Diaper Rash Disaster & The Protein Mission

On Monday, Luke went to the doctor for his 15 month check up. He weighed 19 pounds, 12 ounces, so we have to wait another month before we can turn his car seat to face the front. He is 29 inches tall. He is still, in the doctor's exact words, "hanging on the edge of the growth chart," because he is so small. As usual, the doctor said he was well proportioned and after thoroughly looking Luke over, told us that Luke was a healthy little boy. I haven't written much about it, but I have not been thrilled about Luke's doctor's office. Sometimes I feel as if I don't get thorough answers from the doctors that we see. So, each time that I take Luke, I ask to see a different doctor, hoping to find one that answers my questions to my satisfaction (which, yes, I know, is a high standard - this is my baby boy we are talking about). :)

For this visit, we saw Dr. Bunnevan and, to my pleasant surprise, he was very thorough when answering my questions. So thorough that I have already made Luke's 18 month check up with him. Dr. Bunnevan answered our questions about why Luke walks with one foot turned in and he checked out his knees and legs and told us that his legs were fine and that his legs would straighten out by the age of 3. He also answered my question about exactly how much milk Luke needed each day. Thank goodness, Luke is drinking this recommended amount most days. Then, he also talked with us in detail about Luke's diet. He wanted to know exactly what and when he was eating. When I told him that I had a hard time getting Luke to eat meat, he reminded me (in a nice way) that Luke HAD TO HAVE protein in some way besides yogurt. He spent some time with us giving us suggestions on how to "sneak" protein into his diet - for instance, peanut butter, egg salad, chicken salad, spaghetti with meat sauce, tofu (yuck!) etc.

Dr. Bunneman then spent some time talking to us about how Luke is doing developmentally - he wanted to know what words he was saying, what he understood, how he was getting around, etc. I appreciated his questions about these things because, being an educator myself, I understand the importance of early detection of development delays. It is super important to catch delays young! Thank goodness, according to the doc, Luke is right on track! That's my boy! :) The appointment ended with two vaccines, which, of course, caused many tears. This time, the doctor gave Luke his shots in his arm. I questioned this at first, but was pleasantly surprised the next day that Luke's shot sites did not have a bump, redness, or anything else that the shots in his legs sometimes had. After calming little man down, we were ready to leave. Overall, we were very pleased with his appointment and once again, so thankful to God for a healthy child. We are so blessed!

I took Monday off of work so Luke and I went home to play, play, and play and then we had the luxury of taking a two hour "siesta" together - a rare opportunity in our household. It was a great day!

But, then....the night time came....and, for one of two reasons (the shots Luke got or because he is getting 4 molars at one time), Luke had terrible diarrhea which led to awful diaper rash. Luke's rear end had such bad diaper rash on Monday night that his bottom was blistered. When I changed his diaper, he cried so hard that he shook and had sweat beads on his nose. It was so pitiful! He didn't sleep good, woke up several times, and then on Tuesday morning, his bottom still looked bad. It was horrible to change his diaper because we knew how bad it hurt him. My mother in law and I used Desitin, changed his diaper often, but still the diaper rash seemed to linger and to hurt Luke terribly. By Tuesday night, I was really worried....I decided to use the internet to find out what in the world to do to help Luke. I learned a lot - I had no idea that when a child has diaper rash that you shouldn't use baby wipes, but instead use a warm wash cloth to clean his bottom. I also read to use a diaper rash preventative that included 12% zinc oxide and that Triple Paste is the highest recommended by pediatricians. So...on Wednesday, I bought Triple Paste and used wash cloths instead of wipes and by Thursday afternoon, his bottom was much, much better. We could change his diaper without tears - thank goodness! Now, today, he is almost cured of the dreaded rash! I tell you - when your child is hurting and you don't know what to do to help them, it's a stressful time - all I can say is thank goodness for the internet. What did mommies do before the web was invented? It was a life saver for me! :)

So, to sum it up, Luke's bottom is looking great and he is loving peanut butter sandwiches, spaghetti, and he ate some shredded pork chops last night - YAY for protein! He is not a fan of store bought chicken salad, so I'm going to try to make some home made chicken and egg salad this weekend.

Some last minute notes before the weekly pics:

1. Go Heels! They just advanced to the Elite 8! So, Duke fans....are you going to pull for us since your Blue Devils are on the way home???? :) I love it!

2. We are adding on to our back deck. I have taken some pictures that I will post in the before/after format as soon as its complete. Landis and his cousin, Lee, are going to finish it tomorrow. We are renovating the deck so that Luke can safely play on the deck when we are outside. I'll post more about the renovations later! :)

Now, what you really came for...the pictures...

Here are this week's pictures AND some very cute video....I'll include details with the footage..

Luke loves sidewalk chalk....make sure to watch him write with it at the bottom of the page...

Luke and I love to play "catch" in the yard...

Luke has all of a sudden developed this habit of waking up at 5:00am (which is when I wake up and am trying to take my shower)....because it's so early in the morning, he is tired and often times fussy and wants me to hold him while I get dressed, eat breakfast, fix my hair, etc....it gets very interesting - needless to say, I wear my hair in a ponytail A LOT! :) This is his "please pick me up face after eating his jelly bagel." How can you not pick him up after that look?
Luke making the car sound...

Luke loves his fire truck....thank you, Donna!


Luke and daddy - dressed alike playing in the floor...


and eating yogurt....
The first video shows Luke drawing on the pavement with sidewalk chalk....I'm so proud that he can already do this. The second video is Luke making the roaring sound that a lion does...I love it! Enjoy! :)

Have a great weekend everyone! Thanks for stopping by!

Toddy