No Sheep for Leo

It's sad, really . . .

On Saturday Leo started developing a rash, which I assumed was due to the fact he had been eating squash. (I tried squash before, and Leo broke out a little). Sunday and Monday went by, and the rash remained. Then last night, Leo starting scratching like crazy and I knew it was time to call the doctor. What started out as a bit of pink on Leo's face ended up little pink bumps that felt like sandpaper all over his entire body.

It turns out that Leo has eczema. He's had dry skin since day one, but the squash probably triggered a full-on outbreak. The good thing about eczema is that most babies outgrow it by age two; we just have to keep Leo slathered with a steroid cream and various moisturizers and give him some Allegra. The bad thing is that it means NO WOOL.

That's right. Though Leo's outbreak was triggered by yellow vegetables, wool can exacerbate problems with eczema. The doctor said that eczema never really goes away, it's just better sometimes and then it's worse sometimes. To keep Leo's skin clear, not only can he not wear wool, but I'm going to have to start keeping my yarn in a covered container.

This leads to all kinds of questions (all of which popped into my head post-doctor visit): does this mean Leo can't visit the Knit Nook, which has hanks and hanks of wool? What about if Craig or I wear wool? How about wool blends, like Cashmerino? Does this mean no alpaca?

Luckily, Blue Sky Cotton is one of my favorite yarns, particularly when it comes to baby stuff. Leo's poor little skin (particularly his tummy area) looks so bad, it's enough to make me use wool sparingly.