Zadie looks dreadful this morning. She is white as a sheet and her hair is matted and greasy from the lotion I've put on her scalp. Spots cover her nose, mouth, cheeks, forehead, neck, ears, chest, back, inside of elbows, armpits, inner upper thigh and above and the back of her knees where her usual eczema is is knarled and knotted by a fierce mass of angry spots. They are past the early red raised bump stage now and a deeper, more fierce red. Some are now breaking. I imagine this is the beginning of the healing stage which must mean that lots more scratching is ahead.
Last night Zadie really couldn't sleep and after her first attempt at sleeping she remained downstairs with me and Gav. I suggested I have a slightly earlier night to do shifts with Gav but after the night before I was worse than useless when he finally brought Zadie up to join me in the big bed (thank you for the tip Kirsty - the larger bed was a good idea!). The trouble was that she was still not dog-tired enough to cope with the soreness and screamed and kicked me. In the end I took her back downstairs to the loo then we returned en-masse to try to settle Zee in her own bed. She settled for all of about five minutes before she began to call out for me. I didn't know what to do! Poor thing. In the end we all tried to sleep together in our bed but it didn't work so Gav suggested I go in the spare room. I was so tired I went and flaked out in Zadie and Cara's room in Zadie's bottom bunk. It was heavenly but poor Gav had to cope with Zee and the babies because I slept through the lot! I made amends by letting him lie in until midday today.
I've got to nip off now because Zadie needs more cream and medicine and Cara is desperate to play Zelda with me.
1.28am - a quick update. Zadie wet her bed earlier but she has been amazingly settled this evening (in her own bed!) so we're keeping our fingers crossed that we might actually be able to sleep without too much disturbance. I'm sure that Thomas and Cerys will do their usual three-to-four-in-the-morning yowl but otherwise I hope Zadie will rebuild her strength by sleeping through. She has had a tough few days and deserves a little respite. We deserve a little sleep too!
