My son and his bling

who needs pants in summer? :)

In my attempt to manage Emmett's eczema naturally, there was one more thing that I read about that I wanted to give a try - a hazelwood necklace.  So I ordered one a while ago from a website called Tiny Teethers and it arrived yesterday.  Unlike the amber necklace, which is supposed to give off something wonderful that is then absorbed into skin, hazelwood is said to work its magic by absorbing excess acid from the body (so, like the amber, it has to be worn right on the skin to be effective).  The little info card that came with the necklace said that hazelwood is said to help with heartburn, gastric reflux, teething, skin problems like eczema, psoriasis and acne, arthritis, constipation, migraines, cavities and any other problem associated with excess acid.  I wish I knew about this while I was pregnant - I had heartburn and acid reflux like crazy!  It would've been interesting to see if it actually made a difference.

The necklace is really cute - and they have lots of options for the colored beads between the hazelwood beads.  The necklace we ordered is shorter than the amber necklace we have, which is nice.  I wasn't sure about length when getting the amber necklace, and it's a bit too long, and Emmett could actually put it in his mouth if he wanted to (the baby necklaces are not supposed to reach their mouths).  I'm thinking about trying to shorten it, but I'm a little scared that I won't be able to get it back together afterwards!  Unlike the amber necklace, this necklace doesn't have knots between each bead, but it's made with a nylon-covered steel thread so it won't break, and the clasp is designed to break open if too much tension is applied.  However, the beads won't fall off the necklace even if the clasp opens, because they are sealed on the thread.  They also have bigger sizes for adults, as well as bracelets and anklets.  And as a bonus, shipping is free if you are just ordering jewellery (they also sell hazelwood lotion and ointment for which shipping is extra).

So, now we'll give this a try on Emmett and see if it makes a difference.  His skin has actually improved quite a bit since I started using the pumpkin soap and body butter from Rocky Mountain Soap Company on him regularly (at least I think that's what is making the difference).  The other day I actually gave him mixed grain cereal (which included wheat) and he didn't seem to have any reaction to it.  I've also been giving him probiotics every day, and I've started adding a little ground flaxseed to his cereal each morning (flaxseed is high in Omega-3, which is supposed to help eczema).  I've also gone back to putting socks on his hands each night (even if his skin is looking okay), as I think he does most of his scratching at night.  I almost never see him scratching during the day, so it must be something he does in him sleep.  We actually saw him doing it the other night when we peeked in on him before we went to bed.  He was fast asleep, but he was scratching at his face.

Just a little update on how his amber necklace is working - I'm still a little unsure of its effectiveness.  No teeth yet, but I'm pretty sure that Emmett has started teething, as I see him rubbing at his gums all the time (with his hands, or whatever else he can get his hands on).  Also the drool just pours out of him - he usually goes through 2 or 3 shirts a day.  So I don't think that the necklace is helping with reducing the amount of drool (or maybe it is, and it would be even worse without the necklace!).  However, I think that the necklace may be helping with reducing the pain of teething.  Even though he's drooling and chewing everything like crazy, he doesn't seem to be in pain.  And so far he hasn't woken up at night in pain (even though we take the necklace off him for night).  I think I remember that when Annika was this age, she would wake up at night and we'd have to give her some teething gel and Tylenol to get her back to sleep.  So maybe it is working.  He also hasn't had those bright red "teething cheeks" yet, but maybe that just comes later.  I can't remember now whether Annika got red cheeks before she actually got teeth, or if that only happened later.

Anyway, at least he looks cool, with all his bling!