Eczema Strikes Again

OK, so Avery hasn't been officially diagnosed with eczema but the writing is on the wall.  We were so hoping to avoid eczema because it affects so much more than skin.  We have seen what it does to a kid's ability to sleep.  And Avery likes to take five or six 30-minute naps a day.  And she still wakes up every 2 1/2 -3 hours at night to eat.  Her night schedule is almost the same as when she was four weeks old (without so many diaper changes).   Those tiny little naps don't allow her to get the restful REM sleep she needs so I dusted off my copy of "Healthy Sleep Habits Happy Child" and buckled down this past weekend to try to get her to lengthen out those naps.  We made a little progress.  She took a couple of longer naps during the day but then made up the difference at night.   And yesterday she was back to the 30-minute nap.  I have adjusted to the broken sleep somewhat but I get all mixed up when I am sleep-deprived.  I forget things.  I can't find the right words when having a conversation.  I burn things while cooking.  Bad news.

But I knew there might be more to it by the looks of her skin.  We just returned from Avery's 4-month well-baby appointment.  Here is our little 12-pounder in her designer Missoni outfit:

I am not surprised by her skin but the pediatrician sure was. Her scalp looks terrible, her little ankles and wrists are rough and red, and her sweet little cheeks look like she has been out skiing they are so chapped.  The doc wants me to eliminate dairy, egg, soy, nuts, and wheat from my diet for two weeks to see if her skin improves.  Then I can add back one item at a time.  Obviously I don't have to do this, I can switch from nursing to a hypo-allergenic formula but that just seems silly.  Especially since there is a chance that even an elimination diet won't improve her skin then I might as well keep nursing.  The doc thinks she is overall itchy which keeps her from sleeping well.  So we need to get to the source of the problem first, then our pediatrician suggested a possible antihistamine to help her out.  I definitely want to keep nursing so I will give it a try.  Eliminating wheat would be the hardest for me since I love it and the boys never had to cut that from their diet (thank goodness) so I will have to do some research on that.  And we already have the rice milk.  Geoff pointed out the other day how much milk we have because we have rice milk, almond milk, regular milk, and lactose-free milk.  Pretty much everything but coconut and soy milk!
   I am traveling this weekend so I will wait until I get home to start.  But the sooner I do it the better we may all feel.  This will make my new-recipe-resolution a little more challenging.
On another note, this is my first post from our new mac!  I am trying to adjust to it but so far I can't believe I have been doing any of my blog posts the old way.  It took me forever to get the pictures moved around and this is so easy!  Speaking of pictures, I will sign off with another one of little miss in a cute combo skirt/tights that my cousin Amy sent.