FEB 2010 Tottering into our second year...!

[InmaculadaConcepcion]

A few first birthdays left, then we're full tilt into walking/talking and a mountain of mischief

My little werewolf went back in his box last night and slept with no problem. Let's see what's tonight will be like.

DH is at the present fighting to get DS to nap... I have been sent to another room like this he can't see me and get more upset

DD slept through last night too - after four nights of waking up.

Good luck tonight, SB.

Can I just say arghhhhhhh. DD has been a nightmare day and night for the last four days. But I think of Edgars thread and then get it into perspective. Last few nights have been 1 hr sleep, 30mins screaming/crying unable to settle and repeat

SB I have to stay out the way when DH is doing things with her including feeding.

Chestnut I hope things are OK for both your sister and your father.

CS I am so sorry to hear about your father and the stress this has brought to your family. You seem like a very thoughtful and supportive sister/daughter and I'm sure you bring comfort to them all.

DD is now home and well. Though I think DP will have nightmares about collecting her urine sample for a few months.

Just made a bit of mischief on an ante-natal thread on a fertility forum I'm on. Everybody is terribly po faced on it - as you might reasonably expect from a group of women who have had terrible fertility issues - but sometimes I just want them to break out of the rut a bit. So - I told them I'm expecting a boy and followed it up with my thoughts on the matter which were "yuck, they smell and their clothes are really boring". I fear I may have broken the code of conduct - which seems to be to negate any actual emotion which isn't on message - and may be thrown off. Heigh ho.

Dammit DD's nappy rash is starting to bleed, ideas?

PA What cream do you normally use? I found Metanium to be the best/strongest. Don't use sparingly - put on shedloads - it should be made to be put on broken skin. Use disposable nappies even if you don't normally. Air the bum as much as you dare. Have a think about diet - both DC's and your own if you are still bfing. Move to bland foods until symptoms have passed. That's what I'd do anyway.

Oh, and from the nhs choices website:

If your baby has severe nappy rash, they usually need medication to treat the condition. Your GP will first check that you have been carrying out the skin care routines advised for a mild nappy rash (see above).
Once your GP is satisfied that the correct skin care routines are being followed, they usually prescribe some topical medicines to treat the rash. 'Topical' means that the medicine is applied directly to the affected area (in this case, the nappy area).
Topical corticosteroids
Corticosteroids help to reduce inflammation of the skin and relieve any itching and redness. Hydrocortisone cream is often prescribed. You have to apply it to your baby's skin once a day. You can stop using hydrocortisone as soon as the rash has cleared, but do not use it for more than seven days in a row.
Topical anticandidals
An anticandidal medicine helps to treat any fungal infection that may be causing your baby's rash. Some commonly prescribed anticandidal medicines include:
clotrimazole
econazole
ketoconazole
miconazole
sulconazole
nystatin
These are creams that usually have to be applied to your baby's nappy area two to three times a day. However, unlike topical corticosteroids (which you stop using once your baby's rash has cleared up), anticandidals have to be used for 7 to 10 days after the rash has healed. This ensures that the infection is completely treated.

PA DS has got a nappy rash for now 2 weeks, went to GP last Friday for it, got a cream based on steroid. It's still there and the blisters are bleeding. My best advise is as much nappy free time as you can (easier say than done for us as he is at nursery). I hate changing his nappies at the moment as he screams and cries in pain

I've not seen metanium over here or the others that people normally mention. Do you know what the active ingredients are?

Our doctors doesn't have a out of hours so don't know who to ring until Monday.

She is having naked time atm at least DH doesn't have to go out, but I'm stuck at work.

ps thanks

PA can you get some 'eosine' (it's the French name so sorry!) it's a red liquid you put on the top of scratches... it helps to dry. I've just used some on DS bum as it normally helps a bit.

Here is what they say on Metanium website:

How is Metanium diff×erent from barrier creams?

There are many products on the market that have the words 'Nappy Rash' on them somewhere. However, it's important to know which ones are barrier creams and therefore are used as a 'protective measure' rather than to treat it.

Here comes the clever science bit...

Metanium is specifically formulated for the treatment of nappy rash. The active ingredients in Metanium Nappy Rash Ointment are Titanium dioxide, Titanium peroxide and Titanium salicylate. So why are they in there?

The Titanium salts have mildly astringent properties which help to relieve itching and chafing.
The Dimethicone is a water repellent silicon base which protects the skin from water soluble irritants and repeated wetting.
The Benzoin is a balsamic resin which acts as a skin protectant and antiseptic.
The Paraffin helps prevent water loss from the outer skin.
Thus, Metanium Nappy Rash Ointment is formulated so that the combination of the titanium salts with a water repellent base act as a non-occlusive barrier film on the skin allowing it to 'breathe' whilst protecting it from further irritation and unwanted repeated rehydration each time the skin gets wet.

The active ingredients get to work straight away to soothe and effectively start treating nappy rash. So before your baby has the chance to get grizzly, apply a little Metanium when nappy rash starts its attack.

Good luck

Metanium contains:

Its active ingredients include Titanium dioxide 20% w/w, Titanium peroxide 5% w/w and Titanium salicylate 3% w/w. It's also lanolin free. Lanolin can result in an allergic reaction in some people, so Metanium is suitable for babies who may be prone to allergic reactions to it."

As an eczema sufferer I can confirm that anything with lanolin in is rubbish for sensitive skins - just lets the soreness spread.

Thanks I've passed this on to DH

Aw, PA (and SB) poor wee thing - sounds horrid. SB is right about that French antiseptic stuff - it's very mild and doesn't sting. We used it on DD's neck when it became raw and bled a bit a few months back. Maybe they have an equivalent in the US? In France, you can buy it straight from the pharmacist, it doesn't need a prescription.

Also, severe nappy rash often gets thrushy as well (joy) so it's possible she may need treating for that too.

Best of luck. It's a nightmare, isn't it? I remember feeling a bit helpless when DD had galloping nappy rash when she was tiny. In the end it was Bepanthen that cleared hers up (after trying various other preparations). That and starting to use fleece nappy liners.

DH just been to the chemist no titantium based ones, in fact there was only one cream in the whole section that wasn't zinc oxide based, maybe over here most of them are prescription stuff.

Stan you made me laugh with your post... My dh almost made it a condition of us having children that we would have girls only! He was very lucky in that we have two . I was also quite pleased myself (re-use everything pink) but would have been fine with a boy, too. I am sure you will be fine, too. Hey, and you can always have a third!! If I want a third, I'd have to promise dh to only let female sperm to the egg....

PA sounds like it may be worth seeing a doc with you dd... Poor baby! Haven't got much experience of nappy rash I'm afraid (dd2 only every had it once when dh was in charge for a whole day and didn't realise she had done a poo.... I worry about his lack of sense of smell sometimes). Metanium is the best over here;shame it takes too long to send or else I would happily put one in the post for you!

Aaah how sad. Nobody wants boys! I confess that dp wanted 2 girls and I would have preferred another girl too. Purely because I am so close to my sister and wanted dd to have the same. I was disappointed when the sonographer pointed out the boy bits. But oh my god how wrong I was. He is my little gorgeous man and such a joy. He is sooooo different to dd which has made 2nd time motherhood just as enjoyable as it was the first time. (I was worried I might find it a bit boring for the first year). Honestly stan you won't be disappointed when he arrives. Glad your dd is back home.

CS Hope your dad is ok. My dad has been in and out of hospital for a few years now with heart problems and it is always very stressful.

Was a gorgeous day here so we went down to the beach near Brighton and ds had his first taste of sand. Literally. It took him about 30 seconds to shove some some in his mouth. Why do they do that? Boys eh. Who'd have 'em.......

Er.. hello... I'm not sure I like you all anymore... {grin]

To redress the balance, I only wanted boys and consider myself very lucky!

I'm supposed to be watching tv with DH now and I'm losing the thread of the programme so I'll pop back tomorrow with my list of convincing arguments for boys being fucking bonkers fantastic!

chinook DP and I were saying it that with a boy it would be like doing it all again for the first time. Which will be nice. DP is actually worried that given he has always got along better with women than men any son of his will "see through" him and think he's a twat before he turns ten. I said DD would be able to see he's a twat before she's ten as well - it won't be gender specific.

Stangirl!

Funnily enough, that's similar to my DH's concerns about having a boy. He doesn't think he's "blokey" enough to be a father of a boy. Personally, I think there are too many "blokes" in the world as it is and we could do with more boys who value other things apart from sport, beer and women as sex objects.

I'll bet as the family dynamic develops SG, you'll find your DS in your corner if DD gets really thick with your DP....

PS No supermoon lunacy here, thankfully. After waking briefly at around 21.30 (quickly resettled by DH) DD slept until 06.40, hoorah. And little by little, my own sleep seems to be improving too. I still wake up a lot, but I'm getting better at going back to sleep fairly quickly, thankfully.

PA Good luck with getting something that sorts out DD's nappy rash quickly. It sounds horrid.

I have to say the one thing I wasn't prepared for was the relentlessness of the illnesses and other health problems - they seem to come one after the other and we end up catching most of them too. I know I haven't had it as bad as some of you (Bethy, Stangirl, Stonebaby) so sorry to moan but today I have a raging sore throat and my tongue is COVERED in mouth ulcers so it hurts to eat.

Sleep has been ok here for the last couple of nights IC. He slept through until 6am today and yesterday but only short morning naps (half an hour yesterday and 40 mins today).

Argh, Bc, that sounds crap (the illnesses, the sleep sounds OK!) - poor you, get well soon.

We've been lucky with illnesses so far but I think a lot of that is because DD doesn't mix with too many other people at the moment. She doesn't go to playgroup (it always clashes with her morning nap) or nursery and we only tend to visit/be visited by a maximum of three other people at any one time. I'm sure once we start being more sociable, the ailments will start up. So far the two colds and one tummy bug she's had have all been caught at playgroup. Still, I'm enjoying the health while it lasts....

We have a 10th tooth!!

bc ouch, I hope you get better soon.

Waves to you all

SB DH says that 10 is too many (I think he's reeling from the docs comment about DD being behind in her teeth)