Now that I'm about caught up on Colin's first year, I want to turn my focus to the part of our journey that I've only briefly mentioned.
At the beginning of March, when he was only a month old, we noticed that his face was starting to break out some.
We decided to take him to the doctor to make sure everything was okay. They told us it was just baby acne and some cradle cap but that there wasn't really anything we could do for it. As we went through March, it stayed about the same and at the end of the month it looked more like dry skin than anything else.
On April 4th, his babysitter noticed that one spot was kind of "weepy" and she thought it might be infected so she pointed it out to my mom when she picked him up that afternoon. We were able to get a doctor appointment, so off we went again. Yet again, they said it was "just" cradle cap and we couldn't do anything for it. Around this time we noticed he started rubbing his face on us a lot like it was itching. By Easter his face was a lot worse and when we took him for a check-up and shots two weeks later (on a Friday), the doctor we saw was concerned. She had us try an antibiotic cream for the weekend but his face just got worse. We took him back again the next Monday and she had another doctor look at him also. She thought he might have a food allergy and mentioned dairy. I started looking at labels and realized that just because I wasn't eating cheese or drinking milk, I was still getting dairy products. I started trying to cut all dairy out.
this was Easter Sunday
We were referred to a dermatologist by mid-May. They confirmed that it was eczema and we started trying all sorts of things to get him cleared up. We used various steroid creams, changed laundry detergent to All Free & Clear, began using Vanicream lotion and a free & clear soap for bath time. I was very careful with the soaps and lotions I used for myself in case those bothered him. They put him on an oral antibiotic as well as prednisone to try to get his skin to clear up. (Side note - if ever giving a baby prednisone, mix it with pear juice in a bottle....he got sick otherwise!) We were trying everything and some days he would start to clear up and other days he would look worse. The dermatologist had told me not to worry about my diet because she didn't think that was the cause. They were absolutely wonderful and were doing all they could to help us.
constantly scratching - even in his sleep.
By the beginning of June, they were pushing for me to try formula. I finally gave in and we bought it...$50 for one small can. I about died over the price. We started trying to give it to Colin and he would scream...so much so that he was starting to refuse his juice/prednisone bottle also. At that point I made up my mind - I was going to go dairy free and see if that helped. They had also referred us to a pediatric dermatologist. We were trying to get into Duke University or Wake Forest. The earliest we could get into Wake Forest was August so I started searching for other options. I looked over the entire east coast and as far west as Nashville, TN. I saw that there were pediatric dermatologist at UNC so I had our dermatologist office try to get something set up. We got in much quicker than expected.
He had to wear socks or mitten and his whole little body was covered.
We went to UNC on June 26th. I had gone dairy free on June 17th and his skin was starting to clear up a tiny bit. We met with Dr. McShane and she confirmed that it was eczema by doing a skin test. That was awful. They took a small chunk of skin out of his hip and put a stitch back in it. He screamed and cried while Justin & I tried to hold it together ourselves. Dr. McShane asked us to come back in a few weeks to re-evaluate him and she also wanted us to try to see a pediatric allergist at the same time.
We came back from UNC and his skin began to clear up. Dr. McShane called and confirmed that the tests showed it was indeed eczema. She changed some creams and was very happy to hear that he was clearing up. Within two weeks of going dairy free, I could tell that was definitely a factor.
At the beginning of July we finally got pictures of Colin with a clear face...I can't even put into words how that felt. I wasn't ashamed of his face, but to have a baby with soft, smooth, kissable cheeks after months of him looking pitiful....it was amazing!
At the end of July we returned to UNC and met with Dr. McShane again. She was very pleased with his progress and said we didn't have to return again until winter. She expected to see some flares when the weather changed. We also saw a pediatric allergist at this visit. She didn't want to do any testing while we were there because he was still so young. She wanted us to return again when he was about a year old to determine exactly what he was allergic to. Dr. McShane and the allergist both told us to start giving him some fruits and vegetables and directed us on what to start with.
A month after our first visit with clear skin!
Now, a year after we first saw a dermatologist, we still have flares and challenges but we thank God every day for helping his skin and getting us to this point. It's been a rough road at times. Colin has seen so many more doctors than I would have liked but through all of this I just kept saying that it could be worse. We could get through it.
