My son was born with perfect skin, like most babies, but in the last three weeks his face as gone from beautiful to being covered in little pimples, to now being SUPER dry and the skin is flaking off. He also has cradel cap, I used olive oil on there and then washed with a small amount of T-Gel shampoo. That seemed to help a little, but it is also very flaky. My dr. says it will pass, but I can't help but wonder what I can do to help him, it looks uncomfortable and is flaking all over anyone who holds him. SUGGESTIONS???
My son had this problem around the same age, they told me he had eczema and gave me a cream to put on his skin gentle enough for that age. As he gets older, I've gotten stronger creams and lotions from the doctor that help and are gentle.
Baby number 2 had similar problems. The Dr. said "normal baby acne" but I wasn't convinced. I read that milk allergies can often cause this. I eliminated most milk from my diet (I was breastfeeding) and it cleared up. I added the milk products back in and it came back, so I eliminated the milk products again. At 18 months she was tested for allergies and the milk allergy was the strongest for her. Luckily, she outgrew the milk allergy by the time she started elementary school. Try the lotions, etc, but you also may want to experiment with diet changes to see if there could be an allergy.
Congratulations!
This is hormones. His body is learning how to produce them, and they're a little out of wack right now. Remember puberty? It'll pass soon. It's also why you only ever see pictures of babies that are a few days old, or six weeks old. Ever wonder why you hardly ever see pictures of babies in between?
Baby oil all over, even the hair.
For the cradle cap, put the olive oil or baby oil on about an hour before bath time, and just let it soak. Then brush gently with a toothbrush to get off the loose flakes, and then wash normally. This won't get it all at once, but it'll help. The oil is to keep it from getting any drier. The toothbrush is doing the work.
Again, congratulations!
I chose to ride out the pimples and the cradle cap; however, I discovered by accident one very gross, but yet very efficient way to remove the dry skin (let me preface this by saying that the skin will come off easily when it is ready - if you take it off too soon, the skin underneath will look a little red). Anyhow, after his bath, I was using a fine tooth comb to comb his hair and to my horror - the old skin came right off - into the teeth of the comb. I used this method to effectively remove the bulk of his cradle cap...but he had had it for a while.
It's common for this to happen. Baby oil on the cradle cap will help--even if it makes him look "greasy"! LOL
Don't overbathe your baby. Once every other day or three days is fine. No harsh soaps...Use Dove or Aveeno Baby. Moisturize after bathing and on the off bath days. Congrats on your new little O.!
Many skin issues clear up when the chemicals are removed from the home, i.e. use safer, healthier laundry and personal care products. We shop with a wellness company, and the results are amazing! Happy to share more, but in the meantime, check out saferforyourhome.com and www.10Americans.com - video. Good luck! Let me know if I can help.
I put a bit of baby oil on my babys head once in a while but it didn't really help too much (just made them look greasy!) Don't stress about it, it will go away on it's own. And whatever you do , DO NOT mess with his face!
L.,
You may want to consider switching to Shaklee's baby and laundry products. They are natural and nontoxic. Let me know if you want some information on them.
Victoria
PROBIOTICS!!!! i promise, this stuff works. acidophilus is what everyone hears about, so i often refer to it by that name, but probiotics is the bomb. it cured my twins of cradle cap, IBS, constipation, bloating, disgusting gas and so much more. since they were twins sharing everything, i guess they didn't get all that they individually needed so when they were born all these things started to manifest. i started putting probiotics into their breastmilk at each feeding and one by one, the symptoms went away without all the drugs the docs wanted me to give them, i.e. mylocon drops, hydrocortisone cream, etc. it's all natural and works wonderfully. BTW, i also used Calendula cream by California Baby on my son's head to relieve the itching and flaking of the cradle cap. hope this is helpful.
Your baby is experiencing Baby Acne. our son did, too, and it drove me crazy.
But, there's really nothing you can do for the acne as it's a hormonal adjustment in his body that needs to run its course. I don't recall how long it took, but I'd say it lasted ~3 weeks.
What I wouldn't recommend is using something harsh like T-Gel. It's embarrassing, but it's not anything that's going to affect his well-being. Rather, try something like Aquaphor on the dry parts as it's really good and really gentle.
When I was self-conscious about it, I'd just joke that he was going through puberty a little early. It seemed to take away people's amazement of what could be going on.
Oh my goodness, do I know how you feel! When I brought my baby home, I was so excited because she was the most perfect little thing in the world. Then, her skin broke out in tiny red bumps- over her cheeks, behind her ears, down her neck. It was heartbreaking. It was also very dry. Our dr. recommended Aquaphor. I started applying it at every changing (just use a little bit and rub it in well). Within a week, her skin looked much better. I still use it when her skin gets dry, like now in the wintertime.
As for cradle cap, the olive oil should help. But your doctor is right; it will pass. It is not causing him pain, no matter how bad you think it looks, assuming that no one is picking at it (this could contribute to infection).
Congratulations on your new baby!
Happy Mommying,
C.
not sure whats bet or the flaking but brest milk will help with the pimples. if you stll have any just rub a little on his face.
I started running my humidifier because my 7 week old has a cold and it has really helped the dry skin and flaking. Oh and we backed off on bathing and are just doing it every 3 or 4 days right now, but we will soon start back up on an every other day.
Sounds a little like food sensitivities to me. If you are breastfeeding the first food I would eliminate would be dairy, and soy as it mimics and next would be gluten. Cradle cap is not something all babies get it can be avoided.
To learn more come join us over at the food lab http://groups.yahoo.com/group/foodlab
Your doctor is right. This too, shall pass. My middle child had pimples etc. Part of it was due to chicken pox~she was exposed at birth by her sister :o) But the pimples cleared up. If you can find salycylic acid and mix it with vaseline, it works wonders on cradle cap. I don't believe that they sell that here in the U.S. but you could try. I used that mixture with my oldest and the cradle cap was gone after a few treatments. If you can find it, you put the vaseline all over his head, wait an hour or so, then, with a baby comb, comb his hair. The stuff comes off with ease. Then wash his hair. It does take a while for the vaseline to disappear but better a little vaseline than the cradle cap. With my middle child, we used olive oil and head and shoulders. Neither worked very well. Good luck.
My daughter got her baby acne at 6wks. Just in time for Christmas pics! The dr. said to just use water and give it time, but I wasn't happy with that. I wanted my beautiful baby back now! What I found helped us was Aveeno Baby Calming lotion. For cradle cap, I just used a mild baby body wash like Aveeno Baby or Avon Sensitive Skin.
M.
