Caring for babies skin

[purplecat27]

Hi all,

I'm due to have my first baby in just over 7 weeks and am trying to put together a list of the last bits that we need. I'm currently trawling through skin care products for baby and feel completely lost. Boots do a Weleda gift set which includes shampoo and body wash, face cream, baby oil, nappy cream and baby lotion. Do I actually need all of those separate things? I'm hoping to do baby massage so I'm guessing I need a baby oil for that, and some kind of nappy cream, but is all of the other stuff necessary? Which products do I actually need to care for my baby's skin?

[Starspread]

We have a six week old; aside from newborn-friendly baby wipes, the only product we've used is organic coconut oil. We've just washed him with plain water so far. You don't need a lot of the products companies are keen to sell you - at least not to start with!

[Zeitgei5t]

Need? Water.
Nobody in my baby massage class used baby oil and dd didn't really get nappy rash till she went to nursery (though they used to give you free samples of creams in the bounty/emmas diary packs so you could use these and decide at the time which works best).
But buy what you want to buy and what will make you feel less anxious.
Btw is the recommendation still the same not to put products on a newborn?

[purplecat27]

Thanks Goat, I'll look at the Cheeky Wipes system as I am about to start looking at wipes.

Star we already use coconut oil ourselves for lots of stuff, do you use it in the place of nappy cream and baby massage oil? That might work for us, we've got loads in the cupboard already!

[Eminado]

Olive oil to moisturise after washing with water

Coconut oil for massage

Almond oil for hair (cradle crap etc)

Bepanthem nappy cream

[Starspread]

Purplecat, yes, coconut oil (eating quality, as baby will likely lick a bit off themselves!) for baby massage, and I've also been told good for nappy rash though touch wood haven't needed it myself yet; also used some when he had some dry skin on his scalp. That's the only thing we've put on him so far and it's worked like a dream.

[Junosmum]

Current advice is to wash with water only, including when nappy changing. Also breast milk is supposed to be good for nappy rash, no barrier cream until you can see nappy rash. Coconut oil if you must use something for baby massage/ cradle cap etc.

[kittyvet]

My teacher told us to use sunflower oil for baby massage. Edible and least allergenic. You will get sample in bounty pack and that will see you through. Metanium (yellow stuff) is amazing at treating nappy rash and we used sudocream lotion to protect in the early days.

[ArcticCactus]

All we've used is a spot of oil in his bath water and generic zinc based nappy rash cream (and that only once or twice.)

You really don't need any of the fancy products. Even if he's covered himself in poop it just magically washes off in water, babies don't need scrubbing like older kids/adults do

[NHKX2]

We're not buying any baby products until necessity dictates. We've been advised that water is best/enough for quite a while. We bought some water wipes for changing nappies and will see how we get on before buying additional toiletries. We've also heard, as PPs have said, that breast milk works wonders for baby's skin! (I'm tempted to smear some over my own face to get a boost!)

[CarShare]

My midwife said nothing but water for at least the first couple of weeks whilst they still have the oily coating on to protect their skin and after that something like epaderm for skin if it's dry (can be bought from behind pharmacy counter and is hypoallergenic and suitable for newborns).

[Jibberjabberjooo]

Just wash with water, babies don't need anything else. We used olive oil on their skin and never used nappy cream unless they had nappy rash.

[purplecat27]

Wow thanks everyone, lots of great advice! I think I'll hold off buying any baby toiletries until if/when the time comes that we need something then. We've got good coconut oil and olive oil in the cupboard already so we can use those for baby massage if we feel we want to. I already have a couple of samples of nappy cream so could use that if the baby developed nappy rash and we needed to put something on it. I'll just get the nappies and wipes for nappy changes and wash in plain water at bath time.

Thanks again for all of your help

[Wolfiefan]

Water. Mainly topping and tailing to start with. Babies don't need chemicals on their skin.

[Littleoakhorn]

Water. You can add milk and olive oil to the bath if your baby's skin is dry. Waitrose bottom butter is great for stopping those early poos from sticking.

[greenlizard]

Just water to start with except by week 2 my DS still had birth gunk stuck in his hair (he had a lot!) that water didn't shift so I used a tiny bit of baby wash. He did have very dry skin so I used a bit of oilatum in his bath when he needed it. Nappy rash wise a tub of the old (cheap) favourite sudocreme to use as and when and gentle baby wipes (asda extra sensitive wipes). Massage wise I used oilatum moisturiser. I think less is more.

Congratulations!

[Kpo58]

My MIL is obsessed with smothering her nephew in Olive Oil and then bake in the oven for 30mins till golden brown?

I have no idea what the baby thinks of it, but he hasn't had any nappy issues yet.

[YouBastardSockBalls]

I've had 2 babies. Olive oil in the bath water, and on any occasional dry skin is all I ever used.
Friends who used lots of soaps had far more dry skin problems. Coincidence or not, I think water and a little olive oil only is best.

[Maurice169]

Pharmacy grade olive oil. Boots do a bottle for about £2. Midwife recommended, that's all I used. Also good for stretch marks and sore nipples.

[SparklyPenguin]

We were good with just water for the first couple of weeks. Like others have mentioned, you can pick up loads of samples of nappy cream/ wipes etc in the bounty packs, Emma's Diary, mothercare event etc and see which products you like. A lot will depend on if your baby has particularly sensitive skin or not...you may need to be a bit picky if baby is eczema-prone.

[GrouchyKiwi]

I've still got baby toiletries that were gifted when DD1 was born nearly 4 years ago. Echoing other posters that water generally is all you need.

When my babies had dry skin I'd put a little bit of baby oil in their bath and massage it in gently afterwards. Usually only had to do it for two days.

Occasionally a little bit of soap is necessary to get stuck on poop off, but otherwise a short soak in plain water does the trick. And I liked using baby shampoo once a week because it smells so yummy.

I've not had to contend with cradle cap yet so no advice on that, except to say that a gentle head wash with a flannel and using a baby brush help to keep the scalp clear, IME.

I think current advice is not to bath your baby every day but I ignored that. I found a daily bath in the morning was a nice bonding experience and my babies had a lot of dirty nappies (usually a daily explosion up the back first thing in the morning) so it was nicer to keep them clean.

All the best for the last seven or so weeks!

[KatharinaRosalie]

Water. And even that sparingly, babies don't need to be washed every day - I'm sure the daily baths DC1 had exacerbated his eczema. His skin improved noticeably once we stopped all the washing, and is now perfect. With Dc2, I only use baby wash in case of bad poo explosions, and cradle cap shampoo if she has any patches developing.