Skin-deep
I've never had any issues with my skin, growing up I was fortunate enough to get away with washing my face with whatever soap my mother owned and I somehow managed to miss the expected "puberty pimples". I've been told on many occasions that I have "good-skin" and normally if you throw the word "good' in front of a word, there was usually a sense of happiness. My skin maintained its title through out my pregnancy and I was pretty happy about that because on top of extra weight, fatigue, and nausea there wasn't really much more I wanted to deal with.
Fast-forward a few years, a wedding ring and a little one, I am still benefiting of some awesome genetics but my son however seems to have eczema. How? Why? UGH. Just to mention a few phrases that come to mind upon my discovery. I don't remember the exact day but I did notice some extra dryness at one point. Like most people I thought nothing of it, slathered on some coconut oil and went on my merry way. Within a few weeks I started to notice he was scratching his chest, dry spots and irritated bumps started to form. I turned to my dearest friend Google and sure enough it was linking his symptoms to eczema.
Now though I take an occasional Advil, I am definitely not a drugstore junkie, so though his pediatrician gave me a prescription- she also gave me some great tips on how to help reduce flare-ups. She also mentioned that though he seems to have it now, (at 9 months) this doesn't mean he will have it for the rest of his life. I am hoping that it will in fact just be something he has to deal with as an infant.
The other day while changing his diaper I noticed that he had been scratching his skin, and had caused some of his skin to break and bleed. My heart broke for him. Here he is, just a baby and having to deal with such discomfort that he would rather scratch to relive the itch until his skin breaks - simply because he doesn't know what else to do. How is he to handle something like this, he can cry..but chances are I will check his diaper, feed him and give him snuggles assuming that one of those acts will meet his needs- but it only temporarily distracts him from what he's really looking for.
As a mother, I too have issues that I just can't seem to get to the bottom of. I may try to think of ways to resolve an issue and then distract myself with some flowers, a new outfit or some pampering. Unfortunately just like my sons desire to find relief for his eczema, it can't be treated with a hug. Often times I find myself thinking of things, ways to be a better blogger- how to "connect" more, engage more, influence more- more, more, more. The temporary fulfillment from things that are only skin-deep grows wild like a weed. Why? Because I'm a mom- wait what? YES, I have concluded that becoming a mother has caused me to focus so much on another human being that I look for ways to find fulfillment in each day because the truth is sometimes I just don't feel like the super mom you see on TV.
Treating my sons skin helped me realize something, there are things beneath the surface at work in our lives. Everyday is a battle to overcome thoughts of inadequacy and the constant need to prove to yourself that if you aren't working- you are still making a difference in your home. If we focus on the superficial we will have results that don't satisfy. If we focus on the things much deeper we will find something long lasting, joy, peace and true contentment with where we are at.
I have some more products to try for my skins son, and I also have some more methods to uncover in my own life. While I treat his skin I am also learning to treat myself- from the sickness that doubts and questions rather than trusting in God for whatever it is that I need, and trusting in the magic that is motherhood that I have full access to.
I know I tied two concepts together- but I just had to, I'm not your mom blogger that will just provide tips on how to take care of your child, but also how to take care of you.
