If this isn't motherly love...

... then I don't know what is.

Nicolas, at 10 months, 2 weeks and 4 days old, can now brag about being the sole person on earth who's managed to keep me from eating chocolate for over a week a now.

He's had some mild eczema on his face and arms. I took him twice to the GP and they prescribed hydrocortizone, Lemnis fatty cream and aquaeous creams. While his condition improved, it never really went away and after two weeks of trying each treatment, I ended up going to this dermatologist that Jillian and Amanda recommended.

The wait was an hour long - there was no appointment, and the clinic was full of coughing, sneezing and snorting people. Trying to sit as far away from them as possible and subtlely shielding Nico in his sling proved to be a challenge. Thankfully he didn't get any bug.

His new treatment now consists of:

SOAPS TO USE

• Sunlight bath soap
• Simple soap

No perfume soaps

CREAMS TO USE

We got a Beta Clomazol mix, which is a moisturiser and anti-fungal cream, applied twice daily.

MEDECINE

The syrup seems to be an antihistamine; I am glad that it has got a taste that Nico tolerates, I still remember my days of trying to get ferrets to swallow bad-tasting medecine.

FOODS TO AVOID

A. Most commonly likely to cause allergies:

• Tomato sauce (or any combination of tomato + preservatives)
• Crisps (these chips in packets)
• Cocoa, chocolate and derivatives (life has become a lot less fun, all of a sudden)
• Peanuts & peanut butter
• Salty noodles (I'm assuming instant noodles. Great, I just bought a cartonbox of them)
• Lollies
• Fizzy drinks

B. Commonly likely to cause allergies:

• Eggs
• Citrus and derivatives
• Pumpkin
• BBQ sauce
• Pineapples
• Chilli sauce (Wow this one's going to be hard. Not.)
• Canned spaghetti

C. Least commonly likely to cause allergies:

• Raw fish
• Prawns
• Canned fish (in oil)
• Yoghurt
• Some infant formula
• Curry
• Ice cream

We've been pretty good and sticking to the treatment, and the results were visible within a couple of days. The skin on Nico's face is now almost as smooth as his bum and he completely stopped scratching.

Obviously this isn't a sustainable diet, so I will have to experiment with re-introducing foods back in our diet so we eat something other than bread at each meal. Unfortunately I'll be starting with the foods that are on the bottom of the list, try for a week, then work my way up. This means that by the time I get to taste chocolate again, it will be four weeks or so (yoghurt, citrus, eggs first).

I've said it before, and I'm going to say it once again. If Master Nicolas Thien Son Martens ever turns out to be an ungrateful child, I swear there will be hell to pay.