My Baby is Like a Sheet Cake Pan

Ben and Jamie are gone for the next few days. This will hopefully give me some time to catch up on a few things, including cleaning.

Vanicream, though not superirritating, does seem to be somewhat irritating. We're going to try and go as chemical-free or as low chemical as possible.

I know that some people dislike using petroleum-based products on their babies, but we're not about to put stuff with nut oils on a kid with with nut allergies. Although almond oil may be okay, we're not sure. He is not allergic to almonds, but we don't want to cause him to develop an almond allergy. I read somewhere that people are less likely to have a problem with almonds than other nuts. Also, he had a terrible reaction to Cetaphil, but that may have been the other chemicals in it rather than the almond oil. I wish we could use Burt's Bees, but a lot of their lotions contain nut oils. Some of their products may be okay, but I'm not sure if coconut would irritate Ben, and that's found in a lot of all natural skin care products. Some people say it's a tree nut. Some say it's not. The whole thing is driving me nuts.

So yesterday we greased Ben up with Vaseline and olive oil and cocoa butter. The allergist said that sometimes simpler is better. If we try one ingredient things for a while, then at least we know what is irritating him.

I need to go shopping. I'm running out of Amy's Organics Gluten-Free things. These things can be a little pricy though if you buy them at a natural store. I'm wondering if Giant Eagle has some gluten-free Amy's.

I'm thinking of trying this shampoo and lotion, which L. recommended. I contacted the company for a list of ingredients, and it seems like the shampoo and lotion might be okay to try on Ben.

I wonder if I should wait until after the dermatologist appointment though. I don't want to put more money down the lotion money pit. On the bright side though, the facial sore likes like it might really be healing.

Aveeno Baby

I decided to try Aveeno Baby Daily Moisture Lotion again yesterday since so many people have had success with it.

I put it on a small area, and he didn't seem to have any reaction so I put a little more on. I went to Giant Eagle to get a few things with Ben. He was scratching the side of his face with the cotton gloves on though by then, and it was bleeding. So I pretty much knew I was going to need to give him a bath.

I do bathe him in Aveeno Baby Oatmeal Bath, and that seems to help. Yesterday, however, I used the adult oatmeal bath because we only had one packet of the other, and they don't sell those at Giant Eagle.

One of the things I had gone to get was Aveeno Baby Wash and Shampoo. I can't use the regular Aveeno shampoo because of Ben's wheat allergies. A lot of people have said that they have had good results with the Aveeno Baby Wash, even those with sensitive skin, but because I know that Ben's skin is supersensitive, I used it only on his head. We had used it before a while ago, but I couldn't remember why we stopped, so I thought it was worth a try again.

The ingredients and potential irritants and warnings for this product can be found at: http://householdproducts.nlm.nih.gov/cgi-bin/household/brands?tbl=brands&id=10001006.

Aveeno Baby Wash contains Sodium Laureth Sulfate, which can cause skin irritation in many people. I think that even Johnson's No More Tears contains a less irritating ingredients. In addition to irritating his skin, however, Johnson's No More Tears also worsened his cradle cap in some areas. I am actually not sure if the Aveeno Baby Wash irritated him or not because his skin was already irritated by Aveeno Baby Daily Moisture Lotion.

On the other hand, we did notice that his skin felt moister. I have begun to wonder if the Vanicream is drying it out, and that's why I was looking for a new moisturizer in the first place. I am also starting to wonder if the Vanicream is slightly irritating his skin because he itched after I out it on this morning.

We may have to just try one ingredient things. We tried cocoa butter a while ago when his skin was really irritated, and it did not seem to help. I am hesitant to try it again because I don't want to cause an allergy.

We've been using Neosporin on the sore spot on his face, and it seems to be helping. I think it would be healed by now if things didn't keep happening to reirritate his skin.

According to the Less Toxic Guide, you can use straight olive oil as a moisturizer, so perhaps we will try that with one spot on his head, but, again, I am hesitant to try it all over for fear of causing an allergy. But at least we can use Vaseline. And oat baths.

And Sometimes a Rash is Eczema

The Desitin that we put on Ben did seem to soothe him, but it also dried out his skin. So, in the middle of the night, I put some Vanicream on him.

I started using Vanicream a few days ago. Someone on an eczema discussion area recommended it. It's supposed to be good for extremely sensitive skin because it's free of lanolin, dyes, fragrance and parabens.

Popular eczema remedies Aquaphor and Eucerin, which are made by the same company, contain Lanolin. Lanolin is used for its soothing properties, but it is derived from sheep's wool, and so it irritates some extremely sensitive skin.

Sunday night, however, I switched back to Cerave because I felt like Vanicream wasn't working quickly enough, though it did seem to be helping. Cerave contains ceramides, which are supposed to release the lotion over a longer period of time (24 hours) so you don't have to apply it as often. But Cerave contains parabens, and this may have been what caused Ben's skin to get so red and itchy that we had to give him an extra dose of antihistamine in the morning.

Yesterday, Ben's skin remained red and itchy. That's why J. suspected heat rash. Also, Sunday night, we had Ben in a long-sleeved sleeper but with the AC on. The sleeper may have been too heavy. Other nights, however, if we dress him too lightly, he ends up shivering. In order to prevent SIDs, we have not put Ben to bed with a blanket. When is it okay to use a blanket? Some people use 100 percent cotton blankets, which are breathable, but, due to complications after Ben's birth, I am more cautious.

I'm not sure if the corn starch was helping. I'm not sure if we gave it a chance. But the Desitin was temporarily soothing. We're trying to figure out if the neck rashes were caused by heat, drool, eczema or more than one.

We put cotton gloves on Ben to keep him from scratching. Unfortunately, due to much use lately, all of the gloves are in the wash, so I'm holding his little hands, and, today at least, he's not scratching as much.