DIY Pineapple Costume
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Hey all, Happy October! I feel like time has been flying by here in Kentucky. Brian’s getting the swing of law school, while little Jamie and I are at home having the time of our lives, most days. This past week poor Jamie had an awful itchy rash that included 2 doctor visits, and 1 emergency room visit. So as promised in my email, here’s the whole story. Also, if you aren’t signed up for my weekly newsletter to keep up to date on our newest posts, an exclusive first look at what’s coming, you can sign up in the sidebar. Yes, don’t worry I will also tech you how to make this adorable pineapple costume as well!
Jamie and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Rash:
On Saturday the 17th, while out grocery shopping, Brian and I had decided to go to Sam’s Club to buy Jamie’s formula instead of Kroger, in hopes to get more bang for our buck. My little man has been on soy formula since about 2 months old, but Sam’s didn’t have any soy! Dang it! So instead we bought a Similac sensitive brand, and boy it did wonders for his poops! I was so excited because Jamie has always had a hard time pooping, hence why we had him on soy in the first place. Everything was fabulous until Monday morning when I discovered lots of little red bumps under his chin. They weren’t baby acne, but I didn’t think too much of it except that maybe they were a result of Jamie missing his bath the past two days. That night when we finally gave him his bath, I made sure to wash him really good, especially under his chin. I made sure not to miss his bath the rest of the week, but the red bumps were spreading all over his face, head, neck and shoulders.
At his point I’m thinking it may be an allergy to our wonderful new formula, or infant rash images on google lead me to think it was maybe eczema. I set off to by some baby eczema lotion and oatmeal bath wash as prescribed by web MD, but to no avail. That Thursday, after not seeing much improvement, and consulting my all-knowing mother, like we all do, I decided he needed to be seen by a doctor. It was already 3pm so I called my doctor to try to get him in, but ended up making an appointment with the Twilight Clinic, a pediatric clinic that is open after regular business hours. Frustrated after my appointment, I left with no answer as to what this mysterious rash is or what caused it. Maybe an allergic reaction, but at his age it can be dangerous to give him Benadryl at home. All I had been some advice that fewer baths may help but eventually it should clear up on its own. Well it sure didn’t, I had switched him back to his soy formula, but by Sunday, these little pumps had turned into a horrible itchy red rash covering his entire face, head, neck and had spread over his back and belly. And even worse, he lost almost all of his gorgeous locks! That was a rough day. With never-ending cries, Jamie itched, and itched, and itched! Cutting up his face until the poor thing looked like a stray kitty had got to him. Keep in mind he is 4 months old.
We got through that day with mom (me) itching his poor head until he fell into a deep enough sleep that the itchiness wouldn’t disturb him. We continued like this until Tuesday, that started like a normal itchy day with the exception that Jamie’s ears seemed a little swollen. He had been trying to itch them a lot the day before so I figured they were a little irritated. That day my mom called with an idea that maybe this whole rash was an allergic reaction to a bunch of baby stuff I had received from my aunt who has a dog. I had washed everything, but anxious to get rid of this rash I put everything from my aunt away. After Brian had come home and we had eaten dinner, I looked at my little boy and said to Brian, “Does his face look swollen?”. After an hour his face and ears were HUGE! I again called the Twilight Clinic only to hear that they were full for the night. With the urgent care center only excepting ages 2 and up, the only other place that could see him was the emergency room.
Not willing to risk the well-being of my baby, we took him in without a second thought. Luckily, even though he looked horrible, he didn’t seem to be super itchy like Sunday and seemed happy and playful, thank goodness. While at the hospital we noticed that the rash had spread all over his body now but instead of little pumps they were big red splotches. The Doctors told us that this most likely wasn’t the formula, but was definitely an allergic reaction to something. They determined the swelling was only external and not affecting his airways, so after 5 1/2 hours we left around 1am with a dose of Benadryl which didn’t seem to do much. All there was to do now was to wait and hope the swelling goes down.
It’s now Wednesday morning and his face is still swollen but the ears are back to normal. Yay some improvement! But was worse over his arms and legs, by this point I am so frustrated! Why can’t anyone tell me what this is?! Its been a week and a half and this rash is only getting worse. I thought about allergy testing, which I later found out isn’t a good idea until about age 2 because it could give inaccurate results. And also went and bought some Benadryl itching ointment the E.R. docs recommended. All I wanted was for my baby to get better! I was so sick of just waiting, but I didn’t really have a choice.
Friday comes along and Jamie’s face is back to normal size but now his arms, hands, legs, and feet are now swollen, but I have Jamie’s 4 month well-being check up so at least a doctor will see hm. This was our first appointment with this doctor so I didn’t know what to expect, but I wasn’t expecting what I got. By now I am a little irritated by explaining the whole story with all the details, and hearing the same questions. Have you changed any detergents? Any new soaps? Have you tried this? Is he that? With no answer but after all is said, my new doctor checks out my baby and says, “yes this is definitely an allergic reaction.”. NO DUH! I already knew that! UGH but to what?! She then proceeds to tell me that she wants her supervising doctor to check him out to hear her opinion. Which to me meant “I have no idea what I’m doing” but I agreed. After telling the same long story and answering the same questions to yet another doctor she says she agrees it probably isn’t the formula but thinks it’s a viral infection. What?! Well I haven’t heard that yet, so I say wouldn’t he have a fever or a cough or something? And I couldn’t believe her response, “Oh, your right. It’s probably not a Virus then.” What?! Are you even a doctor? Even more crazy things happened at this appointment, but in the end I walked out of there double checking whether or not I was at a real doctors office or not. I couldn’t believe it.
Deciding that no one can help him but myself, I decide to keep watching him and using my washes and lotions I had purchased for him. Luckily he doesn’t seem nearly as itchy. Finally it is Saturday and My baby seems a million times better. The rash is practically gone, which only a few bumps still on his face and head. I was still cautious and continued to use the sensitive lotions and creams, but by the evening I decided we was feeling good enough to be my little model for this pineapple costume!
All in all this week was so crazy! I’m just glad my baby is feeling and looking so well. I ended up thinking it was the dog stuff but I still don’t fully know what caused it. Hopefully in a few days everything will be gone and life can go on as normal with lots of blogging and baby modeling. Now let’s get to it!
DIY Pineapple Costume:
Sorry for the crazy long post! But isn’t this just the cutest pineapple you’ve ever seen? Jamie and I are very excited it’s October can you tell? And to celebrate we are doing a week of DIY baby costumes, Yippee! To start off we are going to show you how to make this awesome pineapple costume! This costume cost me a total of about $10, so this is a nice cheap project that could cost you even less if you already own a white or yellow onesie you can use!
Here’s What You’ll Need:
- 1 White onesie (long or short sleeve)
- 1 White beanie
- 1 Sheet of the thick green felt
- Scissors
- Hot glue gun and sticks
- Rit golden yellow fabric dye
- Puff paint in the color Camel
- Sewing Machine*
*Only if you are using an adult size beanie.
I purchased everything at Hobby lobby except the onesie and beanie were purchased at Walmart. Start by dying your beanie and onesie using the instructions on the Rit package. I decided to go with the sink method and left it for 1hr instead of the recommended 10-30 minutes and air dried them over night. Note that the beanie won’t get as dark as the onesie unless you are using a 100% cotton beanie, which was fine for me.
Next Take your now yellow beanie and flip it inside out. Sew it on one side making it about 2 inches smaller using a zig zag stick to allow it to still stretch without ripping the seam. If your baby is younger then you may need it a bit smaller, but in general this size will fit up to 1yr old for sure. Cut off the excess.
Flip your beanie back right side out and, using your puff paint, draw curved crossing lines on your onesie and beanie. Allow that to dry, I left mine 4 hours. The puff Paint will stretch with the fabric so no worries when trying to dress your little one, you can push and pull all you need! P.s. can you tell I was distracted while applying it to my hat? LOL
While your hat and onesie are drying, it’s time to make your pineapple top! Take your felt sheet and cut it into thirds. cut one of the thirds in half and another into a 2/3rd and 1/3rd. Like shown.
I used 1 of the halves, the 1/3rd piece, and the 2/3rd size piece. Cut two triangles out of the tops making a deep ‘W’ shape. Also make 5 cuts in the bottom of the half piece.
Curl the points of the ‘W’ and glue your felt strips together layering them so that the next layer’s points show in the spaces of the previous layer like this leaving the cut end of the middle piece exposed.
Roll the felt and glue the edge onto of the middle piece’s edge.
Next tuck in the cut pieces at the bottom. This gives you a flat side to glue onto your hat.
Glue your pineapple top to the front of the beanie. If you glue the pineapple top to the top of the hat then it will be too far back and could fall backward when the hat is worn. On the front the top can be seen and will rest on the top of your baby’s head.
Holy cow only 9 steps? Yes way! You’re done! Now your little one is ready for any Halloween party! Happy October! If you like this post, don’t forget to pin it, comment, and share! [themify_icon icon=”fa-heart-o” link=”http://”] Cassie Jean
The Comments
Rachel Ekman
Don’t forget, doctors “practice medicine”. They have no idea, and each person reacts differently to each treatment. Lots and lots of schooling but still no definite answers to anything! Super frustrating, I know, but just trust your mommy instincts. They are powerful! And I love the little pineapple!