Getting Better

Baby Eczema

Joaquin has been having very bad skin lately. First we thought it was due to change of weather and his skin is not used to dry air but soon the condition spread to his body. Last week, he kept scratching himself awake at night every hour. No one was getting any sleep under our roof. During the day, he then goes into this perpetual grouchy mode. When we had our 6 months check up yesterday, the doctor was also concerned. He told us to carefully watch the types of solids he is having and to also switch his formula to soy-based formula. He also gave us moisturizers to alleviate his skin, which had started to peel. We cut out formula from his diet and also stick to only rice cereal and pear to make sure his skin does not get any worse. Thankfully, his skin is already a lot better today!
Sadly, I had to leave for the airport right after his afternoon nap and will be away for the next 5 days. Cannot wait to kiss his plushy, soft cheeks again.

P.S. 6-month stats:
Weight: 21 lbs (above 100th percentile)
Height: 70 cm (95th percentile)
Head Circumference: 47.5 cm (off the chart again!)

What Kind of Animal am I?

So yesterday I had to bring back almost 2 liters of breast milk from Beijing after a two-day business trip. I was sure that the security x-ray would not catch me but I was wrong. The security guy asked me what was inside my cooler and I said "breast milk". I had to explain to him how as a working mother I needed to make sure my baby at home gets fresh breast milk and how I'm scared of any types of formula.
He seemed moved by my plead but reiterated that the amount of liquid exceeds the set limit. He then took me to his supervisor. He said to the supervisor "we've got breast milk here" and she looked passed me and asked "from what kind of animal?" I answered with dignity. Luckily, my kind of animal was apparently on the pre-approved list...

First Solids

Joaquin has been sitting with us every evening when we have dinner and has been showing keen interest in food. I have been giving him some fruits to lick on and he gets really excited when he gets to do that. We wanted to hold off giving him solids until after he is 6 months old. He now eats 210-230ml each meal and eats 6-7 meals a day. However, lately he has been waking up at night every two hours since I guess breast milk alone can no longer support his 22-lb body. Yesterday we decided to give him rice cereal and see how well he can swallow. As expected, being able to eat is never an issue for him!