Saturday, December 12, 2009

Baby Soft.

While the weather outside is blustery and chilly and wonderfully winteresque, the scenic snow and freezing temps can also mean DRY SKIN. My husband and I both deal with it (ugh) and on more than one occasion, I've developed excema.

Fun!

Well, our little Tator Tot was not, unfortunately, spared from the perils of itchy winter skin. And finding a regiment that kept red blotches at bay has been quite a task. We tried everything from sticky Vaseline to the old Aveeno standby to greasy Eucerin. And while these products are generally good, they never seemed to work super-great on our little Cub. Plus, some of them were kind of a mess. But, after some diligent trial and error, we've finally figured something out that works for us.

So! I thought I'd share our tips, in case you have a little one with dry skin and you are at your wit's end trying to figure out how to remedy it. Of course, every bebe is different, but, you never know--this might work for you, too!

It all starts in the tub, friends.

We realized early on that Cub's bath time would be more on the side of short and sweet rather than long and lingering, since more time simmering in the tub meant we were upping the likelihood for drier skin. So, Cub's baths are only a few minutes long--long enough for him to splash around and have fun, but short enough that his chubby little fingers never make it to pruny. We keep the water temperature at a comfortable lukewarm. He could tolerate hotter, but, again, hot water means dry, itchy skin!

I use Burt's Bees Baby Bee shampoo and wash and I love it. However, we haven't really noticed a difference in his skin with using other brands, since all baby shampoo is pretty gentle anyway. But, so far this has been our favorite!


After Cub gets a good scrub and shampoo, that's when the regiment really begins. We empty the tub and while he's still sitting there, damp and delicious, we cover him in this stuff:


Johnson's baby oil GEL, with Aloe and Vitamin E. My mother-in-law first introduced me to this stuff (and the idea of putting it on Cub while he was still damp--that method works for adults, so DUH, it works for babies, too!). I love it. It really locks in moisture and nourishes Cub's skin.

We then lift the somewhat slippery Cub from the tub and set him on a towel. We gently pat him dry (the oil soaks in his skin and doesn't come off on the towel) and then apply the next round of moisturizer:


Cetaphil moisturizing lotion! LOVE IT. It's what I use for myself and it is gentle enough for Cub, too. We liberally apply this all over his chubby yummy legs and arms and tummy and back, where we earlier applied the baby oil gel. And we put a tiny dab on his face, even though I've heard that's a faux pas. Oh well. :)

After he is thoroughly moisturized, we go straight to getting him dressed. In the summertime we let him run around naked for a while, because that's just all kinds of cute, but in the winter, we take the better-safe-than-sorry method and try to get him in clothes ASAP to help keep in the moisture. After some thigh-pinching and nose-kissing we toss on the clothes and Voila! He's done. Not sticky or ooey-gooey ... just baby soft.

See, I told you it was kind of a regiment.

But, it works. And trust me, if you've had a baby (or kid or teenager or spouse or YOURSELF) who has suffered the frustration that is red, itchy, dry skin, you'll understand why this is so great. No prescription ointment needed and really, it's a quick routine once you get it down. It's just a part of bath time now so Cub expects it, which helps it go by quickly, too!

So. I highly recommend giving this stuff a try if you're in need any kind of skin care SOS with your little one. Who knows--it just might work!

Have a lovely (and dry-skin free) day!

6 comments:

  1. I'm going to try this routine with poor Hudson. His exema is ugly right now and our lotion routine isn't cutting it.

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  2. Weebie has had exema from day 1, though it's getting much better the older he gets. We can't bathe him everyday, can't use most bath products, and slather him in eucerin (it works great on him). We use Aquaphor baby wash and shampoo in the tub and that locks in moisture, too. It's very gentle on his skin. Poor babies and their sweet little skin!

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  3. If your baby gets really chapped skin around the mouth, a great product I found (without all the parabens and mineral oil) is California Baby's Calendula Cream. It is safe to use on babies faces and on sore crapped thumbs for thumb-suckers. Aidan had excema behind his ears for the longest time and I bought this and started using it on him and it cleared up completely in a few days and has not returned.

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  4. Sophia has had Eczema since day 1 and the Cetaphil lotion works wonders. It's the only lotion that doesn't irritate her sensitive skin. Love it!

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  5. cetaphil is amazing. i use it on my two year old and on myself. i always get excema on my hands - most likely from excessive washing. anyway it works wonders.

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  6. You might try jojoba oil. it is all natural and is supposed to be really good on dry skin. It is a little pricey, but a little goes a long way, and you don't have to worry about chemicals or parabens...

    ~Kathryn

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