Diaper Rash

has been my enemy for almost a week now and is taking its toll on Miss Maddie. I feel so bad for my little girl. She has to endure so much pain because of this. This is the first time that she has actually ever had diaper rash. So, being 13 months, I guess that isn't that bad. I am not for sure what gave her diarrhea that caused the diaper rash, but I am almost to the conclusion it was the white grape juice that she was given right before her ordeal. I was really excited because Jeff thought that since she really liked grapes, she would probably like white grape juice and it would be a juice that she would willingly drink. We got her a bottle-after checking all brands and checking sugar levels- and poured her some juice mixed with water. She LOVED it. I couldn't get it out of her hands. GREAT! We, finally, found her a juice that she will drink... now only if she would do that with her whole milk... She drank her whole sippy, so I thought I would go ahead and give her another half/half mixture.... didn't think anything would happen. White grape juice is supposed to be good for you.. The next day, she had diarrhea... and the next... and the next and so on. I have no clue as to why she got it.. Too much sugar? just too much juice? everything overall? or not even the juice and I am just completely missing the whole reason why she is having to go through this. I put cream on, put more cream on, gave her lots of water and it only got worse. Have I mentioned how hard/scary/emotional being a first time mommy is when you have no idea what your doing for the firsts of everything. I called the nurses advice line and she mentioned warm soapy water after each dirty diaper, vaseline or the butt paste and not cream, and let her soak in a warm water bath. Ok, I can do that... she didn't like any part of that. Screamed the entire time, tears strolling down her face, and her squirming trying to get away. Ugh! It is so hard to see my baby girl crying and in so much pain. Oh how I wish I had the power to take it away and make her happy again. The desitin paste worked for her. She was a happy camper once it was on. Not even a scream or move out of her. She was even trying to talk to me after that. THANK GOD! I am hoping that even though it's looking worse and places are raw, that it is on its way to getting better. She is in a great mood the rest of the day.

I am finally getting her to drink some whole milk... I actually have to trick her into drinking it though. How sad is that. I give her half formula and half whole milk. HEHE... she actually likes it and drinks it. I guess over time it will be less formula and more whole milk.

On another note with her, Maddie got a princess castle playhouse with a little tunnel that comes out of it. She really enjoys it. She will go in, go through the tunnel, smile and giggle at me, and go back in. Yesterday, Katy was at the end of the tunnel to great her and Maddie was being nice and tried to give her kisses... Imagine Maddie sticking her tongue out and moving it up and down( like a dog) and leaning in towards Katy's nose... mm yes, that is what was going on. Of course I stopped her.. only after she got kissed by Katy ( with Maddie's tongue still out) WONDERFUL! Sisterly love? lol This went on for a while and each time Maddie came out of the tunnel I would have to, once again, tell Maddie 'no' and Katy 'no', as well. Those two are so amused with each other and have so much love with each other. Maddie will try and play with Katy every chance she can and will even throw food down to Katy as she eats her meal.

Maddie is walking great! I can not believe how well she has progressed in such short time. She walks around with no problems at all. She even bends down and picks up heavy objects and carries them to the couch, so they are at her level when she is standing. She even runs at times. She is truly a miracle. She almost always has a smile on her face and is a bundle of joy. She has made a lot of friends here and plays so well with them. It is nice to have her around other kids since it's only her at home.

I have decided that I am going to start working out, along with eating healthy ( as much as I can anyway with my strict diet from the doctor), to lose the rest of my baby weight.. YES, I still have baby weight from 13 months ago. I know... Jeff seems to think that it will come off in no time.. I think that I am stuck with the weight and it has no plans to go anywhere. I have been pretty good about exercising. Not as good as I could be, but it's been really busy lately with Maddie not feeling good and torrential down pour makes it hard to go running outside. We will see... I hope it comes off within decent time.

So, my friend has inspired me to be " the mom who can do it all" . : ) I had a moment where all I wanted to do was to find new cupcake and muffin recipes and bake them. Jeff's office at work got to be my guinea pigs. Before that, and still now, is scrapbooking. I have a lot of catching up to do, so I guess that's a good thing. My newest thing is to learn how to sew... Yes, I don't know how to sew. But, on the bright side, I am taking a sewing class soon which I am very excited about. I already have things that I want to make when I know how to. I think I want to take up kickboxing once I get into a little better shape. In between that all, I found new dinner recipes that I have been trying. Overall, it has been a lot of fun. I just need Jeff to rescue my pictures from my broken laptop so I can do some more scrap booking. Oh and Jeff thinks that he is going to get me to run in a 3K in a couple of months when I am a little more prepared for it. We will see about that.

Jeff has been busy with work. He is working on paperwork to start classes back up. He has PT more often now, so he goes to bed early to get up early for that and work. Good thing is that he is usually home around 1 for the day. He takes a little power nap and plays with Maddie until I give him a honey do list. :)

It seems like we always have something going on and something to do. Life is a lot more crazy now that we have Maddie and a whole lot more work with a walking baby. Although, I wouldn't change a single moment in it.