Our Baby Has Extra Sensitive Skin: Eczema

We have a diagnosis! And it's not what I wanted to hear... Little Miss A has bad skin. :( She has eczema and her doctor says she doesn't know if it will go away or not since her daddy has a family history of it.

Eczema is a type of skin inflammation that causes dry, red, itchy, scaly skin. My baby has it on her face, forehead, scalp, neck, behind her ears, arms, hands, belly, back, and a little bit on her legs and bottom. It's so sad. It's basically everywhere on her body. I was really hoping it was only a simple rash that would go away with an ointment. But nope. Her forehead and eyes bother her the most. She rubs her eyes like crazy and lets out such a sad, bothered cry. It's a new cry I haven't heard before that came with her eczema. It makes me really sad and I try my best to hold her hands back so she doesn't scratch her skin and irritate it more.

In order to make her skin feel and look better, we now have to change all of her detergents, soaps, and lotions. They must be unscented and dye free from now on. This really is no fun for her. I'm a girl... I love perfume and good smelling shampoos and soaps! Her dad says he is able to wear cologne on his clothes but the instant it touches his skin, it gets irritated.

I learned a big lesson this week.

DON'T REGISTER FOR ALL LAVENDER SCENTED BABY PRODUCTS. You never know what kind of skin your baby will have... My family has never had a history of skin problems so I just naively assumed our daughter's skin would be fine. I have about 10 different kinds of lavender scented baby soaps, lotions, and baby oil! I can't use any of it now. She's been okay with them for five months but now that the weather finally reached freezing temperatures, her eczema broke out. Bill says that the cold weather dries out his skin (like normal skin) but really makes his eczema worse. So no more scents for her... for now!

Bill is confident that there is a solution and I hope he's right. We just have to use all the unscented, sensitive skin products and apply lotion on her frequently. He says if you take care of your skin it will be fine. He also says he doesn't take care of his skin so his is not fine. I have no reference point so I'm a little nervous. The doctor says that if it gets worse, she will prescribe a low dose of hydro-cortisone ointment. We have to make small life changes so her skin won't get so irritated, but in part we already changed things because of Bill's skin. Luckily, this is not a huge health problem and only an inconvenience. With good parenting and support, her skin will be just fine. We were worried she might be allergic to our cats, which would be a tragedy! [I need cats in my life, along with my man & baby!!]

Also, there is the possibility that she will outgrow her eczema. WHO KNOWS! I hope that will be the case for her.