Rohan had a recheck with his dermatologist last Thursday. They wanted to see how he was responding to the steroid cream and antihistamine, and decide what our next course of action was. The NP (Nurse Practitioner) couldn't stop marveling at how calm and content and happy he was; a marked change from the last appointment we had, which occured on his worst day ever and involved him crying hysterically from the car to the check-in desk to the exam room, until he finally passed out in exhaustion. This was the same NP who told me that my baby might just be 'the kind you need to set in the crib and leave the room and let cry' because there appeared to be no consoling him. Anyone who knows me knows how deeply I internalized THAT gem of advice, but she SWORE up and down that his fussiness HAD to be something 'else' not related to the Masto because she tried the 5 S's (you moms know them: swaddle, swing, shush, side/stomach hold, and sucking) with him and he DID NOT respond at all. In fact, I believe he screamed louder in protest to being taken from my arms. This had her convinced he had deeper issues such as reflux, but I knew in my heart the issue was the Masto.
Fast forward to last Thursday, and as I said she was marveling over his calm and happy demeanor. We told the NP and Dr that he was a whole new happy baby on the meds and hadn't had any flare ups or blistering. They were pleased, and told us from now on we can continue with the meds on an as-needed basis only. The steroid cream we are to take a break from for 2 weeks, then use for 2 weeks, 3 times total. And then we stop using it altogether unless his spot gets worse, at which point the Dr would want to see him before we decided whether to continue with it. The dangers with the steroid are 'pitting', where too many skin cells get killed off, and some of the healthy ones are damaged, and weight loss/appetite loss. He has no pitting at this point, and his appetite is hearty as ever, so we're following protocal for now and taking 2 weeks off before we do another 2 on.
As far as the antihistamine, we're to give it when we feel he needs it. Initially we were stoked (yes, I just used 'stoked' in a sentence) to hear this, as we both had agreed that if he COULD be without the daily meds, we want him to be. After all, we're both the types who don't usually take meds for things unless we NEED them. You are, after all, reading the blog of a girl who birthed this baby in a pool in her living room. We've discovered though, only 4 days later, that we're probably going to have to use the antihistamine more often than we'd hoped to. Already we had to give a half-dose on Saturday and (after 45 minutes of shrieking cries and rigid posturing) a full dose this evening. We'd love to avoid it if we can, but the hard fact is Rohan IS going to NEED it sometimes and we'd prefer to give him 1/10 mL of a very safe medication once in awhile over making him needlessly suffer.
At this point, we don't have any plans to see the dermatologist again anytime soon. She gave us a prescription for 30 mL of the antihistamine, which is 300 doses, so it should be a looooong while before we even need a refill. Our plan is to keep a close watch on his progress and be conservative (this is one area in life where I can USE that label about myself!) about the medications but give them when needed to keep our little guy happy and comfortable. Because, you know, he has this one little dimple in his right cheek, and you can only see it when he smiles, but I'm in love with that dimple and everytime I see it my heart gets all warm and I can't help but smile back and so I will do anything I can to make sure I see that dimple as often as possible!
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