My boys...

... are too cute.

Thank God for hydrocortisone cream

After just one day of meds for Oliver's face, his skin is almost flawless! I can't believe how fast it worked. I'm glad I called the doctor, but of course wish I would've called sooner!!

Oliver has ecezma

Taken a week ago, when his cheeks started to look really red.

I finally got Oliver in to see a doctor about his skin today. At his 2-month check up, the rash on his cheeks wasn't too bad, and Dr. B chalked it up to oily skin. But over the past month, it's gotten worse. And this past week, it's been terrible. It's all over his body, and different in each spot, too. His legs and forearms are scaly, bumpy and dry. His right cheek and forehead is red and bumpy, and his left cheek is crusty and oozy. Not only is his skin bad but he hasn't been sleeping well at night. Gone are the nights of 6-8 hours of sleep... He now wakes up every 3 hours wanting food, and sometimes every hour needing help falling back asleep (his pacifier fell out or just needs to be rocked). Most of the time he wakes himself up by working his way out of his swaddle blanket, and scratches the hell out of his face until it's wet with ooze and red like a sunburn. This morning at 1am I was trying to feed him but he kept crying in between sucks, I'm assuming because his face was on fire. So enough was enough– time to see the doctor. Dr. B was on vacation so we me with Dr. Vestergaard, a sweet woman that my mom knows and likes a lot. The first thing she said after seeing Oliver was, "Oh wow, what a gnarly case of eczema you have there buddy!" So there you have it, the kid has bad skin just like his parents. It's totally normal and will eventually go away, but she said not to be surprised if he always has some kind of skin issue (even just as simple as having extra dry– or oily– skin, which is common obviously). And babies with eczema are also more prone to have allergies, but for now we shouldn't worry about it. She told me not to worry about my diet, saying that it's not an allergy that is being passed through breastmilk. I was so happy to hear that since I constantly wonder if I'm eating something I shouldn't! She prescribed hydrocortisone cream for the dry and bumpy areas, muciprocin for the oozy spots (since the crusty ooze means it's a mild infection), and said to use a thick cream lotion like CeraVe and Cetaphil everywhere else. And if we don't see improvement after the weekend, she may want to start him on an oral antibiotic since the infected areas may need some help healing. So all this will take some time and effort each day to lather the kid up and apply medicines and fight him to keep his hands away from his face, but obviously we'll do what it takes to keep him comfortable. I really hope this works!

One year ago

One year ago today, John and I were house-sitting for family friends. I was feeling strange, and decided to take a little pregnancy test. Holy Crap. It was positive!

One year ago!

A link to that blog entry: http://ohbabyzogas.blogspot.com/2009/03/im-pregnant.html

We had no idea how our lives were about to change. This past year has been incredible. I've been tested in more ways than I knew possible. My body has been pushed to the limits, feeling aches and pains in places I didn't even know existed. My heart has expanded about ten times its normal size and is constantly filled with love for my baby and my amazing husband. And I never knew just how patient and tolerant I could be! It has been such an amazing ride and it's just hard to believe one year ago this babbling, screeching baby sitting next to me while I type was just a poppy seed in my belly. How time flies!

Oliver must learn to play nice.

At our childbirth class back in October, we met Stacey and Rob, a really sweet couple who lives nearby. Stacey and I stayed in touch after our babies were born and have gotten together with other mommies for play dates, and have gone on long walks when the weather has been nice. They don't have any family in town, so I offered to babysit anytime she and Rob needed it. John and I are a great team and can handle one baby, so why not two? Just for a few hours, of course :) So they took us up on the offer tonight and dropped Tyler off for a few hours. From the get-go, Oliver was unsure of this intruder. When we put them side-by-side for some play time, we gave Tyler a rattle that Oliver rarely plays with. Oliver happily sucked on his Sophie toy that he adores, until he locked eyes on the rattle. He stared at the toy in Tylers hands for awhile, and looked upset. Then he started to bat at it, as if he were trying to steal it away. I directed his attention back to Sophie, but no luck. The kid wanted that rattle.

Finally, Oliver moved quiet and swiftly lifted the toy from Tyler's tiny hands. Tyler cried, Oliver looked annoyed.

I took the toy from Oliver and explained that his friend was playing with it (I know, I know– like he understands). Two more times, Oliver grabbed it away from him. The final time he reached through the ring and pinched Tyler's face, making him cry yet again. I swear, if it's possible that a 3 1/2 month old baby can be a bully then watch out, because our kid is mean. Here's video to prove it! (Password is Zogas, and don't mind me as I film the video and laugh while John stops the bullying).

Oliver the bully from Lindsay Zogas on Vimeo.

I quit my job.

I made a very difficult decision the other day. I quit my job at Koopman Ostbo! Well, for the most part. I'm no longer a part-time employee and won't be going to the office each week on John's days off. They've agreed to keep me as a freelancer, and I already have a project in the works. But it will all be from HOME! It became very clear after my first day back at KO that it wasn't going to work out. I didn't realize just how much effort it would take to work for such a small amount of time! I had to wake up extra early to pump, get ready, deal with traffic, pay for parking, get settled at work just in time to have to take a break to pump again, pay for more parking, then leave around 2pm before I had to pump again. On top of that, I had a hard time concentrating because all I could think about was John and Oliver, hanging out at home without me. John enjoyed his days with Oliver and is completely capable of taking care of him, but I felt guilty that his days off were spent focused on the baby. He works such long, hard days and I know would like some time to himself on his off days. He didn't really get much of that if I was working. Plus, when were we supposed to have time together if we were both working on each others days off?? I thought a solution would be to just work a day or two a week. But if that was my schedule, I wouldn't be able to own any good, big projects like I used to because I wouldn't have the time to be responsible for them. So if I can't do what I'm good at, then why keep my job? I can see it working out better down the road, when Oliver is older and maybe in daycare a few days a week. But for now, it just doesn't make sense. All these things crept up very quickly after returning to work, but I was determined to give it my best shot. However, after only 6 days of working I realized nothing was going to change, and I had to suck it up and tell my boss. My heart was pounding as I dialed his number, and I almost started crying on the phone. Thankfully, he understood. And he wasn't surprised. We talked about this possibility during my pregnancy, so he's been prepared for the change.

John and I are so happy, and feel confident in this decision. It's a little scary but we know this was a good time to take the risk. I am plenty busy with freelance work, and will continue to grow my business to continue to be successful. I have dreamed of being a stay-at-home mom with a home office for a really long time, and feel so blessed that I have the most amazing and supportive husband who's making this possible. How lucky am I that I get to stay home every day with this little guy?

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

While sitting on Auntie Mo's lap at the McWilliam's St. Patty's Day party, Oliver tried to steal a sip of her beer.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!