Slippery when Wet: Newborn Bath Safety and Skin Care

Bathing and caring for a newborns skin can be intimidating for new parents. A daily bath is not necessary for the first year; experts recommend 3x week so as not to dry out their delicate skin. When it’s not a bath day, it’s fine to wipe the baby’s face and body with a soft damp washcloth.  Plain water is optimal but if you use a product, stick with ones made especially for babies with no dyes or perfumes and one that’s PH balanced, rinsing thoroughly when done.

Get your bathing area ready and all your items needed handy. Make sure there are no electric appliances anywhere near the tub.  Use only 2 to 4 inches of water and never leave an infant alone, even for a second.

It’s a good idea to immerse the baby completely in the water except for the neck and head to allow them to retain their heat during their bath.  Always support the baby the entire time during the bath and test the water on the inside of your wrists for temperature beforehand. It’s a good idea to set your water heater to 120 degrees or below to avoid scalding trouble.

Change diapers every 2 to 4 hours or when soiled and try to use plain water here too. If wipes are your only option, choose PH balanced hypo-allergenic wipes without lanolin or alcohol.

Babies also can get rashes and eczema and cradle cap. Use zinc-oxide for diaper rash as a barrier between the skin and acidic stool and urine. For the eczema, depending on the severity, a topical cream may do the trick. Cradle cap may be treated by brushing the scales with a soft-bristled brush while bathing and shampooing with a mild shampoo, then rinse. For any skin condition that persists, see your pediatrician.

Bath time is a special bonding time for you and your baby. Keep it fun and safe by following these important tips.

For information on these topics and more visit the American Academy of Pediatrics website at http://www.healthychildren.org/English/ages-stages/baby/bathing-skin-care/Pages/default.aspx  

Pregnancy Paparazzi:What's up with ultrasound parties?

We’ve had baby showers since before anyone can remember anything else that was done to celebrate an upcoming birth. Next, we ramped it up with Daddy Diaper parties and then it was gender reveal parties. Now the latest…? Live sonogram parties! OVERSHARE!

This has been called, “The latest rage for self-important pregnant women”. It’s no longer good enough to have cake with pink or blue filling or an ultrasound picture to show around to family and friends (if not posted to FaceBook). Now we need a live audience in the room for the actual sonogram? Do we really need to get this intimately involved with the mom-to-be’s pregnancy?

What’s next? The conception achieved reveal where friends gather for the actual pregnancy test so they can get the news the minute the strip turns blue? I completely understand the excitement that surrounds pregnancy and the ultrasound is an intimate milestone of that but why do some people seem to need others to validate their most precious moments?

This also begs another question: what if there’s a problem? This happens more than people realize and today ultrasounds are used to diagnose many disorders and malformations. What do you do/say if it becomes apparent that the fetus has not developed properly or, God forbid, there’s no heartbeat? The difficulty of getting that message would be magnified tremendously by an entire roomful of party goers.

While it’s generally contended that an ultrasound is safe for a baby, medical experts caution against having these parties. The American College of Radiology and the Food and Drug Administration discourage having ultrasounds purely for entertainment and not for medical reasons.

If you’re still not detracted from having one of these “baby bump” parties, it’ll set you back about $200-600 depending on who you get to come to your private home. That would buy an awful lot of diapers! These services are popping up all over the U.S. Many sonographers have package deals where they bring and set-up the examination table, imaging equipment and screens for viewing at the party.

Is this the time for a party atmosphere? “Need another drink?”, “Try the canapés” and “Oh, How did you like my uterus?” Is nothing private anymore? Some things should still be intimate so thanks, but no thanks, I’d rather not be invited to your sonogram!

(BTW: the sonogram pic above is Beyonce's, just shared with HBO recently. Didn't you recognize Blue Ivy?)

{If you find yourself invited to a bump party or a traditional baby shower, might I suggest a http://www.WickedCoolBaby.com gift set or garment as a gift? Our designs are funny, cool and perfect for giving something adorable to the Mom-to-be!}

Election 2012 - Wicked Cool Baby Style

Now that the election is over, we can go back to life without all the political ads. Whether you’re Republican or Democrat, the months leading up to Nov 6 are taxing on everyone (pun intended). Even though the littlest “constituents” don’t really know what’s going on and they won’t be able to vote for years, judging from their little faces, they were OVER it!


Incidentally, the practice of “baby kissing” is believed to have started back in the time of Andrew Jackson and has survived, even flourished, through elections as a time honored way to get out the vote and gain public (women’s especially) support trying to get out a positive image. Today, it’s almost a superstition although there’s no case as to whether it helps or hinders.

Will Ferrell and Zach Galifianakis act out this humorous version of the cliché in this scene from a recent movie “The Campaign”, http://youtu.be/QKbziodzimo

As for Obama and Romney, they were both reported as being fairly ill-at-ease while holding infants and likely to hand the child back like “a grenade with the pin pulled out”.

So how about you? Does kissing babies make the candidates any more appealing or charismatic to you?