Keeping Us On Our Toes

Aiden does. Totally.

We've been looking into some new lotions for him...ones that are really good with sensitive skin and that are lacking in the chemical department. Also ones lacking in parabens (those are things hidden under words like "fragrance"), which are known to cause irritation. That stuff is bad for ya! With his eczema and tendency to react to things with rashes, we are extra careful. So, the first new soap and lotion we actually found locally. Has none of the stuff we don't want. Even was recommended by others as being good to use with eczema and was reviewed by a website we really trust (that focuses on finding these safer products). This IS a newer brand, though, and hasn't been rated on the cosmetic database (more about that another time, if you're not familiar with it), but we were pleased with these other reviews, so... Anyway, we noticed Aiden's back and belly started getting bumpy after a couple of days. After a few hours outside at Camden's soccer game Saturday (where it was incredibly windy), his cheeks and chin were bright red. But we later realized...it wasn't the wind. It was the new products.

Big bummer.

We're back to the old stuff. And we got the next new lotion in today (which is free of everything, even more than this other brand, so my hopes are a bit higher). I put some on one cheek before naptime and before bedtime today. We'll see how that goes before smothering it all over the poor kid's body.

Then the other excitement...as if that wasn't enough. (Oh, trust me, that wasn't much compared to the rest of the weekend.) Sunday, Aiden slips and hits his mouth on the bookshelf. Busts his lip, bleeding, swollen, the works. It actually wasn't that bad...ended up being a cut. Injuries involving the mouth always seem worse because of all the blood. While I'm trying to comfort him and get him to realize the thing I'm shoving in his face is a popsicle that he does actually like, he throws his head back. Busts MY lip. But mine is actually worse than his... So now we're both bleeding and swollen. Only, he gets the yummy popsicle and I get ice.

(For those of you thinking, yeah, I know how that feels...getting smacked in the face with a toddler head... Well, little known fact...I currently have braces. Ha. Yeah, for just a couple months and just on the front part - the part that everyone sees, you know. Actually, the top ones come off tomorrow. Great timing. I've had quite a few hits on the mouth from his hard head. And quite a few busted lips because of it. Not the same as being hit when you just have teeth there, trust me. Today he even did it again, right next to the spot from yesterday! You can't predict where that head will go when he throws it back out of nowhere. Tuesday morning can't get here fast enough!)

Think we can top that?? Oh yeah. We can.

After he eats the popsicle and then lunch, I go to get him ready for his nap. What do I see?? Hives. On his chin and neck where the juice from the popsicle dripped down his face. Seriously?! Seriously. Our first thought was surely there were no egg products in there?? Surely not because this mama checks labels like crazy. I was quite picky about picking out popsicles despite that. (Me...picky about food? Noooo.... Ha.) These had only passion fruit, coconut milk, sugar, and pectin. That's it! Shouldn't be the coconut b/c we use coconut oil on him a lot. He has had pectin in a couple other things. I guess it could be that but not likely. Or the passion fruit. Though that doesn't seem too likely either, my mom told me today she's allergic to a different tropical fruit (can't remember which one at the moment). He's had the popsicles on two other ocassions with no problem, but we've learned that is common. It's often not the first exposure that brings out the reaction...

And, you know...I noticed the other day that Aiden seemed to have a reaction to ketchup! We get organic ketchup even (yes, really - the regular stuff has high fructose corn syrup in it). He's had it on a number of occasions. Loves the stuff. What kid doesn't? (And really...organic tastes SOOO much better than the regular stuff. It really does.) But this time, he was eating it (more ketchup than the actual food, of course) and started getting red around his lips and also rubbing it. You could tell it itched and bothered him by how he was acting. He kept whining and rubbing it. Even when he's developed hives, they haven't seemed to bother him. We're wondering about the vinegar maybe. He eats tomatoes all the time; they're one of his favorites (one of the many, many...). And, I hate to admit, this is the one food we allow him to eat that states "made in a facility that also uses eggs." Yes, I'm sorry, we broke the rule there. Nobody makes ketchup that isn't!! So, it's either that or the kid can't have ketchup. Which means nobody can have ketchup. He's crazy over that stuff. And we don't eat stuff he can't (esp stuff he wants!) right in front of him. We're going to try him again soon when his face has no other redness and we are watching like crazy. If it happens again, I guess we'll have to knock out ketchup, too.

Oh, one more thing. We go for his egg challenge the end of the month. I was hopeful and thinking, maybe he'll have outgrown it. It would be easier to deal with the gluten stuff if he could have eggs. And we're really missing some of our dishes that involve mostly eggs. I never make eggs and rarely use them for anything. Ryan tried to finish some off the other day before they expired, so I touched some cooked scrambled eggs and then touched Aiden's cheek. A hive shortly appeared. What's the point in the food challenge?? A day at the hospital just to tell us he still can't have eggs when we can figure that out at home? True, he could just have a contact issue, but if that's the case, he still isn't supposed to eat them. My hopes...not up any more.

So, yes, this kid keeps us on our toes.