Waking too early, terrible eczema, am I doing the right thing?

[Tillysmummy]

I didn't know whether to post on the waking at 5am thread or start a new one. So I thought I would start a new one. I have posted a couple of times on the early waking thread because dd (2) has been doing it for a couple of weeks now. She had a few good nights last week and seemed to go back to 6 or 6.30 but now we are back again to 5 or 5.30. Normally we go in and see her and settle her and then tell her its not time to get up and then we leave her until 6 at which point we will bring her in with us. She never sleeps in with us just tosses and turns. Normally she'll cry for a few minutes and then stop and hopefully doze off again. She doesn't always go back to sleep though and sometimes just cries on and off until 6 when we go and get her. The problem at the moment is that her eczema is just terrible. It has really flared up badly the last couple of weeks and I am sure it is to do with the heating going on again etc. It's very bad at the back of her legs and ankles and is also very evident around her eyes. I don't know what to do about the early waking thing because I don't know if leaving her to cry is a good idea because it makes her eczema worse yet at the same time I don't want to get her into bad habits. I feel terrible when I look at her little face and see how bad her eczema is around her eyes. I just don't know what to do for the best. Once she is up she is happy as larry, chatting away, laughing, playing etc. She also seems to have her very back molars coming through which seem to be causing problems as well so no doubt adding to the skin and sleep problems. Any advice very welcome.

Tillysmum could you turn the heating off in her room and get her a v warm grobag if you think that is why her ecezma is worse?

Poor little mite, hope she improves soon

Hi CountessDracula, I could turn the heating off in her room. Will give that a try. Re the grobag I could try but am not sure she would go for one again. We stopped using hers when she was about a year old. I don't think it's bad because it's cold more because the heating dries the air out. Also could be teeth. Who knows. I certainly don't
Thanks for your advice though. Just don't really know what's best.

Or you could put a bowl of water on the radiator to humidify the room if you think it's the dry air (we do this for our antiques lol!)

Or you can buy special plastic things that hang over the radiator and you fill them with water.

Or you can prob get an electric humidifier.

Yes it could be teeth, my dd's mild ecezma is worse when she's teething.

Tillysmummy - I really feel for you - I had terrible eczema as a child and it definitely affected my sleep (plus the sleep of anyone with the misfortune to be sharing a room with me!). At one stage I was even prescribed sleeping tablets, but they just made me nod off at school (or at least I think it was the tablets that did it )

Anyway - yes, try to keep her cool. You probably know all this - but get her 100% cotton clothes, you could try scratch mitts, also wet-wrapping may make her skin more comfortable. Are you members of the National Eczeme Society?

If she's old enough to reason with you could try a reward system if she can entertain herself in bed for an extra half an hour - not sure if a 2 year old is up to that though.

Good luck

A wet towel on the hot radiator for an hour or two before bedtime tends to give a warm but not dry atmosphere for ds. I'd also try some calpol or something before bed for her teeth so she settles into a deeper sleep. Poor you and poor dd.

Poor thing Isn't eczema awful? My dd had it bad on her face and it clears up only to come raging back again, usually when teething.

If dd cries, I go and settle her but if she doesn't settle after a while, I bring her in with me and dh for a cuddle. There is usually a reason for her not settling (teething etc) and I find that a cuddle helps.

I don't know much about bad habits etc as dd is my first, but I am very weak when I hear her cry and just can't leave her sobbing in her cot. I may be storing up trouble, but I just do what I think is best.

Hope things get better soon.

Thanks ladies for your advice. I have just spokent to HV as well (not much help). Your suggestions about humidifying her room are good I will try this. We do try and do that, I have a bowl of water in there. I really do think it's teeth related so probably should give her the benefit of the doubt and as so many of you say the eczema always flares up with teeth. She was completely clear a couple of weeks ago and now it's bleeding behind her legs and on her ankles and her face looks a right mess. It's really upsetting. Thing is I know that she normally is fine with her sleeping and normally is awake anywhere between 6 and 7 I guess im just afraid of making a rod for my own back if I go and bring her in to us yet at the same time if its just a phase perhaps I should. Pidge yes I am a member of the National Eczema Society. And OliveOil I don't think you are weak at all

It is horrid when its on the face isn't it? When you get people peering in the buggy staring. Dd used to look like she had been burnt round her mouth it was that red. It has nearly cleared up now though (fingers crossed) so I try to not get too downhearted. Fingers crossed for you too.

And I must disagree - I am weak, she has me wrapped around her podgy little finger but I don't care

It's hard isn't it? I've read some interesting things about treating children with eczema differently and the subsequent problems that causes with behaviour. When she is a bit older she will be able to bring up a patch of eczema at will by scratching, so if you think she will associate cuddles at 5am with eczema...
I have found that my eczmatous ds can sleep in a room I personally think is freezing cold with a small blanket only. Gro bags work only if he is totally clear or there is a frost, I think he gets superheated in them otherwise. NZ houses don't have central heating so its pretty easy for us to do.
I use Elidel cream on his eye eczema. It's got no steroids and only seems to need one application. I also give him probiotics twice a day in his food to strengthen his gut. My ds's eczema can be triggered by crying - so we try to avoid that- LOL

I really sympathise with you tillysmummy. Our dd (2.5) has had a dreadful time with her eczema since about May. The hot weather over the summer was terrible - I never thought I would be so glad to see the cold weather return!

She was waking 6-7 times a night, and in the end we were prescribed a mild sedative for 2 weeks, plus a course of wet wraps. We used these solidly for 8 weeks from mid July, and they certainly helped, although it was a real palava and felt as though the improvements were slow. DD was very patient (we called them her 'special' pyjamas).

As you're a member of the Eczema Society, you probably have advice coming out of your ears. I would echo the bit about overheating - I'm amazed at how much more comfortable dd is in a really cool room, and we resisted for ages putting the duvet back on her bed. Other things that help her are not getting overtired (having a nap during the day), or stressed (hunger does it for her), and being really careful about what we wash her clothes in. The central heating hasn't been an issue for us so far, but we have kept it low, and on only twice a day. Not sure what we'll do in the depths of winter.

Unfortunately, even though her skin has been heaps better over the last few weeks, we have been left with a habit of her waking at least twice a night, and needing one of us to go in and reassure her. She used to be a 12 hours straight through the night baby, so this is really galling (I guess I should be grateful that she ever slept like this, but I'm 6 months pregnant with no. 2 and sleep deprived!!).

DD seems to have forgotten how to settle herself. The difficulty is that she is now in a bed, and potty trained during the day, so uses needing a wee as an excuse to get up in the night, and sanctions are difficult. As she also has a kidney condition, we can't get tough with her over this - it's best for her to empty her bladder if she needs to. So I think we're stuck with it until she's big enough to get herself up in the night.

At least twice is better than 6 or 7 times.

Sorry not to be able to offer more advice.

I'm sure this has been recommend already, but make sure you don't bathe her too often. My dd has mild excema which was getting really bad, until my paediatrician in the usa told me to only bathe her once a week and just clean her smelly bits with a damp cloth as needed in between. The excema totally cleared up with the cut back in bathing.

Utka, have you thought about taking probiotics for the last 3 months of your preganancy. My Paed. gave me a study and apparently this really help atopic condition. Even more so if you give the baby probiotics for the first year also. Anyway its an idea - and the time would be right for you.
SofiaAmes, I have found the exact opposite to be true. The creams don't really do anything unless I bathe ds twice a day in tepid water and then apply them when he is still damp. Something to do with getting rid of the dead bits of skin and bacteria. I think the doctors change their minds about this every six months- so I guess each mum has got to find their own way.

my dd1 has eczema. i turn the heating down in her room, and even tho she has a duvet she rarely sleeps under it, preferring a light blanket instead.
i have invested in 2 mitten pyjamas for her from cotton comfort which although they seem expensive they are worth it. she now sleeps better, she cant scratch herself to pieces in her sleep, and i sleep better too. i have also ordered her a t-shirt with fold back mittens for itchy days which is where DLA comes in handy. i would never have thought i'd be paying so much for kids clothes so it really does help to stop it hitting my budget hard.
re the bathing. i have tried baths all ways. once a week, once a day, twice a day etc. i find what works best is bath one night, leave one night then bath in morning, the leave the next night and morning then bath at night. (very confusing, basically 36hours). if she has a bad night/day then she will get extra baths, as she finds it relaxing, stops the itch, and also cools the skin down the quickest way. if we are out and she gets itchy then a cold wet cloth on the itch helps.
hope some of that helps u. i really cant recommend the clothing enough. (i dont work for them btw, if i did i'd have the whole catalogue lol)

ladies thanks again for your advice. The last few nights were better with her waking at around 5.50 or 6 and then coming in with us and sleeping for another half an hour. This morning regression though, 5.30 and in with us tossing and turning and kicking for half an hour.
I have been very interested in the overheating stories because she is a very hot baby/toddler and we are always conscious of that. She only has a blanket at night. Sometimes I put two on maybe i shouldn't. She kicks them off though and when I got her this morning her lower legs (not covered by pj's which ride up !) and mid rift were freezing. I thought this may be waking her. Misdee how old is your dd ? I wonder if my dd would go for the mitten idea. She always takes mittens off when we go outside and I wonder if she would.

my dd1 is now 3.5years old. she has had eczema since she was born. i used to sew mittens onto her pyjamas when she was younger. that worked till she was able to take her clothes off (around 2 years old). the mitten pjyamas she has now have button tapes on them which means she cant pull her hands out. like i say, they are pricey, but well worth it. i have to replace her pyjamas soon as she has had a growth spurt. the clothes can be boiled as well, which is great for getting excess emoillants off them.

Utka, I also looked at the probiotics study too and found it interesting - women in the study who took probiotics (Actimel or something would be fine) during the last trimester and during the early days of breastfeeding had babies who were far likely to suffer allergic conditions. It was because this way their gut flora were colonised by good bacteria during the birth process with vaginal birth or during the first breastfeed if c-s born. It certainly seems a pleasant way of trying to cut the risk of future allergic reactions.