Those 'orrible nasty toothy pegs!

The calm after the storm

A picture can tell a thousand stories.

This is Baby B after half an hour of screaming because of those teeth. I know how bad I feel when my teeth hurt, but for a little baby it must be even worse. They can't tell you what they want, they can't tell you where it hurts, all you feel like doing is crying with them!

It's so awful. And for Baby B it's even worse. Not only is he teething, he's suffering with colic too. My poor little man, what can I do?

Every night at the same time it starts and goes on for up to an hour. I've begun to dread that time of day. Some days are worse than others, some days he won't suffer at all. But everytime he does I wish I could take the pain away for him.

As if they don't suffer enough - they endure being cramped in a small space for 9 months, go through the journey into the wide world, get poked and prodded at every chance by a doctor or a nurse, measurements, injections. Then of course the colic, the teething, eczema (all mine have suffered). Poor little babes!

Well, while writing this he's fallen asleep on my arm, with a little smile on his face - anybody would guess that the last half hour didn't happen! He's clammy and damp from the crying so I think it's time for bed.

Babies are amazing. They go through so much yet they still come out smiling. Maybe we adults should take a leaf out of their book!

Goodnight from us 

Skin Salveation Review

As a baby, C suffered really badly with eczema. It usually meant a trip to the doctors at least once a week, creams being applied 4 or 5 times a day, baths with added concoctions daily, and even special shampoo and suncream for her to use!

It was a nightmare! She'd end up with little scratches all over her body from where the itchiness was just getting too much for her. I used to get upset because there was nothing I could do for her.

Suddenly, that all stopped when she was 2. My mum took her abroad to Malta whilst I was pregnant with T, so I couldn't fly. After spending almost two full weeks in the beautiful mediterranean sea, her eczema had gone. Not one little spot of it. Anywhere. We were astonished!

We thought that was the end of it. Until last year, when it flared back up again. I had visions of going back and forth to the doctors weekly again, her in pain itching and scratching! Of course, the difference now is that she's almost 13! Not being able to afford to take her abroad again, and with the power of Google at my fingertips, I started searching for an answer. Something new, a remedy that would actually work, just anything to help my girl.

That's when a friend passed on the details of Skin Salveation. I contacted them, and they sent us out some lovely samples:

Body cream, Baby & infant cream, laundry powder, stain remover soap, a scoop and a few leaflets with information.

Over the last 2 months, we've tried the body cream and laundry powder on C and her clothes.

The picture on the left is her crease in her arm before we started using anything. You can see just how dry her skin is and, although it wasn't as red, it was much itchier.

The picture on the right is after 2 days of using the products. Her skin was more moist, less itchy, although it did go a little redder.

After using the laundry powder, I noticed there wasn't much difference between it and a normal washing powder. However, C informed me the clothes felt nicer on her skin, and they smelt lovely too!

Here, the picture on the left is after using the products for a week, while the one on the right is after 10 days. You can see the difference - and C had stopped itching altogether by then!

I couldn't believe it! A simple cream was the answer - and we'd gone though plenty of creams in the past!

This cream was our hero! It is amazing!

But why does it work better than other creams?

Believe it or not, we have a small group of miners to thank for these wonderful products! With all the "hands-on" work they did, their skin would become inflamed and sore - until they discovered certain ingredients combined naturally helped! They spread the word to friends and family, who soon realised it was great for helping other skin complaints!

Dr Stephen Randle, along with Dr Stephen Drew, held trials and concluded that the formulation had a "uniquely beneficial effect" on even extreme cases of dry skin.

You can read more about Skin Salveation and it's history here.

Do you suffer from eczema?

Take a read of this article from Skin Salveation. Even though I've been a mum for almost 13 years, and C has suffered since she was born, there are many interesting facts I didn't know - and I thought I was an expert! I think on our next visit to the Doctor's I'll be giving him some advice!

It's amazing, you don't realise just how important skin is.

And it works for other complaints too!

Have your child ever had impetigo? T and J do very often, all because they will insist on getting as dirty as possible when playing outside! T had a blister on her ankle, which she kept scratching with dirty nails. It soon flared up into impetigo. I wish I had realised back then that this cream would be ideal for that too! Have a read here for more information.

So, finally...

I would like to thank Skin Salveation for the products I received to review. I have not been paid for writing this and it is 100% my own honest views. If you have any questions, queries or worries about any skin complaints, especially eczema or impetigo (I'm ALMOST an expert!) feel free to contact me using the comment box below or on my contact page.

A (late) Mid-week Catchup!

I hope everyone had a lovely half term week last week, or are having one if it's this week. It's almost the second week of June already, where is the time going? Baby B is now 10 weeks old, yet it still feels like only yesterday I was bringing him home from the hospital.

There are certainly not enough hours in the day. I'm sure many mummies, well daddies too, would agree with me on that one. I have been constantly on the go the last few days and with minimal sleep (my own fault!) makes me a grumpy cow. I still have so much to do here, I shouldn't even be sat down right now! So I better get on with this post!

I just wanted to let you all know about a  few things that are going on despite my "Big clean-out".

I'm currently reviewing some lovely skin cream. It's called DermaSalve, and it's from the lovely people over at Skin Salveation, why not pop over and take a look, or you can contact them on Twitter.

My daughters, especially C, suffers really badly with eczema, and I get so annoyed when special creams do nothing for her. We've been back and forth to the doctors over the years trying to find something that will work for her skin. At the moment, it seems to be doing it's job. She hasn't complained about it being itchy and the redness is going down.

The full review will be available shortly!

Finally, before I get back to it, I wanted to let you know I am so excited! I've been invited to my first Blogger event! It's at the new store opening of Kiddicare in Bristol! I love Kiddicare, so I am snapping up this opportunity to go! It's in Bristol, which means a nice little train ride for me and the boys (the girls are in school) and they get to play and have fun too! So keep your eyes open for my post about my trip out!

Catch you all soon :)