parenting decisions

last friday eric and i took the two little ones off to a dermatologist appointment. both of them have very sensitive skin; ryan's skin is very dry and eczema like and maggie has rash like spots on her arms and legs. its been a frustrating and worrying time to determine what the cause of their skin rash has been but the doctors appeared to be quite confident in determining the cause for both their rashes is indeed eczema.

so, we have a new ritual after bath time, oil lotion for maggie and aquaphor for ryan. the aquaphor for ryan is over the counter and more petroleum jelly than anything else. the oil for maggie is rx formally known as eczema oil which has a low dose of steriod in it -- a little scary given some of the known side affects, though several people (dr.s, friends and family) have reassured me the amount is so little its really insignificant.

** big sigh ** why can't parenting be easier? everyday you make decisions as a parent for your child. some you make very matter of factly and put yourself in camp or another. the divisions can sometimes be very clear. tv mom or no tv mom, breastfeeding mom or formula feeding mom, candy or no candy. though it can be easy to find your ground with some of these "camps" its the other decisions like which cream to use on your child's skin or when to vaccinate your child or which school to send your child that can be so heart wrenching. you make decisions armed with the best information you have web linked your way to, that you have networked from the pre-school, the babysitter, the neighbor, the doctor, the friend of a friend of a friend and then one random comment from a random person or a random newswarticle can make you jump start your reseach all over again.


i remember the first time i took maggie to see her pediatrician -- signing on the line marked "legal guardian/parent". somehow it wasn't 'till that point that the full throng of parenthood really hit me. maggie was just a week old. now she is three and so far, has fairly well survived my parenting ole faux-pas but it never ceases to amaze me just how responsible being a parent is. my whole perspective on life has forever changed. they say parenting will change you, but its not until you've lived a few years of it that you can really see just how much.