Update on Diaper Rash

Ryan's diaper rash is gone.  It's nice to see pretty white, pinkish normal skin on his bottom.  My DIL took Ryan to the doctor and he prescribed a prescription cream for his bottom.  It did appear that he had a yeast infection.  Ryan had the "perfect storm" that led to his rash:  ear infection; prescription for an antibiotic to treat the ear infection; and he was cutting teeth.

After applying the prescription cream twice a day, we saw a difference within a day.  However we still had to deal with the rash hurting him when we were cleaning him up after he soiled his diapers.  The other problem was that he had horrible runny diapers.  His bottom was still raw and yet we had to get it clean so it would clear up.  I continued to use soft flannel homemade wipes on his bottom and then I applied Vaseline all over his bottom and genital area.  He screamed and cried and then when I was done, I stood him up and he hugged me and put his head on my shoulder.  I had a lot of tears last week.

Since he was already getting a prescription cream in the morning and the afternoon we decided that it was best to go conservative throughout the day and just use Vaseline.

Well the rash cleared up by the second day and when he was at my house yesterday I had one happy little boy.  He had been sick and then he had the pain of the rash and cutting of the teeth so he hadn't been himself for a long time.  Ryan spent the whole day happy.  He smiled, he played, he giggled and he was feeling so good.  I had a few errands to run and he waived and smiled at people.

We had a great day and it was one of those days that you treasure.

Thanks for all the advice on the rash.  Many of these ideas I will be using on him in the future.

Dealing with a Grandson's Diaper Rash

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.

Renewed Focus

I have been back from vacation for two weeks.  Over vacation I started to think more and more about this blog and how I seemed to have writer's block.  After all it has been close to 4 years since I began this blog and what more could I say about frugal living?  Then it dawned on me this morning that with watching my grandson 4 days a week, I have so much more to contribute, so I will not abandon this blog that I love so much.

I will try to post every other day what I have been doing and give you a glimpse into my daily life which has changed tremendously from 4 years ago.  So let’s begin this new journey together.

Last week was the second week that I watched my grandson Ryan while his mom works at her family business and coaches volleyball and while his dad teaches math at the high school and coaches cross country.  Ryan has lots of aunts, uncles, cousins and grandparents including a great-grandma that lives nearby.  I raised my kids living in the Midwest while my parents lived in New York and my in laws moved from the east coast to the west coast.  We were on our own when it came to caring for our sons, but we didn’t think anything of it as it was our normal way of live.

It would be hard to watch Ryan if it wasn’t for his good nature.  He is happy, and good natured.  Ryan has the same temperament that his daddy had when he was a baby.  About the only time he gets fussy is when it is nap time.

The one thing I have learned from watching Ryan is that basic items that you need to have in your home to care for a baby have gone up in cost tremendously.  Also there are more and more “necessities” for baby on the market. One day I went to purchase a pacifier for him to keep at my house.  There were about 50 different kinds of pacifiers to choose from.  When my kids were little I think there were just 2 kinds.  Also there are all sorts of unnecessary things that you really don’t need.  I don’t need a baby monitor or a wipe warmer. 

 I have purchased items as I have needed them.  For example, I purchased a Graco portable crib/play pen.  I bought it new and on sale for one reason.  Many times items are recalled and I knew that this one item was important for me to buy new.  It has 3 levels so that I have been able to raise or lower the bed as Ryan has grown.  This has been a big help for my back. 

I purchased the exact stroller that Ryan has at home.  It fits his car seat and it is a heavy duty jogging stroller.  I looked at a lot of strollers and I found more and more had wheels made of plastic.  Knowing how much a stroller can be used even for more than one child, my mind was made up to research and buy quality.  Again some online shopping paid off when I found a heavy duty jogging stroller on sale for $20 less than offered in a store along with free shipping.

Ryan is almost 6 months old so I added a walker and high chair as the final things I need for him.  I searched at local consignment shops for these items but found that I could get them on sale with free shipping to me for a bit more money.  In fact, the walker was only $5 more new and the high chair was only $30 on a close out clearance sale. 

I give Ryan a bath every now and then as needed.  I refused to pay $25 for a baby bath.  I simply put a folded towel in the bottom of the bath tub and took another towel and rolled it up to for him to rest his head on.  Then I simply lower him on the towel and wash him and let him kick in the water.

As far as items such as baby bath, lotion and powder, I went to the Dollar Tree and bought these items for $1.00 each.  I keep a large bottle of hand sanitizer near where I change Ryan’s diapers.  This was also purchased for $1.00. 

I have purchased a few toys along the way at garage sales.  Anything that is plastic such as rattles and the sort I wash and dip in boiling water to disinfect them. 

My son and his wife provide diapers, formula, cereal and jarred baby food for Ryan.  I supply the baby wipes.  Normally I would have just purchased white cheap wash cloths and used soap and water to clean him, but I came upon a deal at Wal-mart.  I was able to get 400 baby wipes for $6.00.  These are really thick wipes and even with a messy diaper, I only need one wipe.

I really enjoy caring for Ryan.  It is almost like I have been given a do over in my life.  I always wanted to stay home with my kids when they were young, but we just couldn’t afford it.  Now I am home and helping to care for my grandson and I am loving it. 

So, this is the challenge of my new life:  caring for my grandson a few days a week, managing my time and home along with continuing my dedication to frugal living.

Tips for Today: 

1.  The advantage of having a stockpile of pantry and freezer items has become invaluable to me as I don’t want to run out to the grocery store for one item with a 6 month old in tow if I don’t have too.

2.  I had been making my own hair detangler but discovered that a 10 oz. bottle of children’s hair detangler only cost $1.00 at the Dollar Tree.  It works great on my hair hair.  Also my hair is dry so I use conditioner in the shower.  After towel drying my hair I squirt a little conditioner into my palms and rub it on the bottom 3 inches of my hair.  I rub it into my ends and I let my hair air dry.  Air drying my hair helps to keep it from being damaged by the heat of the dryer and the additional conditioner helps to keep my hair moisturized.  

My little grandson, Ryan

I am so over the top blessed with a little grandson, Ryan Michael.  The look on my face shows it all.  To those of you who have entered this phase of your life as a grandparent, you understand what it is like to feel "Over the Moon" with love.  

I am off today to Des Moines to do so baby shopping.  I have a Kohl's gift card I have been saving for a long time and they are having some really great sales - bargains, bargains, bargains are what I will be looking for today.