Skin Deep

As I write this, Mama and I are watching what has become the nightly news update on the current spread of the H1N1 virus. Vaccines are in short supply, call-in flu hot lines are jammed, and babies between the ages of 6 months and 4 years are considered "high risk". Needless to say, every lil' sniffle and sneeze is being constantly recorded and cataloged in Mommy's Great Big Book of Paranoid Neuroses. All of which sets the stage for Lili and Mama's latest visit to the doctor's office. Lili had been fighting her way through a seriously runny nose and stuffed up head for about, oh, 9,000 days, and we finally decided to make an appointment for her with the pediatrician. Just to rule out the possibility of any swine flu hysteria. Naturally, the pediatrician's office is busier than normal these days, and Lili ended up seeing one of the allergy specialists who, upon taking one look at her perfectly round little tum (well, perfect except for the long-standing patch of dry skin above her navel, which Mama assumed was "rug burn" and I chalked up to irritation from the top of her diaper) immediately declared, "Clearly, your daughter has eczema". And then muttered under her breath,"Worst. Moms. Ever". Okay, maybe not. But still. I felt like a monster for not scrutinizing her little rough belly patch more closely, especially given the fact that it had been there since about Week 4. On the plus side, though, turns out I had crazy bad, like submerge-me-in-a-vat-of-cooking-fat-bad eczema as a child, so at least she comes by it honestly (and I can stop frantically scrutinizing 19xx's profile sheet for other potential hidden health ailments) . For now, we are committed to a daily rub down of Vaseline and avocado oil, which also means no more touch football with the baby. She'll just slip right through your fingers like a little greased piglet!