Frosting the Bum

Michaela: no accidents?
Maeve: 1, but she did pee in the potty for me again!
Alasdair: no idea

It was my day in the office today so the sitter took charge of the poop, for the most part anyway.

And here is my promised how-to on the Ilex cream. If you have a kid with a weeping or bleeding diaper rash, Ilex is for you! But it's not as simple to use as regular creams. When I was in the hospital and I saw that Alasdair's little scrotum was actually bleeding during a diaper change I totally panicked. I mean, he's my first boy so I don't really know what to do with all that down there anyway, but to find it bleeding just broke my heart! So I called the nurse and she said all non-chalant-like, "oh, I'll bring you some Ilex for that". Um, okay. So she brings me the tube and leaves me to apply it. Being a woman, I flipped over the box and read the instructions. It said to put on a thick layer and top it with petroleum jelly. Well, the nurse didn't bring me any of that, so I thought I was good. I mean, the nurse at a Children's Hospital would surely know if I had to use vaseline, right? So I put on the Ilex and close 'er up. A few hours later at A's next diaper change I literally had to rip the diaper off of his already tender balls. Poor guy!! The nurse came in just as I was changing him (I can't remember if it was the same nurse or not) and was like, "oh! You need to smear vaseline over the top of that so it doesn't stick!" Um HELLO!! Whatever. So she got me some and showed me how to use it properly.

1. Clean the bum area thoroughly.
2. Dry with a clean cloth or air dry.
3. LOAD UP with the Ilex cream. I mean, like you're frosting a cake. TONS of it everywhere that it is weeping or bleeding.
4. Absolutely cover the Ilex with Vaseline or petroleum jelly. Put a really thick layer on.
5. Close up the diaper and you're good to go!

Notes:

• The diaper may still stick a little bit, but no worries. It's not too bad as long as you really cover it well with the Vaseline. This stuff turns into rubber cement, seriously!
• At the next diaper change, DON'T try to pick off all the old Ilex. If it's a poopy diaper, it might turn all brown and look really gross, but just leave it on. Apply more Ilex to the newly exposed areas for any that came off and redo the Vaseline.
• At bathtime the Ilex will come off nice and easy.
• I bet within 24 hours things will be looking much better!!

Good Luck!