Top 4 of my most read & loved posts.

Just a re-share of all of my most popular and most read posts!

Busy Bag Ideas



If you need some busy bag swap ideas, I quickly did a little post for future reference and it's my most loved post! At almost six thousand views!

Baby Tiley - 8 Weeks.



One of my very first posts is one of my most loved! What a flashback!

Baby Tiley - 37 Weeks.



Another Baby Tiley post, just a week before the little man arrived! Plus, my final birth plan.

Eczema & Hazelwood



One of my favourite posts too, the amazing transformation of my son when he wore hazelwood to cure his eczema.


Thank you for reading!!

Health issues, time, stress and babies.

Between allergies, eczema, head issues, growth issues, ankle issues, eating issues, sensory issues, low iron and vitamin D, reflux and now a heart issue, a pead, a monthly health nurse, a dietitian, an allergy specialist, physio therapist, occupational therapist, blood tests and a speech pathologist, sometimes I feel like life is a bit hectic and overwhelming! How can I deal with all this if we have another baby? Where will the baby fit in? What if the next baby has health issues too?! I already feel so run off my feet sometimes trying to keep up with everything, and already had to put of studying uni as we have so many appointments. I just didn't have the time to keep up with uni and I would have had to take too many classes off for his appointments.

So here we were again, at another appointment, hearing the words 'I'm just a bit concerned about...' this time they needed to call the head pediatrician after the register had a listen to his heart. They found a murmur in his heart. We have another appointment in a few weeks time to see about it again and an ultrasound.

I know everything is mild, and nothing is life threatening or anything, we are so incredibly blessed about that. That's what I hold on to all time, there is always someone more worse off, right? But I think the hardest thing is the unknown of the future,.... I think? And the unknown in general. I don't know all this doctor words, I don't know how to deal with all these sensory issues.. like seriously, how do I deal with a child having a melt down in the car because he wants his top off? With him deciding to stop talking and sleeping because we were packing up the house?

And his head, stressing about all the shrinking going up on there, seriously?! A shrinking head?? Only my son! Goodness me.

Intolerance's and allergies, wow, that's a bit of a list too!
His rolled in ankle.
His hips.
His knees.
His weight loss.
His lack of eating.
And now his heart?

Where was the warning that my sons whole body would seem like a pin cushion? That for his first birthday he would have 6 tests on his poor body. That every few months we have to hold him tight while he screams for a blood test? That people won't understand why he can be upset by the way something feels or I'm that mean mummy who won't let my child eat someones birthday cake. That every time he stops talking you're worried that his skull has pressure on his brain. Ugh! It can be SO hard.

Those that have a child with a few health issues, how do you have time for number 2? How would I cope if I had two children with health issues?

Eczema & Hazelwood. (2)

I wanted to share some photo's of my son's eczema journey, pre hazelwood necklace and now.

I wrote a post not long ago all about Hazelwood and my sons eczema so I wanted to share more about it since we've been using Hazelwood for a little while now.

Prepare for an eczema photo dump! You will be amazed at the transformation of my little guy since wearing Hazelwood.

I got my & my son's Hazelwood from www.allaboutamber.com.au.

Pre Hazelwood:

At it's worst:

Sometimes he had it all over his body.

Wearing Hazelwood:

Dairy Free Milk.

Dairy Free Milk

Oat Milk:
Oat milk is made from soaked oats, which is believed to help decrease heart diseases and cancer, oat milk can be a great health benefit.
It is described as the tastiest vegan alternative milk, without an over powering taste, but still sweet.
Oat milk is dairy & lactose free.
Oat milk is high in fibre, folic acid, vitamin E, vitamin A (double the amount as cows milk) & completely cholesterol free & low in fat.
Oat milk is not gluten free & contains less protein then cow's milk and is higher in sugar compared to other milks.
Some brands of oat milk contains very low calcium levels, and some brands contain just as much as cow's milk, some brands of oat milk contain very processed ingredients, including guar gum, xanthan gum, and carob bean gum as well. Something to be aware of when looking at different brands,

Rice Milk:
Rice milk is considered one of the healthiest dairy free alternative milks because it's saturated fat, cholesterol and lactose free. Rice milk also contains no sugar.
It is made from brown rice, which is naturally high of vitamin B, but because of this rice milk is not recommended for those with diabetes as it contains 3-4 times the amount of carbohydrates of any other milk
Again, rice milk can be low in calcium and protein so best to look for a fortified brand if you would like to increase the calcium and protein levels.
Rice milk is considered a high Gi food and has low vitamin A levels.

Soy Milk:
Soy milk can be very controversial and has alot of myths and facts around it, although it is the most common dairy free alternative, but I do acknowledge that not everyone agrees.
Because, again, it's made from a plant based product, it is lower in saturated fats & cholesterol. And is a good sourse of iron and fibre.
Societies that rely heavily on soy based products, use traditional methods to prepare and ferment the soy beans into audible products to break down enzymes & anti-nutrients.
Industrial processes include bleaching the soy beans, pumping them with additives and deodorising them, creating more dangerous chemicals. This is not how it is prepared in Asian countries.
Soy milk contains an estrogen like substance's, isoflavones. Because soy protein is in so many of the products we eat (check the ingredient list of a few foods you eat) it's easy for us to overdose on this estrogen substance if we add soy milk into our diet as well, causing a hormone imbalance, especially for younger children.

Almond Milk:
Almond milk is one of the oldest dairy free milks around and came about in the middle ages. It also has the least amount of calories and highest amount of calcium compared to other dairy free milks.
Almond milk is made from finely grounded almonds and water and strained to remove skins and sediments.
Almond milk is not fortified because it contains so many natural minerals and vitamins with a high amount of vitamin A,B & E & calcium.
It also contains no lactose or cholesterol and is high in antioxidants,  but very low in protein.
It is also highly recommended to make almond milk at home because some brands contain added sugar and high sodium levels.

Coconut Milk:
Coconut milk is made from brown coconuts, the coconut flesh is grated and soaked in hot water and then squeezed through a cheesecloth.  Coconut milk is perfect for smoothies, milkshakes and of course those that have trouble with milk or lactose products.
Coconut milk contains a high amount of saturated fat, almost double the amount as other milks, although the saturated fat that it does contain is known as an 'energy' fat rather then a 'stored' fat. It makes a glass of coconut milk anywhere between 400-500 calories, four times the amount of some other milks. It is recommended for growing children and those trying to gain weight. However, you can also buy 'lite coconut milk' which only contains about a third of the calories and fat.
Coconut milk has no cholesterol (although because of the high amount of saturated fat this may raise blood cholesterol levels, if cholesterol is an issue), fibre, carbs, sugars or protein.

Hemp Milk:
Hemp milk is made from hemp seeds and water that creates a slight nutty taste. It doesn't contain or is associated with THC at all.  Hemp milk is known to be one of the easiest milks to digest.
Hemp milk is high in iron, protein, Omega 3 and Omega 6 and contains other minerals and vitamins such as vitamin A, D, E & B12, zinc & folic acid & much more. It is low in sodium and no sugar. It also, like all the other milks, has no cholesterol.
Aside from the vitamins and minerals it contains, hemp milk also contain anti-inflammatory agents and help with blood circulation.
Hemp milk is about 60-110 calories per serving depending on the brand. This is around about the same amount as skim milk. It can come in original, vanilla and chocolate flavours.
Hemp milk does contain some thickeners.
Hemp milk is one of the most expensive milks you can buy on the market, especially if you have to buy it out of the country.

Goats Milk:
Goats milk contains different proteins and fats to cows milk. And the fat proteins the goats milk are very, very small which makes it easier on the gut to break down. This makes it easier for people to digest. And recommended for people with sensitive stomachs and digestive problems.
Goats Milk is high in phosphorus, zinc and fatty acid. Goats milk has slightly more vitamins, minerals and calcium as cows milk. Especially vitamin A and B2.
Goats Milk still contains a lactose, but a more 'natural' lactose, similar to lactose found in breastmilk and less lactose then cows milk.
Goats Milk is known to regenerate haemoglobin.

Food is a scary thought!

I can't help but be incredibly scared when we try new foods, lucky most of the time food that don't agree with Jydan just cause a rash, but still, you don't want you little bub filled with an itchy rash.
I wasn't one of those mums that were orginally scared of feeding their baby, and I wasn't one of those mums that camped outside a hospital when they introduced new foods to their child encase of a reaction.. I really had no worries about food... until I realised how food effects my little boy!

My son has quite a few food intolerance and allergies which is something I didn't really think about when having a child. I know lactose intolerance may be a possibly but not his handful of other ones. Lactose intolerance runs in my family, so we figured it may get passed down from me.

At six weeks old, when we went for Jydan's six week check at the doctors, the doctors thought he was lactose intolerant, by his symptoms, his poos ect. She couldn't actually say yes or no without us getting him tested but it definitely seemed that way. Cutting out dairy from my own diet (I was breastfeeding and still am) confirmed that he was lactose intolerant. There's still a huge variety of foods he can have and alot of cheese's don't contain lactose. We have just started supplementing some breastfeeds with soy formula and will move on to goats milk when the time comes.
He seems fine on the soy formula, which is heaps different when I tried him on formula, that wasn't dairy free, when he was a few weeks old. He ended up vomiting non stop for hours with about 5 runny poops. All I wanted was him to sleep for a little bit - that was a complete fail!! Poor thing, I know now I was poisoning his little system.
I won't introduce lactose to him for a while yet, I can tell from when I do eat dairy and his stomach gurgling, that it does still react with him.

I also have horribly sensitive skin and eczema so we made allowances if our son was to have sensitive skin too and started with sensitive products and used essential oils instead of wash's ect. However, his skin is worse then we ever imagined! Plants, grass, soap, wipes, oils, shampoo's, creams, sticky tape, wool.. Eggs, wheat, grains, dairy, berries.. it's really insane.
I've wrote about baby eczema a few months ago that you can read here. what were using to help prevent and get rid of the eczema on extremely sensitive skin.
With alot of creams and washes and wheat, grains and berries they can really play up Jydan's eczema. That's why we avoid them. We were told to avoid quite a list full of foods but decided to try them out anyway.  Gluten and berries do in fact make him break out. Wheat rusks tend to be the worst. Rice is fine. Although, now my son is 13 months we are able to give him some wheat without a reaction, more then a slice of bread a day or so does still cause an eczema reaction. This tells us that he should grow out of it by two - yeey!! Berries we have not tried to reintroduce yet.

Jydan's eczema also started before he was even having solids so we knew that it was environmental as well. The washes we were using, although sensitive, still contained ingredient that his skin didn't like. and the avocado, apricot, coconut and jajoba oil we were using on his skin and hair contained plants and such that his skin also didn't like.
It took AGES to find a moisturiser and wash that works for him.

His first egg reaction - note the red swollen face.

My son also has low iron and vitamin D so at about 8 months we thought it was a fantastic to help boost some iron with egg! Well that was a miserable scary fail and he's allergic to egg! (face swelling and red!).. We've tried it a couple of times since accidentally and yep, definitely allergic! I had a croissant the other day and didn't even think it may contain egg.. until about ten minutes later his face went red and swelled! So definitely no egg to up his iron! I think egg is the worst of his allergies, and each reaction seemed to have got worse. We supplement egg by using rice flour and golden syrup, or olive oil. Which made such a delicious birthday cake!!

WATERMELON!

After battling with foods we also battle with eating in general. It seems to Jydan that food is a scary thought for him too! Jydan doesn't like food. It's not really his thing apparently! We are lucky if he eats two meals a day, and thats breakfast and dinner. If he doesn't want to eat he will more or less just play with the food. He is really fussy about foods and will only eat foods he can feed himself aswell.He also hates the spoon, which we've found out is because of an association to reflux. If he was given grapes, watermelon and bananas all day though he would eat!! But considering he has lost weight about 4 months in a row, about 100 grams (about 0.22 pounds) a month, he needs to have something a bit more fatty then watered fruits!
We now go to see a speech pathologist to help with his eating. We've seen them once and they were really really helpful! I was blown away, and are going back probably monthly to keep an eye on his eating progress. They just gave us a few tips on how to encourage him eating, and to not stress about food because then it makes food stressful. We want food to be fun and enjoyable so he will eat. He just doesn't seem to have an appetite at all!
We also see a dietitian that we talk to about the weight side of things, how to increase fat contents and that sort of thing. So hopefully with the help of encouraging him to eat and increasing fats we will have a baby that will start to put on weight!!

It seems like it's all a never ending cycle!! Here's to the end of allergies and the start of eating! I think with our next child I will be much more cautious about food, knowing that it runs in our little family now. I'll definitely be a bit more wearier about introducing foods, thats for sure!

W - Sitting

I had absolutely no idea that Jydan's sitting may be causing some pressure on his hips, bones and joints and may turn his feet out and may cause him to walk flat footed. In fact we have to go back to the OT in a few months to check how he is walking!

I honestly thought that he just found that more comfortable (which he obviously does) and it was cute. I don't know why it didn't click!

So I wanted to write a post to raise awareness of correct and incorrect sitting in babies/toddlers. How to fix W sitting and what damage W sitting can actually cause.

What is W-sitting?

W sitting is where the bum is pretty much on the floor and the legs are bent beside making a 'W' shape. Jydan has pretty much done this since he started crawling. I guess it became a habit as he would sit up from the crawling position and that's how he landed.

Most children W sit at some stage, especially to get from a crawling to sitting, or sitting to standing position. But it's when it's a prolonged W sit, or it's mostly how the child sits.

Children with low muscle tone, hypermobile joints or poor balance tend to sit in the W position. It's because sitting with their legs out front requires alot more core strength and balance. I will notice when we move Jydan's legs it throws him off balance........until he moves he tucks his legs back in.

W sitting can lead to sway back posture, feet turned inwards, flat feet, weak core and back muscles, tight hamstring and lower back muscles, delay development of fine motor skills, hip knee and foot distortion.

How to help your child to stop sitting in the W position:

-Moving legs.

-Alternatives to sitting on the floor.

-Reducing room for legs to swing.

-Improving balance.

We are currently moving his legs, very gently, out in front of him and saying 'legs out'. When his legs are out we clap and say 'yeeeyyy'.. but it only lasts a few seconds at the most and he tucks at least one leg back in, most of the time it's both.

I'm also going to buy a table and chairs that he can sit at and do his craft and other activities rather then sitting on the floor, where he so easily sits in a W, we also have a table and chairs set up outside for him. We are encouraging him to sit on the couch, where he can't swing his legs in, rather then on the floor, and when he's sitting on the floor using his old sitting supporter cushion that stops him swinging his legs around.

We are also going to get a fit ball and make some games of sitting on a fit ball to try and improve balance.

It is really encouraged that you don't let your child sit in a W position, and if they do, I hope I have gave you some ideas to correct the sitting position.

Baby Eczema.

 



 

4 months old.

4 months old.

I often get asked how I keep Jydan's extreme eczema at bay. Majority of the time 90% of it's clear. Actually we don't usually have bad days with it anymore. When it first came out it was horrible, it was soo bad! After buying the whole chemist and supermarket out we finally found some products that helped! I thought I would share them with you. Keep in mind, we pretty much tried everything else.

 



Clear skin! 9 1/2
months old.



QV GENTLE WASH -

Jydan STILL reacts to QV wash but it's the wash he LEAST reacts to. We use this as a shampoo too because every other baby shampoo flares up his eczema.
QV gentle wash is part of the QV skincare range, it's available at chemists in Australia and was especially developed for the dermatology ward at the Queen Victorian Hospital!

 

BABY BATH OIL (HOME BRAND) -

The reason we use the home brand baby bath oil is because it has about 50 LESS chemicals then brand name baby bath oils! We use this when the eczema is very dry and needs some moisture. Especially after swimming or any activities that may flare it up. We use it once a week.
We did try a lot of natural oils before using bath oils, but natural oils are made from plants ect which course him to have outbreaks!

 

RESOLVE NAPPY RASH CREAM -

This is anti-bacterial and anti-fungal nappy rash cream so we put this on when it is really bad. Eczema can become bacterial very quickly because it mainly comes up in moist areas and you need to kill the bacteria before it will go away. So applying this for a few days will kill all the yuckiness out of it ready to heal!

 

CHLORINE POOL -
When we first started swimming, I was SO worried about the chlorine irritating Jydan's eczema. So I researched it. It turns out that a small amount of pool time is really good for bad eczema! The chlorine, like resolve, kills the bacteria! I often find that Jydan's eczema is better after we go swimming. A small amount of chlorine water - no more then half hour at a time. Anything more will irritate it though.

 

HYDRADERM SORBOLENE CREAM-

For when the skin is really dry we use hydraderm. It has no chemicals or perfumes and is for sensitive skin. It's just a plain sorbolene cream .

 

CORTISONE-

When it's incredibly bad we need to use a 1% steroid cortisone three times a day and it clears it up really quick. The 0.5 is too weak for him but would be the right dose for many other babies. We only got the 1% on peads advice.

 

 

 

Hope that helps some bubbas!!