Keeping Baby's Skin Soft

A baby’s skin can be a challenge to take care of.  Your baby can’t tell you what itches or feels dry, you have to be vigilant and watch for signs of discomfort.  Here are several tips on how to keep your baby’s skin soft and problem-free:

Cut back on bath time:  Too much exposure to soap can dry out a baby’s delicate skin.  Refrain from daily baths, and switch to every other day.  On days when baby needs cleaning, a sponge bath can be effective. 

Say no to soap:  Only use soap on baby’s dirtiest areas.  For the rest of the body parts, plain warm water will do.  Less soap means baby’s skin will be less dry and irritated.  Soap can wick away the natural moisture from baby’s skin.

Wave bye to wipes:  Instead of using wipes on your baby during diaper changes, consider using plain water and a cotton ball to gently clean their sensitive areas.  Save the wipes for heavily soiled diaper changes.  Another option is to use re-usable cloth wipes- soft on baby’s skin, and friendly to the environment!

(Don’t) use common “scents”:  Use unscented and dye-free laundry detergent when washing baby’s clothing.  Detergent with heavy scents can irritate baby.

Moisturize, moisturize, moisturize!  Make it a habit to apply lotion during every diaper change.  Pay attention to the back of baby’s arms and their legs, where dry spots can often appear.

Change is good:  Too long in a wet diaper can harm a baby’s backside.  Make sure you change your baby often when wet, and apply diaper cream, if not with every diaper change, than before periods of time when baby may be in a wet diaper for a long period of time (such as before bedtime.)

Follow these guidelines, and you’re sure to keep your baby’s skin beautiful!