Caring for your baby's skin

Taking care of baby’s skin

Skin is the largest body organ. It is our first defence against the elements and it is important that this effective barrier is maintained.  Some babies are noted to have dry skin from birth and a variety of tried and tested methods are suggested to help parents smooth the skin and avoid dryness.  Water is drying on the skin, and children with skin conditions are often given “emollients” to use in the bath or shower to reduce the drying effect of the water. 

Oilatum is one example of an emollient but there are others.
Oats

A tablespoon of porridge oats in a thin cloth soaked in the bath and squeezed out will make the baby’s bath water cloudy as it releases emollient into the bath water. This can be helpful without causing reactions on a sensitive baby’s skin. The same ingredients are used in the making of Aveeno skin care products.

Moisturising the skin surface is also advised by some. Again there are a variety of proprietary creams and ointments available. Some prefer to use naturally occurring substances to moisturise the skin.

Oils

Traditionally olive oil has been suggested to parents as a good way to improve their baby’s skin. While Olive oil is often used by adults there are a number of studies which demonstrate that olive oil is unable to be absorbed by skin as the molecules are too big to pass through the effective skin barrier.  Worse, frequent use of olive oil encourages the production of blackheads and whiteheads. 

Olive Oil iused twice daily on an adults skin has been demonstrated to thin the top layer of skin so what would prolonged use do to the more sensitive skin of a baby? 

Why is this?

Olive oil contains two acids. Linoleic acid, which, despite it’s name is good for skin, and oleic acid which has been demonstrated to thin the skin by destroying the top layer. Olive oil unfortunately contains a higher percentage of Oleic acid (the bad part) in comparison to Linoelic acid.

Baby massage is often done using Sunflower,  or  Grape seed oil.  Both are high in Linoleic acid and have molecules small enough to allow the skin to absorb them efficiently.

Nut oils have their proponents, but no health professional would advise the use of any nut oil on a child’s skin in case it provoked a reaction. Allergy to nuts is one of the most common allergies.

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Transition or Comfort Object

As an adult there are some smells which help us remember events or people and there are some smells which help us to relax. Many adults sleep best in a freshly laundered bed. Infants have a much more acute sense of smell than adults. Consequently when we want them to relax, or to go to sleep we should consider what smells might assist them.

We use swaddling to offer a sense of being held without the need for a parent to hold the little one. The firm constant, all over body pressure is comforting for newborns because they have always experienced firm physical boundaries before birth and often find it relaxing to have similar pressures afterwards.  As they grow and experience life they look for other comforting things like a regular routine which demonstrates what is expected of them.

Transition objects, a soft toy, a piece of material which smells of mum can be really useful and comforting to little ones. Introducing such an object at between 4 to 6 months can be very helpful for some babies. Choose a soft object which can be washed. Hold it between your body and your baby as you feed. This allows your "smell" to permeate the object which then goes with your little one for EVERY sleep. Put it where baby can smell it but be sure that this is not going to make your little one overheat. Putting it above baby's head, across from baby's face, or near baby's chin can be possibilities. The smell of mum means she must be close by. Closing your eyes and still being able to smell mum can be really reassuring. When you have recently washed this object hold it between you again so that you refresh the "mummy smell" before returning it to use.

Transition objects are things we have chosen for our children, they will choose their own when they
 are older. These work better for some children than others and some people believe the work best between 6 and 18 months when many little ones are more anxious about separation from mum.

When children become toddlers they will select something to carry with them or take to bed with them and this may continue to be the object you choose so long ago, or it may be something entirely different. If a soft toy which cannot be washed becomes the object of choice it can be freshened and any dust mites killed by wiping with a damp cloth and then putting it in a bag in the freezer for a few hours. It can then be returned to the child.


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What should you expect from your child's sleep?

One of  the most common discussions amoungst new mums is the duration of their child's sleep. The "perfect" baby will wake to eat, play or interact for a short time, fall asleep easily and sleep through the night. This seems to be what many expect. Life unfortunately, is often not like that.

Your baby has come into the world with a sleep plan from your and your partners genes. You have an opportunity to build on that because the third part of sleep is in part learned by experience.
Most newborns do spend more time asleep than awake.Their brain is growing, "filing" the expereinces which occured during waking and "remembering" them. In part this is why routines are so important. When experiences happen regularly the child starts to understand the usual order of these, and to better understand what is expected of them.

It is important to your child to have regular routines. For this reason it is very useful to see baby's day as a 12 hour stretch with built in opportunities to nap. Night time is also then a 12 hour period when sleep is the most important thing.
For example ;- if your child spontaneously wakes at 7am on a regular basis, then they should be in bed ready to sleep at 7pm.
Sadly it does not always follow that come 7pm they will fall asleep and sleep through the night.

Sleeping through the night without waking for a feed, a comforting cuddle, or help to get back to sleep happens at different ages and stages. In general, many infants sleep through the night from about 6 months. Breast fed babies may still wake for a single "through the night feed" at 9 months but, this is usually accomplished quickly, with the little one being sleepy and not requring prolonged attention.
 By the time a little one is a year old they should not physically require a feed between parents bed and wake time.

If you would like help and support to improve your child's sleep
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Treasure baskets for children who can sit unsupported.

Playing and taking risks are important learning opportunities. Elinor Goldschmied developed the idea of using selected ordinary objects to stimulate learning through play. Treasure baskets are collections of household objects which are cleaned regularly, and provide sensory experiences for children who are too young to get around by themselves and explore the environment. They can of course be adapted for older children too.

The idea is that using a strong, durable, flat bottomed basket, preferably not plastic, with no handles, and putting in a variety of household objects, improves play and provides an interesting learning esperience. Offering differences in texture weight and shape which can be offered to baby to explore while an adult is present, teaches small children about the environment while they play. Of course the child will explore these obects with their mouths as well as hands but as long as an adult is present there should be no difficulty with this. One could offer a rich variety of different baskets;-

Touch  :- different textures, weights and shapes, prickly, smooth.

Smell :- different scents      
Sight :- colour shape length shiny dull
Taste      
Natural objects :-  shell, pebbles, loofah, pumice, feather
Wooden objects :- Curtain rings, napkin holder, egg cup, clothes pegs, spoons
Metal objects  :-    spoons, tins, measuring bowls, funnel, keys
Natural materials :- nail brush, back brush, cosmetic brush, little baskets,
Leather, rubber, tennis ball, wallet, purse, teddy, spectacle case

Plastic is not recommended as it is always smooth, has no smell and no taste. There is little variety except in shape and form.

Baskets should  be treated with respect. Broken objects should be thrown away and all things should be regularly cleaned. Your imagination is the only limit in filling a basket. Having the opportunity to explore these things twice a week keeps the play fresh and interesting. A baby may choose to play with just one object or to explore a few. The adult should be watching, but not talking, allowing plenty of time for baby to investigate the whole basket. This could be 45 minutes to an hour. If you feel that something is not safe, of course intervene.

Toys today are often plastic and smooth to the touch. How do you know what prickly is if you have never felt it? Remember that baby is also experiencing temperature. Cold metal, warmer wood, tastes differ too, salty, sweet, sour, the more experience your little one has the more confident they become about exploring their environment.

Older children might enjoy a "dressing up" basket. Again, only your imagination limits the experience you offer. Treasure baskets for older children are a good "rainy day" fall back and if they are produced in rotation they remain interesting to children of every age.