Another Tough "Working Mom" Day

This was a pretty tough week...with the allergic reaction and now Marino's latest ailment. I'm sure I have mentioned before that he has eczema. He's had it since he was a couple months old and it itches like crazy, from what I can tell. His only method of self-soothing involves scratching at it (sometimes until it bleeds). Well, last night I noticed the boy had some small red bumps on the back of his thighs. He was also REALLY cranky and wouldn't eat solids when we got home from work/daycare, not even his new fav - deli turkey. When he woke up this morning, the bumps were even worse and had spread to his knees and a little on his back. Luckily, we have nurses at daycare, so as soon as we arrived, I had them take a look.

The nurses said they couldn't figure out what it was, but that he needed to see the doctor today (in case it was contagious). Well, today was basically one of the least convenient days of the year for me to have to take him to the doctor, since it was our department picnic and I was one of the people coordinating it (and since my boss was the mc, I knew he would need me there). Every year, I let my employees leave after the picnic and I go cover the front desk at the office, so I couldn't even take him after the picnic. I got a 10:30 appointment and rushed him over there.

In a nutshell, the pediatrician said the bumps were a) a severe eczema flare up, likely caused by compromised immunity (vaccines and allergic reaction) and b) a secondary bacterial infection, likely introduced by him scratching and bacterial slipping under the skin. She gave me a prescription for an antibiotic and an oral anti-itch cream and told me to use hydrocortisone cream for a week. She also said I should see the allergist sooner rather than later, since we both think his skin issues may be related to an allergy we're unaware of.

After that, I rushed him back to daycare, went to the picnic, and then went back to work. Marino was NOT in a good mood when I picked him up, so for the second day in a row, 80% of the time I spent with him, he was either crying or whining. I know he is uncomfortable; I just wish I could spend the day snuggling with him and get to see him when he's not already worn out. Feeling sorry for myself today...thanks for indulging me if you made it this far.