My little grandson fell asleep a few minutes ago, so I thought I would steal some time away to write a post.
I am caring for my grandson today and he has a horrible diaper rash. He is cutting teeth and recently had an ear infection. His parents have him in disposable diapers. Today I took the big risk of letting him run around diaper free to get air to the infected area. (He is 11 months old and started walking 3 weeks ago.) He liked it so much that I hope that he doesn't think that this will be the normal routine at Grandma's house.
I have taken some flannel fabric and fashioned little diapers to keep on him. They are loose so fresh air can get to his sore bottom. This has only helped a little and while we have been putting a good quality and highly recommended diaper cream on his back side, it isn't getting much better. So Ryan is going to the doctor today and hopefully the doctor will prescribe a prescription diaper cream.
My grandson, Ryan, is my only grandchild and he is the son of my eldest son, Mike. When Mike was around the same age he developed a horrible diaper rash. Caring for Ryan has brought all of that back to me. It is hard to clean the infected rash as it is very painful for a baby. I have taken pieces of flannel and soaked them in warm water with a little soap and carefully cleaned Ryan. It is still painful, but not as harsh as baby wipes. Even the alcohol free wipes bothered him. Try and get a diaper clean while the child is screaming because of the pain and it will bring tears to your eyes.
I have put him in a warm water bath, but he won't sit down so I let him stand while I drizzle warm soap water over his butt and genitals. Even still, he cries from the pain. Then I pick him up, wrap him in a towel and let him rest on my lap. By the time I smear him with the diaper cream and a fresh diaper, he is exhausted and so am I. He rests his head on my shoulder and I rock him until he is ready to get down.
Rocking him brought to mind the old hymns of the church that I grew up knowing. I have sung to him "What a Friend we Have in Jesus," "Trust and Obey" and "Just a Closer Walk with Thee."
It is a labor of love to care for him and I am especially thankful that I can give him the extra care and attention that he needs at this time in order to conquer the rash.
This is what it is all about. I thought I would only care for him 2 times a week, before he was born. Then I cared for him 4 days a week and now 3 days a week. My daughter in law has found a wonderful babysitter for Ryan to go to 2 days a week, so I can get a break and so Ryan can interact with other children.
The sad part about Ryan being sick is that my daughter in law's mother died in July last year. She was in her 50's and she had a long struggle with cancer. I try very hard to help out all I can with Ryan and I also try hard not to butt in. It is a balance. But I can't help but think that when Ryan is sick that my daughter in law wishes that she had her mother to call on for advice. It always makes me sad to think that she lost her mom shortly after Ryan was born.
My goal is to pick up the slack, be respectful and not offer advice when she doesn't need it and be there when she asks for it. It is a balance.
When Ryan's other grandmother was in hospice I promised her that every time I kissed little Ryan that I would always give him two kisses, 1 from me and 1 from her. I also promised her that I would always tell him about her and that he would always grow up hearing from me about his Grandma Carol.
15 comments:
You're a thoughtful MIL and a wonderful grandma. 8-)
I hope the prescription stuff works, I don't know what else you could do. Different brands of diapers might work better, there are several brands of cream. Boudreaux Butt paste worked great for 3 of my grands but seemed to make rash worse on 1.
That is sad that Carol died just as her grandson came along.
HI, I read all the time and rarely comment. Consider letting him sleep bottomless with a plastic sheet underneath? Much more work for you I know, but lots of air.
My son was born premature and was at a Critical care hospital During this time he developed a horrible rash on his bottom. It got so bad that he blistered. One of the residents figured out what the problem was. My son was allergic to latex and disposables have it in them. I was told it's 90%. They took him off of pampers at the time and with-in days the rash
cleared up. He's now 19 and is still allergic to latex. Thought this might be of some interest. Good Luck with your Grandson, sending prayers you way!
That is so sweet of you & he is one lucky little boy. My Grandmother took care of me often when I was little & now I am Grandma to 5 I remember those wonderful times.
2 kisses...that's beautiful.
You have me in tears. What a loving and compassionate person you are. What you said to your daughter in law's mother is full of grace. Your grandson is very fortunate.
Have you tried some Vitamin A and D ointment? It was recommended when my kids were small and it seems to promote a barrier of sorts and helps clear these kinds of rashes up. It's all vitamin, no zinc oxide in it.
Try mixing equal parts Vaseline, baby powder and desitin. My kids would get horrible diaper rashes, and we called this the "Miracle" cream. I kept a little tub of it on hand at all times!
Back in the sixties when disposable diapers were new, my youngest cousin was put in them in the hospital, and sent home with a horrible rash. It required prescription ointment and a lot of care.
Of course, my aunt immediately put him in cloth diapers like we had always used and the rash cleared and never came back. This was the first baby I had known who had rash, AND the first I had known in disposables.
I just had another thought here.....maybe the diaper rash is a yeast infection. My eldest had a really horrible DR as a newborn. First we found out that he was allergic to formula(cow's milk allergy)and his poo...TMI....when it sat on his skin just ate away at it.
So we changed formula's(soy)and it cleared up.
But I was also using cloth diapers and plastic pants on him(before all these nice cloth diapers became the rage)and the pants were causing a rash that turned out to be a yeast infection on his skin. A prescription antibiotic/topical cleared that up.
Just goes to show that a diaper rash isn't always just a diaper rash. Good luck.
I say to my dil,
I had the same problem. This worked for me, but you may not want to try it. It may not even work for you. She was very much interested in listening when I put it that way.
Most likely, disposable diapers are the cause. Try cloth diapers.
I hope that you don't mind another suggestion, the previous ones are all good. I found that chamomile tea is very soothing to the skin and works well in cleansing. I even use it on my eyelids when I have an eye infection.
Chamomile tea is very soothing as a wash. I have even used it on my eyes when they were infected.
My little pie is 5 months old and i never use disposable diapers. The cloth diapers of today are nothing like what our mothers used. They are easy to use, easy to wash, and are virtually leak free! I love them.
Baby cloth diapers
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