Today's Update

As I write tonights entry, Sebastian is peacefully sleeping, I hope in a wonderful dreamland full of excitement & adventure beyond his wildest imagination. He is doing much today. The oatmeal baths have tremendously helped the itching & dryness. He's been full on rotten to his roots today. Don't know if he just has his energy back or if the steroid medicine is playing a role. He ate like a little pig at supper and was still wanting more at bedtime. All of the spots have not gone away entirely. He still has lots of discoloration around his waistline & booty.

It's back to work & daycare tomorrow (we call it "school"). Early to bed & really early to rise :(! I keep hoping we're (well, David, as I rarely ever play) going to win the lottery so I never have to work again. Sebastian & I would really love to sleep late & travel and a gazillion other things.

David & I joke & dream about everything we would do, but then we always agree that no matter how bad we think we have it sometimes, we truly are blessed. We both have an income (not much of one LOL), a roof over our head, food in our bellies, we're all healthy & have more love and happiness in that 31 lb, 37" tall blonde hair, blue-eyed boy than we could have ever imagined. That is more than the world!!!

I'm going to close with some pics I stole of Sebastian today & yesterday during his afternoon nap. There's nothing more precious..."the only thing worth stealing is a kiss from a sleeping child!"

I had to include this one from today. Sebastian decided to dress himself. I took a picture which didn't turn out at all, but I said, "say cheese", Sebastian said, "cheeeeese, I dress myself!" I love that expression.

Erythema Multiforme

Sebastian woke up yesterday morning as usual and as we were getting ready for daycare, I noticed what looked an insect bite on his hand. Just a few bites clustered together. I commented to David about it and didn't think much thereafter. When I dropped him off at daycare, I showed Ms Kristal as Sebastian is mildly allergic to mosquito bites and they tend to flare up and get infected and instructed her to use hydrocortisone cream.

When I picked him up from daycare he had several more spots on his arms, but not really noticable anywhere else on his body. We came home, ate supper & played around until about 8:30pm. As I was getting him undressed & in to his pj's I saw huge welts all over his body. It seriously freaked me out and I called my sister immediately. She is in nursing school & works at Piggott Community Hospital. She came over right away & looked at him and like me, had never seen anything like it before.

My husband breaks out in hives [red raised welts all over his chest & back] from time to time; however, we think it's stress/tension related. Sebastian's rash/hives were 10x's worse than David's have ever been. I instantly went over in my head all possibilities...haven't changed soap, shampoo, laundry detergent, supper had been a tv dinner he's had a million times, he had been taking an antibiodic & cough medicine for a week & he's had them both before, not been around anything different that I know of. Called Ms Kristal to follow-up all details of his day with no likely conclusions as to why he had a ruge rash all over.

I gathered him up & decided to take him to the ER in Poplar Bluff. Thankfully, we didn't have to wait long as they seen him right away. When the doctor came in he diagnosed him right away with "erythema multiforme". They gave him a dose of a steroid medicine and wrote out some prescriptions. Of course when I came home, I googled!

Erythema multiforme is an acute inflammatory disorder caused by an allergic reaction that occurs in response to infections, medications or illness. He had been sick, coughing & congested, for the past week and with that had been on an antibiodic & cough medicine. One website said it was rare in children under 3 and another said it was common in children...so take your pick. I was much relieved to get him home & in his bed last night.

Today he is doing TONS better. Most of the welts have disappeared, he has some spots of discoloration, especially around his waitline & booty [where it was the worst]. He's been running around saying "my booty is red, my booty is red" after he watched me upload his pics. I'm not surprised that he would get another wierd disorder that we've never heard about. It seems that everytime he's sick, some sort of rash comes along with it. He's always had such sensitive skin, but it's beginning to get ridiculous!

this is what he looked liked in the ER

huge spot on his belly

right side of back

beginning to spread to his face at the hospital

The Year of the Blogger

Well, it's getting close to a month since my last post, so I thought I would try to update. I received some new found "blogging" inspiration from a good friend who just reinvented her blog. As I was reading her posts last night, I found astounding truth in her words "I am so in love with this little man...He has stolen my heart from day one." I could not have written it better. Anyone who reads my blog knows that I am crazy about my little boy. It is truly a profound love that only another mother could appreciate. It is a wondrous privilege to be a mother and I graciously accept every second that I can do so. Working where I do, I see so many parents forget what an amazing gift they have been given. I am so thankful that we have a beautiful, healthy, brilliant, energetic little boy. He is my life's purpose and I am so grateful.

Sebastian is 2 now, going on 20. He's so independent and so full of life. I love talking to him. He has so much to say. Everyday I am surprised with something new that he has learned. He has a superb memory. He can recall his steps from days ago, able to find whatever he has managed to swipe from us (keys, credit cards, sunglasses hahaha) and when asked, can take you right to the last spot he had seen it. AND always remembers those last minute "bribes" we use to get him to do something we want. "I'll let you paint after you take a nap." Two hours later, groggy from a long afternoon nap, he's uttering the words "I paint!" He knows exactly what he wants and although sometimes still has trouble expressing his words, most of the time I can decipher his code. Everyday is new & exciting with him.

I have a good friend with whom I work that has a little boy Sebastian's age. I love trading stories with her and we most always have something new to tell one another every morning. Of course, we speak often of our parenting woes and in doing so, have learned that no matter what your style, it's the right one for your family. She envies the fact that Sebastian goes to sleep all by himself, with little struggle and sleeps the entire night in his own bed. I envy the fact that Ben still wants to be held & rocked.

I am working 4 10-hour days at work now. I LOVE it so much. Although Sebastian has to go to daycare a little earlier & stay a little later, it has really worked wonderfully for our family. Sebastian gets a little more one-on-one time with Mrs Kristal at daycare. He enjoys that tremendously...she is an amazing person...we are so, so lucky to have her. With this schedule, I get a whole extra day each week to be home with him. It really makes a huge difference. I love the break in the middle of the week, too. I work Mon & Tue, off Wed, work Thu & Fri, off for the weekend - - it definitely works for us.

Well, it's getting close to my bedtime. Seems to get earlier & earlier. As great as the compressed work schedule is, exhaustion comes with it. I hope to be able to post regularly and post lots more pics of our growing little man this year. Hopefully, he'll be getting his hair trimmed soon (it is a mess right now) then Sarah can get some awesome new pics. Stay tuned [& comment comment comment]!!

"Please make my Mommy cut my hair!"

Typical Sebastian

Mommy's Little Mr. Fix-It