Very dry skin

**munchkins** · 19-01-2010 16:10

Ok so I had my first MCHN visit today and she was concerned about DS's skin and about how dry it was.
She asked me how often we bath him, and we said once a day and she said that was too often

Does that sound right, he is 11 days old at the moment.
She did say at that age every 3-4 days is fine, and to rub oil into his skin and that should help, the oil seems liek a good idea but....

bathing only every 3-4 days does that sound right?

I bathed both girls every day and never had these issues/concerns.

**halloweenmum** · 19-01-2010 16:17

I dont think its too often, though most people only do it once every 3 days when they are newborns. My DD had the same problem.

Have you tried avoiding all bath soaps and liquid soaps and putting a couple of drops of plain olive oil in the bath water instead, this will help a lot. I just used my olive oil from the pantry! mY MCHN taught me this trick.

Also, QV cream available from the Chemist is great for newborn dry skin (has no chemical or fragrance, etc in it).

**munchkins** · 19-01-2010 16:19

Ahhh ok then my mchn suggested rubbing it on him after a bath but I like the idea of putting it in bath. I will try that next time. Thanks for the tip

**1+1=5** · 19-01-2010 16:28

i washed my babies every day but i limited the soaps etc to QV baby bath. Johnson&Johnson stuff can be a bit harsh on baby skin.

**Myztiks#1Fan** · 19-01-2010 17:41

we used alphakeri products when coop was younger. was great for him and the bottles may appear to be expensive at about $12 a bottle but they are pretty big and last forever literally, very very long time use

**Guest1234** · 19-01-2010 17:45

We had the same issue, DDs skin was so dry it was peeling. We bathed her every 3 days and only in water with a bit of oil and it helped heaps!

**IndigoJ** · 19-01-2010 17:46

My midwife told me to put three to four drops of baby oil in bubs bath to help soften the skin

**babybabycakes** · 19-01-2010 18:43

Our DS is the same, he still has dry skin at 8 weeks, but it is heaps better than it was and his cradlecap is all gone

We bathe/shower him everyday as part of his routine cos he loves it. We rub him in olive oil before the bath or shower and just pop 1/2 a cup of bicarb in the bath (helps with itching and redness-nappyrash too if bum gets a bit red) then we put a bit more oil on each night to soak into his skin. gives him lots of baby massage and he loves it.

**MumtoD** · 19-01-2010 18:48

We also use Alpha Keri and dont have skin issues anymore. A 500ml bottle lasts us about 4 months. We use both the moisterisor and wash.

**mum2bubba** · 19-01-2010 19:10

Babies don't need to be bathed every day. Also, Nathan had dry skin as a newborn too so the health nurse told me not to put anything in the bath, just warm water. His skin is fine now.