No, really. On a scale of one to ten on my “pain in the butt-o-meter”, it’s a 10. Trying to figure out what works for each child, only to find out that the root cause is something completely out of my control, and realising that for the rest of the summer, the best I can hope for is to minimise their suffering, just plain bites. I can’t alleviate their suffering, only minimise it. Their sleep is all screwy, because we have to sedate them at night so they don’t scratch. They are miserable. My 4 year old begged me for Phenergan this morning. It’s vile tasting stuff, and she hates it – but she understands that it stops the itch. I have to be on them like stink on poo to make sure they don’t rip into their skin and claw themselves bloody. The second I turn my attention elsewhere, they’ve stripped off and dug in. Then they hate bath time, because the water stings the open wounds. A dear friend made some lightweight cotton pants for them, to help in covering the skin so they can play outdoors without sweltering. All the money we’ve spent on different preparations, special foods, paediatricians, naturopath, creams, potions, lotions, soaps, oils and the like – could fund their first year at university. To know that our current skincare regime does indeed work is great. Except that in summer, it’s not working. Because my children? Like to play outside. The only thing that HAS changed from winter, in which we had perfect skin, is that they are wearing fewer clothes, and playing outdoors. I haven’t changed soap, cleaning methods (or frequency), or anything else. It’s so obvious that the problem is not with what we’re doing. Except that we’re letting them play outside. Like when we went on holidays, and were rained in for most of the time – they weren’t itchy until the last night, which came after playing on a playground that had bark mulch. Am I wrong to let them play like regular kids? Because that’s what we’re down to. Either I let them play outside, which causes them agonising irritation, or I keep them indoors all the time, which robs them of a piece of childhood. Those are my options, and I don’t like either one.
Illness bites as well. Especially when you have two children who dote on their baby sister, and are seemingly incapable of doing so from a distance greater than TWO INCHES away. M has a whopper of a cold, and is making her first trip to the doctor tomorrow, courtesy of a lesson in sharing, given by her big sisters. To battle this particular challenge, we’ve smeared eucalyptus oil around the rocker where she currently sleeps (it’s a bit of an incline, so she’s not gagging on her own mucous) to help her breathe a bit easier.
C had her immunisations yesterday, and she was a champ. Didn’t even cry a little bit. Truth be told, she’s complained and whined more after the fact!
P is teething – a molar, I believe, and it’s a whopper. She’s pretty crabby about everything, and I can do nothing right. Her ankles are so raw and sore from the eczema that she doesn’t want to walk, and so has resorted to yelling at me until I pick her up and carry her. I sympathise with her, so I do carry her, but my back is aching! She’s in an almost constant state of whining – I hope this tooth finishes coming through soon, so she can at least not have that to deal with. Then she only has two more to go!
They’re sleeping at the moment, thankfully. And I- I am going to finish cleaning up the house and chasing the germs out. When I’m finished, germs will approach and then run screaming in the opposite direction. I’m that serious about my disinfectant processes.
XO,
Sarah
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