The Rash is Gone (almost) and Potty Training is Complete

I am up way too late, but this is the only time I have to myself, so here goes...

The rash and the regression are almost completely gone!!! WooHoo!!! CKS is also completely potty trained!!! WooHoo!!!

The rash on his bottom has healed and is fading away and the rash on his torso and cheeks are fading, too, so it is hard to say that letting him run around naked was what did it. I think that it helped tremendously to relieve the constant inflammation. I think that the baking soda we mixed with water and applied to the rash several times a day at the start has helped. I think that brushing his teeth with baking soda in the mornings may have played a part in helping to alkalize his body, too. Maybe we just pushed through and he is coming out on the other side of it.

Whatever the reason, I am glad and relieved! It began to worry me a bit to see the rash getting worse and worse over a period of weeks and even bleed and ooze in the diaper area. It bothered me to see him regressing for such an extended period of time. It is so good to see him coming out of it.

He is not quite his usual self again. He is still reminding me of his older brother's preschool years and all of the maddening things his older brother did and how I knew something wasn't right, but I just couldn't put my finger on it or get anyone else to agree with me that something wasn't right. I am still carrying lots of frustration (anger) about that. I am trying to let it go because it affects how I feel about my oldest child. I used to blame him for being oppositional and manipulative. I used to think he was being deceptive, but now I feel certain that the same thing happened to my oldest son as happened to my second son. It was just gradual and subtle. He was my first and I had nothing to compare with. I am having a difficult time dealing with all of the feelings and emotions that are being brought up as my second son is repeating the behaviors of my oldest.

It makes me want to scream. In fact, I did scream quite a lot today. I just screamed at the top of my lungs to let out the frustration. My little ones thought that was a fun idea, so they were screaming, too. It was loud in our house today. I pray that tomorrow is better for me. I was hard on my oldest today. I will have to love on him a little extra tomorrow. One thing he has going for him is that he is amazingly forgiving.

I know he cannot help or even change who he was and it makes no sense to be mad about it. I would not mind prayers for me to be able to let go of anger concerning the early years of my eldest child. I covet your prayers about this. Thanks.

Just Like Big Brother

So I had written quite a bit more about this, but an error occurred when saving and I lost it all, so I will put it all simply.

When CKS regressed, he exhibited many of the same characteristics of his big brother that had not previously been characteristic of himself.

Lately, as we have been working through this latest period of slight regression, he keeps doing things that totally remind me of his big brother. He must be with me and even touching me nearly all of the day. He wants to go everywhere I go. He wants me to do everything for him. He wants only me to put him to bed. Today, he was negotiating all day. He repeats his statements and requests over and over and demands that you answer him again and again. I told him I would give him to the count of twenty to finish a particular activity and he said, "How 'bout ten or thirty?" My oldest did that for everything!!! It's maddening!!! Of course, I said, "Twenty."

Eye Contact and Clear Words

Today CKS's eye contact was much better and his words were clear again. As I mentioned in another post, his rash is getting better. Well, it is clearly much better today. Potty training is pretty much done, except it remains to be seen if he will remember not to pee or poo in his pants when we tuck his little heiny in some snug underwear. Maybe we need to make a special trip to the store to buy him some "big boy" underwear. Hmm.

So this is all good. We are still eating nut butter and GAPS bread. We are still eating butter. We are still eating raw egg yolks and scrambled eggs. We have added/increased sauerkraut, raw lettuce, and raw squash. We did, however, drop the honey and the bone broth. I guess we will try again later.

The Rash Seems to be Getting Better

So our little boy has this really bad rash on his cheeks and on his diaper area and he has lots of fine dots on his torso. I think it could be yeast. Might be a reaction to the nuts, as we have had lots of GAPS bread and nut butter as of late and I think it started about the same time. I have not kept good records as of late, so I can't be sure, but I do not want to take nuts out again. We will push through for a while and see what happens.

Running around naked or in a big shirt and applying water and baking soda on the rash multiple times a day seems to be helping. It is drying out and much less red and inflamed. I think the borders are receding, but it might be my imagination. His cheeks and the rash on his bottom get bright red right after every meal. Strange. I thought it was coconut oil, but some meals have no coconut oil. Hmm.

Bonus: 8 days of pee and poo in the potty. WooHoo!

Heart and Soul

Not sure if I mentioned it, but ever since the rash appeared on CKS he's been a bit on the rigid side, grumpy/oppositional, frowny, clingy, and on and on. We decided to push through and keep going with all of the things we added in my moments of insanity a few weeks ago. I added GAPS bread, butter, honey, lettuce, and I don't know what else. I did drop the honey because he was over the top tactile and that was annoying and dangerous.

ANYWAY, I just woke up to the happy sounds of my little boy singing "Bay, bay, bay" to the tune of Heart and Soul. To make it even better, I hear him declare, "My piano is right here!" I imagine he is playing the footboard on his toddler bed. Imagination is back!!! (I should mention that lately I have been hearing the words, "Mommy, what should I play?")

Did I mention in another post that he is potty training? Did I mention that the rash is looking a bit better.

Have I mentioned in any previous posts that rashes and regressions go together, but if we can push through long enough we see leaps forward beyond where he was before the regression?

My HEART and SOUL are filled with joy today! Thank You, Lord!

Thankful (a prayer written 10/12, but perfect for today)

Heavenly Father,

I praise You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made. All that we are going through only makes this clearer in my mind. I worship You because You are worthy to be praised! You are the God of the earth and You are the God of the universe. You made it all and You have authority over it all. Nothing in Your creation is out of Your control. You are good and You are good all the time. Everything You do is good.

Lord, even our trials and our struggles are for Your glory. May we glorify You through our journey day to day. Lord, forgive me for my failings for they are many. Change my heart, oh God, and make me like You. Heal me, mind, body, and soul. Make me in your image, my King.

Thank You for Your Son, Jesus! Thank You for the free gift of forgiveness and for redemption through the blood of the Lamb. Thank You for calling me out of darkness and for adopting me to be Your child. Thank You for loving me, even when I am so unlovable. That is what is so amazing about You, Father. You are God, and yet You love even me. I am so very unworthy, but it is not about me - it is all about You.

Thank You!

I am thankful that You gave me the desire of my heart, five beautiful children. I am thankful that I get to watch them grow and learn and discover the world around them. Each one is a treasure, a precious gift from You. I want to treat them like treasure! Help me to do this.

I am thankful to have my children back.

How Beautiful are the Feet of Him Who Brings Good News

Written on 10/17

My feet remind me of the Good News of Christ and His sacrifice for us.

I have been struggling on and off for several weeks now. I have been fighting to capture every thought and make it obedient to Christ and it is not easy.

Last night I wanted to tell my DH all of the ways he could do things differently to make life better for me, which is totally backwards and wrong. I wanted to let him know that he offended me. To protect my marriage, I kept quiet. It was so hard to do. My body showed physical signs of upset at every turn. My breathing was labored as I tried to hold it all in and then I changed my thinking and calmed myself down. I relaxed and went to sleep without saying a word.

This morning, I noticed my feet while getting ready to hop into the shower. They are even younger looking than I ever remember them. The callouses are smaller and less painful than ever before. It is yet another small sign of healing. It is slow, but it is happening.

This path is very difficult at times and I sometimes feel frustrated and I want to give up (don't know where I would go), but every little improvement keeps me forging ahead.

Thank You, Lord, for a little reminder of the good things that are happening in our house. Thank You for Your Word, which is true in every way. Thank You for the power of Your Word in our lives. It is truly the Living Word. You are the Good News that we need every moment of every day.

My beautiful feet reminded me today how wonderful it is to know You because someone else took the time to bring me the Good News.

Diaper Talk

I'm waiting on some cloth diapers and inserts in varying sizes to arrive. I plan to put all of by bedwetters (4 of them) in cloth at night, since I am doing 1-2 loads of pee pee laundry a day anyway. The disposables don't hold, so even if the cloth leaks, it's no big deal with the bonus of never having to buy diapers and pull-ups again. (except for emergencies, like broken washing machines)

I may put the little one in cloth during the day, too.

I found these pocket trainers called Happy Heinys and they are comfy and cute and easy to use. I tried several others, but liked this one best. I can't wait for my order to arrive. Who ever would have guessed that I would get so excited over cloth diapers? I really am changing.

Potty Training Again

Celebration Time:

CKS, our 3yo, is finally potty training! Sadly, he has this horrible rash all over his body (cheeks, torso, and diaper area) and it is really irritated and red in the diaper area, so we put him in a big T-shirt only, or we let him run around naked. On day one he had several big wet accidents. On day two he had a few, but would stop it and finish in the potty AND he put poo in the potty! Today he only had one small accident AND he put poo in the potty TWICE!

This is SO great because he had started putting pee and poo in the potty just after his second birthday. I was very excited about this because this was earlier and easier than with any of the older three kids. He was practically training himself. Then he regressed and it all just stopped. I was swishing stinky, mushy, pooey training pants in the toilet too many times a day because he stopped putting anything in the potty. I gave up! 18 months later and we are back! Three great days! I pray it stays!

Poo Glorious Poo - Take Two

Time for the Poo Report:

Everyone is pooin' everyday. Yes, pretty nearly every day. I have not had to do any enemas for several months now. It's awesome!!!

The two little ones still have some undigested bits in their poo, but it has firmed up into a nice creamy consistency, sometimes sticky, and rarely watery.

The two who used to have orangy fall-apart poos with lots of undigested bits that looked like an explosion in the toilet several times a day are now having very nicely formed brown poos daily, most of the time.

The two of us who were chronically constipated, going for days between poos are pooin' nicely formed brown poos daily (almost, but at least every 36 hours - WooHoo!).