The last 2 weeks have been - all about Aariz. Hold on. Hasn't it always been about Aariz since he was born?! Huhuhu... Well, the last 2 weeks was more intense I guess. I was and still am obsessed about Aariz's eczema. Yes. Eczema. *Sigh* I burst into tears the other day while dressing Aariz up after his bath but I'm now less worried and annoyed on seeing my lil boy covered with patches of red and not-so-nice-looking rash (which turns out to be eczema) all around his body, and his cheek and ears are all red. It started with what we thought as milk rash around his face when he was about 8 weeks. I was frantically wiping his face especially near the mouth and cheek with warm damp cloth after every feed but it got worse. When we took him for his 2-month shot, his cheeks were bright red and a bit dry and scaly. I knew something was wrong and the doctor said it's probably infant eczema which is pretty common. He gave us a cream which later I found out was steroid base cream. It did clear up the rash in 1-2 days. But after that, the rashes came back and haven't gone away (yet!) ever since. It even spread all over Aariz's body; shoulders, arms, chest, tummy, thighs, calves and yesterday, his back; patches of coin shaped rash. I've been reading a lot on the internet; I need to stop before I go crazy! Haha! I decided to meet with the baby nurse at the Chemist just 15 minutes walk from where we live last Tuesday. We talked a bit about how Aariz and me are doing, etc and then she straightaway asked me about Aariz's rash. She had a look at all the rashes on Aariz and said that from her experience (Aariz's rashes are scaly and dry, and he has cradle cap), it looks like Aariz could have an allergic reaction of some sort to food and it could be milk protein a.k.a dairy products Although the nurse did say it could be something else as Aariz doesn't always have tummy upsets, never experienced diarrhea, his poo is only sometimes green and he's gaining weight pretty well. Oh yeah, at 14 weeks, Aariz is now 6.8kg and he's 63cm long. The nurse gave me some contacts of skin and allergic specialists for me to refer to later if things doesn't get better. But in the meantime, because Aariz is fully breastfeeding, my diet needs to change. So, I'm cutting off all dairy for the next 2-3 weeks. I really hope Aariz's eczema gets better with this change of diet and that Aariz will grow out of this dairy intolerance (if he actually is) and the eczema. InsyaAllah. I didn't really want to talk about Aariz's eczema at first. I guess I kinda think I don't want to 'attract' it even more but I just had to get it out of my system. It's killing me from the inside!!! Huhuhu! Apart from the eczema, Aariz is growing up strong and healthy. He feeds and sleeps well, and cooing and smiling and laughing a lot. He has discovered his hands for quite some time now; staring at them and shoving them in his mouth. He also learned to scratch himself (thanks to the eczema) which made him bleed sometimes resulting in me putting mittens on him again recently especially when he sleeps (how fast do the nails grow?!!). Mr. Hubby prefer not to have the mittens on because the mittens do get yucky with Aariz's saliva! Huhuhu... His legs are getting stronger everyday. He could kick and kick and actually move himself without realizing it. He is also able to lift up his bum pretty high when he's lying down. He'll have tummy time and he just keep his head up for ages. Aariz likes to play by himself at times; he gets all restless and starts to cry when me or Mr. Hubby's cuddling him but once we put him down on his playmat, he stops crying and starts playing. How cool is that?!! But don't get me wrong, he does have his clingy, I-want-to-be-on-your-lap and unsettled times. Aariz also loves when we read to him. Provided he's in the mood. ;-) He loves his cars mobile on his cot and talks to it sometimes! ;-) I still can't help watching him every chance I have. I guess I'm not just obsessed with Aariz's eczema, I'm obsessed with Aariz, eh??!!! Heh...
Hhmmm... as for my studies; I sometimes feel like giving up. :-( Don't worry. It's just a feeling. I'm currently lacking motivation and some moral support. Well, Mr. Hubby and everyone in the lab are very understanding, supportive and helpful. But not having the same vibe from your own supervisor, it just gets to me. I don't expect her to e-mail me everyday and give words of encouragements and stuff, but I sure don't appreciate her talking negative things to people about me behind my back. I'm not sure if it's intentional or not but the people that she talks to, talks to me too. Why wouldn't she discuss with me directly? *sigh* Half of me wants to prove her wrong but half of me feels like I'd rather stay home and not go to Uni and do any work. Rebellious eh??!!! I know, I know. I should work even harder and prove her wrong; having a baby does not stop someone from finishing her PhD. I am at the moment getting some things done i.e. progress report, literature review, ordering lab stuff, reading, etc even if I'm not working in the lab all the time. Do I need to explain myself? *sigh* Hopefully I'll get over this unmotivated phase A.S.A.P!
Thank God for Mr. Hubby! I'm lucky he's him. He puts up with my constant whining with Aariz's eczema and never gives up in making me go to the lab, even when he's so tired after work. I need to pay more attention to him. I just recently knew that he gets bullied at work sometimes. He didn't tell me earlier as he doesn't want to worry me. Racism - Muslim. I guess I just got used to it. Mr. Hubby seems to have too. Oh well, we just can't let those people get to us, eh? I know Aariz is Mr. Hubby's biggest motivation and that both of us must always be happy and provide a positive environment for Aariz to grow healthily; physically, mentally and emotionally. And as long as we have each other, it's all that matters. I love him!
I have photos of Aariz's eczema but couldn't really be bothered to upload it. So, here's a reading link and photos (although Aariz's not that bad), if you're curious. I now leave you with a comic strip below;
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| Huhuhu... |
Cheers!
