COMMENT TO LESLIE ON ITCHY SKIN
I know what itchy skin is--severe eczema showed up when I was 6 months old. After that, Mom had to drive me up to Buffalo regularly to get some kind of light treatment. The dermatologists essentially said I'd grow out of it soon. Soon turned out to be 29 years later, when I was in graduate school at Stanford and took matters into my own hands. Eczema comes only occasionally now. I say all this to qualify as an experienced itcher. Tootsie used to complain that I kept her up at night scratching.


Reading your blog just now I had a thought I'll toss out. Recently, I've been itching again, a little eczema but mostly my overall body skin and especially my scalp.  This is largely why I just installed a chlorine water filter in my shower. (My latest hair stylist was the first person to enlighten me about chlorine damage to the skin and hair; she highly recommends all her clients purchase shower filters.)


In addition to whatever remedies a doctor might suggest, you might want to look into whether clorine  and the other residual contaminants in almost all drinking water in America -- even in Ocean City's water -- could be exacerbating the problem. When I was investigating this myself, I read untold numbers of consumer reviews saying that, among other things, their scalp and skin stopped itching after installing the filter.


Give a call if you want to know more. Bravo on the 5 lbs!