Staying Home

Last Thursday, I noticed a cluster of wart like bumps on my son's knee. They looked a bit like bug bites. I asked him if they itched and he said no, that he had acquired them when we "went to camping" the weekend before. I shrugged it off and promptly forgot about it.

J at the lake when we "went to camping"

That same evening as I was getting him in his pajamas, I noticed the same clustery looking rash on his forearm. I rubbed him down with almond oil mixed with eucalyptus, lavender and chamomile to soothe his obviously stressed skin. I figured he had rubbed against something and was experiencing allergic dermatitis. But on Friday....it exploded. The entire left side of his torso was covered in little bumps and it spread to his groin and down his leg. They looked like chicken pox but there was no fluid in the bumps, no fever, no malaise, and no itch. Baffled, I sent some pictures to my aunt, who also happens to be nurse. She agreed that they looked like chicken pox but found it odd that he wasn't ill. I rubbed him with the oil I had concocted and sent him to bed.

When we awoke Sunday morning, the rash was better, but not gone. Still no illness. Since he was not showing the typical signs of chicken pox or any other serious malady, I chose not to take him to the doctor. I think it a bit silly to sit in a doctor's office, exposing him to who knows what when other than a strange rash, he is perfectly well. Of course if the rash persists, we'll get him checked out but I just didn't feel a doctor's visit was warranted quite yet.  I think it may be his first true eczema "outbreak." We decided to continue with the essential oil treatment, wash him only with gentle, natural products, and keep him out of the pool and away from other children for a few days to make sure nothing more serious develops.

And that means.....we're stuck at home. Typically, the children and I attend a play date with our playgroup, go to the gym or library, or at the very least walk to the park every day. Keeping J away from other kids is hard not just on him, but on Mommy too. Besides our rainy day standbys like reading, coloring and more reading, we managed to find some simple ways to entertain ourselves...

Water painting on a cinder block wall. Sorry Daddy! We'll get you some new brushes when we go to the feed store for chicken pellets!

Learning to knead...fold and squish, fold and squish!

Puppet making followed by an impromptu show

Maybe staying home isn't so bad after all!