves to be yelled at, especially in the middle of the night!! I hate myself & I feel like i'm never going to regain my equilibrium. how on earth to you get a baby w/eczema to sleep??????? i know this is sleep issues but i figured put it here because i am certain this is eczema related, due to the timing.

so sorry to rant. every night when I'm awake i want to post. but i always talk myself otu of it & every morning I regain some commposure & think maybe tonight it will get better, but it never does. and from what i've learned about eczema, we're unlikely to successfully combat it any time soon, which i guess is what makes me feel so hopeless when i find myself awake during the night. again.

[JaneS]

Sounds like the third reincarnation of my son... I just posted in a few threads of another mama that is going thru something similar with her DS:
http://www.mothering.com/discussions...d.php?t=342458
http://www.mothering.com/discussions...d.php?t=342466

Is he scratching or do you think this is digestive related as well... any tummy/poop symptoms? My DS's issues are all tied to the condition of his gut.

[MMMOM]

I know exactly what you are going through. As I prepared my dd's for bed tonight. I promised myself that I was going to remain calm for them tonight. My 15 month old has eczema and wakes up itching almost every hour, my 4 yr old has a bad cough so I know it's going to be a long night. DH is out of town again. I was able to identify some of dd allergies, so it made it much easier once I got that under control. I do the oatmeal baths, Benadryl and 1 percent Hyrdocortisone ( very little and only on affected area) on a as needed basis. I just started NAET.
My little one got stung by a bee this afternoon, yesterday I had to have her toe nail removed. Sweet child of mine, I love her so much. I wish she did not have the eczema, I see her suffer and wish I could help her.
I sleep with the baby so I can pat her or get her itch and the older one is on the floor beside me. It's the only way I can get sleep when dh is out.

hang in there.

[Missy]

We've been there. Do you have any idea yet what's causing the eczema? My son's did not clear up until I had eliminated all traces of his allergens. And, then, within weeks, he was a different child.

Missy

[Livi's Mama]

Well things are improving. I feel a bit of a fool for starting this thread, but in the middle of the night, mole hills become mountains. not that lack of sleep is just a mole hill, but anyway. Shortly after posting this, I started incorporating increased amounts of coconut oil into my diet & even giving ds some by dropper, per naturopathic dr (I know this seemed a bit, well, wrong to me given his age, but it does seem to help) and a few nights ago he slept for 9 hours straight!! That wasn't the norm, but at least now several hours at a time can be expected. I also broke down & started giving him the pacifier. Not my 1st choice, but it does seem to bring him comfort. I'm also pretty sure he's allergic to dairy so am concentrating on eliminating that from my diet.

Thanks so much for the support, all!.

MMMOM - I'd love to hear how the NAET works out! This just fascinates me. My chiro sister has a bit of training along these lines & is going to try some things when we see her next month. Yippee! Good luck with yours!

[JaneS]

Coconut oil is the most easily digestible fat. It is in mainstream supplements for patients with cystic fibrosis b/c of that reason. Increasing it in your diet will increase the beneficial fatty acids, such as lauric acid, in your milk. It is anti viral, anti bacterial and anti fungal. It will help the intestinal flora a great deal by decreasing the numbers of pathogenic bacteria and yeasts and allow the good bacteria, probiotics, to take hold again.

[WC_hapamama]

I can relate. My oldest son had severe eczema from about 1 year old to 6 years old, and it played havoc with his sleep. We ended up resorting to a bedtime dose of antihistamine to help him get to sleep without clawing himself raw. He's doing better now, and hasn't needed the bedtime antihistamines for 2 years.

My 3 year old daughter seems to be following in her brother's footsteps, and she gets occasional bedtime antihistamine doses.

What helps with my daughter is to put wet wraps on the really itchy parts. We bathe her, put her topical meds on, put some moisturizer on, then we wrap her arms in damp gauze that has been soaked in distilled water, which we cover with a dry layer of gauze or clean tube socks. You could probably do it with 2 layers of socks instead of the gauze. You could definitely do it without the meds too.

Cheryl

[crunchy_mama]

glad to hear that it is going better momma! I could so relate to your post, I become a monster without sleep as well

[KaraBoo]

Just wanted to give you a big mama hug cuz we've been there. ((())) It lasted about two years and then we found someone to perform NAET. I remember that time as being hell but when I look back at the pictures from those years, we were all smiling and doing normal happy family things. Now I try to remember the good stuff cuz I have EVIDENCE that there were good times. You will get through it. I know it's hard to have patience when you are so sleep-deprived. Try to find some time when someone else is watching your kids and take a nap to revive yourself. Tell your DH when you feel you are going into that dark angry space. Good luck, mama!

[funkygranolamama]

It's so hard, isn't it? My son had eczema (note the HAD). After elimating ALL dairy from my diet his skin cleared up in about 3 weeks. After a month I tried to add dairy back to my diet and it flared again. I eliminated again and waited until he was almost one year old to add the dairy back to my diet. That was 2 months ago and ::fingers crossed:: we haven't had any more problems. I know there is a chance it will come back, and if it does we will eliminate the dairy for good