I think my baby is sunburnt and I feel terrible

[HelpFeelSoTerrible]

I feel absolutely terrible. I was walking with my 4 month old baby in the carrier today and had the UV shade up most of the time when he was inward facing. I was then walking in the woods and there was dappled sunlight, and I then took the UV shade off so he could look around. Later he was outward facing without the shade for about 10-15 mins when I was walking home. I now think there’s a red patch of sunburn on his cheek, which may have also been where his cheek was exposed under the UV shade, so that will have been much longer exposure than 10-15 mins as we were walking around the woods for a couple of hours.

I feel sick that I’ve let my tiny baby get sunburnt. I don’t know what to do. I feel like the worst mother in the world. Someone said babies can’t use sunscreen before 6 months - why is this? I feel so terrible. Can anyone reassure me? I’m in London, and it has been sunny/ cloudy today.

Under 6 months its advised to keep them in the shade and out of direct sunlight as much as possible, especially during the middle of the day.
There are some mineral / zinc baby suncreams you could dab a small amount on exposed areas but best to just keep them covered / in the shade when they’re so tiny.

I’m voting yabu, because you most certainly are not the worst mother in the world and you shouldn’t even say that! It’s so easy for them to catch the sun when they’re so little and not yet meant to be wearing suncream. It may just be unrelated to the sun, teething or similar instead, but it’ll soon come right either way. In any event, I shouldn’t think the uv index is overly high today and of course even less in dappled sun.

Been there. Lovely spring day. DC1 was a few weeks old. We had a blissful sit outside a cafe while he fed and I had a coffee. He fell asleep feeding so once I'd extricate nipple and rearranged my clothing we had a lovely peaceful sit for half an hour while he slept and I relaxed.

I completely forgot the sun would impact him far quicker than me and he did get a small red patch on his cheek that I also felt horrendously guilty about. It was a one-off like your time. It'll be ok.

Thank you. I just feel awful. I’m so scared this will give him skin cancer in the future because babies have such sensitive skin. I feel like crying.

In the uk today I’d be extremely surprised if your baby has got sunburn after very limited exposure. How long might it have been under the uv shade? It’s certainly not burnt after 15 mins in the uv index 3 of London today.

I thought my baby was going to look like phantom of the opera after 2 minutes with the pram shade down. Cried for an hour. Redness had gone by the morning. You’re not the worst, you took your baby for a walk not an afternoon in a crack den. I bet you’re a great a mum.

This has happened to a lot of us. Cut yourself some slack, the fact you’re so upset shows you’re not a bad mum.

Has the UV index gone past 2-3 today?

I would be shocked if the baby has sunburn from what you’ve described.

I am all for keeping them out of the sun and I religiously apply sun cream 9 months of the year but I just can’t see it happening today.

Thank you so much for being so kind, everyone. I don’t really understand UV index @JehovasFitness but someone upthread said it was 3 today?

Goodness me, this parenting lark is not for the faint hearted, is it? 😣

Im in London and it really isn’t that warm today! It’s prob something else. Try not to worry.

Welcome to Motherhood. Where we do our best and still feel like crap when one teeny thing goes wrong.

Baby skin is more sensitive (hence why no creams are advised). But honestly when yiu get up in the morning, the redness will be gone. And you'll worry about sometimes else by tomorrow evening!

Your baby will not get skin cancer from this tiny but of exposure. And you won't make this mistake again. Chalk it up as a lesson learnt and cut yourself some slack. You were outside in fresh air enjoying a nature walk with your baby - that's a truly lovely and positive thing to do.

It will be fine, OP. I remember on holiday in Spain when DD2 was a baby and had all the sun block on, keeping her covered up, in the shade etc and she still ended up with little pink marks on her cheeks one time as her skin was so fair. DD1 doesn't have quite such fair skin, so it was a learning curve even with baby no 2. DD2 is 17 now and was just saying today her freckles are starting to appear more prominently as she has been outdoors in the sunshine.

3/11 then. Not very high at all. Personally I think this is a (somewhat understand) overreaction and there is no risk to your baby.

Keep trying to keep him predominantly in the shade until he can wear suncream, and beyond that, but he’s not a vampire.

I agree with this - though I suppose perhaps not impossible given babies are so sensitive? But to me seems unlikely.

OP, I am absolutely certifiable when it comes to UV exposure. Especially when it comes to my children. We have a family history of skin cancer, so I follow all guidance to the letter and then some more.

All this to say that I am REALLY not the kind of person who is blasé about the sun - I really think you should forget all about this, and I strongly suspect that redness will fade soon.

Does it feel hot to touch, or just normal skin temperature?

Even if it is sunburn - it’s done now. Just keep an eye of the UV levels going forward, and act accordingly. There is zero sense in worrying about this. I am no doctor or statistician, but I’d wager that, IF this is sunburn, your child’s lifetime risk of skin cancer is still probably largely similar to what it was before as a result of this one singular incident. There are probably things we all unknowingly or unthinkingly do every day that have had more affect on our children than this. There’s no point dwelling, we all just keep plodding on doing the best we can x

It gets easier in terms of these worries op, they’re so often launching themselves off anything and everything and generally acting like Johnny Knoxville, it becomes easier and easier to ‘not sweat the small stuff’ so to speak

Bless you. You sound really lovely. First babies are scary but sounds like you are doing a great job. Try not to worry.

While it is best to avoid exposure and it does increase the risk, it's nowhere near as simple as sunburn = cancer.

I had sensory issues as a cold and couldn't tolerate suncream - I'd scratch my skin raw and have a meltdown every time my parents tried to apply it. Eventually they just stuck a big hat on me and let me get on with it. I had a permanent natural tan as a kid and many sunburns. Thirty odd years later no sign of cancer. I keep an eye on moles just in case, but I still can't tolerate suncream.

As long as you learn from this and continue to protect them in the future, everything will be fine. One incident is nothing.

Reading this thread has made me feel like a bad mother because I put sunscreen on my 8
week old today. I’d no idea I wasn’t suppose to. It’s impossible to know everything

I put sun cream on my kids at that age. Its fine

Loads of people do!

Any chance it was a bit windy and the red cheek is from that?

It's more likely that it's a red patch because he's starting to teethe or there was a tiny bit of pressure from him leaning against the strap or sleeping leant against your clothes.

Are you OK generally, or could this be all mixed up with a touch of postnatal blues, lack of sleep and some anxiety?

It is so easily done with babies. I remember when mine got pink cheeks and it didn't even seem that sunny.

Please don't worry OP! I remember doing this with both of mine. There isn't much UV light coming through until April time so baby won't have burned. I used to put some weleda calendula baby balm on to soothe pink skin if you have something similar.

Well it’s not ideal but al least you now are aware of how much sun exposure his skin type can tolerate. Put a hat on him next time and get some baby sunscreen. Are you sure it’s actually sun burn and not a red mark from being in the carrier snuggled in?