I know a lot of mama's are reading the title and are confused or thinking I am a terrible parent for thinking my new little one smells like wet dog, but the reality is...he does. Once out of the NICU, Baby D developed a terrible case of baby acne.
Our pediatrician suggested using baby approved Caladryl, which ended up working great, but be forewarned this is not a magic cure in the sense that it will not disappear overnight. We applied it 3-5 times a day (normally after feedings) and I would say in about 4-5 days the acne disappeared entirely.
As a sidenote, Caladryl is very drying (obviously it is drying up the acne), so we are also using the Cetaphil moisturizing lotion that is fragrance free to keep the baby moisture on his skin intact and healthy. Also during this time, I changed my detergent to Seventh Generation (it is plant-based) Free & Clear. We had been using Persil (which I adore), but considering he walked (ummm...carried) out of the hospital with perfectly clear skin and all of sudden had an onslaught of skin issues, I was not taking any chances. During the time he developed acne he also developed a severe case of cradle cap. It was so bad and I am ashamed to say, but I stopped taking pictures of him entirely. It just looked horrible and I didn't want a ton of people asking what had happened and having to explain cradle cap over and over again. If you don't know what cradle cap is, you can read about it HERE. It is incredibly common and you will find TONS of sites that provide a wealth of knowledge on it, even though the pictures can be a smidge terrifying.
If you are fans of Game of Thrones, think GreyScale. Okay, not really, but you get the drift ;)
I am sure the Feds will be intrigued with my extensive Google Search on "cradle cap smells like wet dog" and "why does my newborn smell like wet dog?"
EV had cradle cap, but it just looked like bits of large dandruff that was just on the top of her head and it wasn't even a lot, which is why a lot of new parents mistake it for dandruff. What Baby D had, was a whole other cradle cap ballgame. The only comforting factor were pictures I saw online of similar cases and many were even more severe then what the babe had. It started at the front of his hairline, covered pretty much his entire skull, migrated to part of his ears, down the back of his scalp and went down part of his neck and back of his ears. Not only was the cradle cap scabbing, but it was scabs on top of scabs and looked horrific.
If this is happening to you, pay attention to the mama blogs and suggestions that say to use olive oil. Both of my kids, like their mama seem to have developed sensitive skin. For EV, we use the kids BabyBum shampoo which has all kinds of amazing ingredients and is vegan free (if that is important to you). However, since leaving the hospital we had been using Johnson's shampoo for Baby D. I am pretty much convinced that he had a reaction to this shampoo since the cradle cap increased twofold once the shampoo had been introduced. As the cradle cap intensified, his baby smell began to dissipate and was replaced with a wet dog smell. That's right, I said a wet dog smell and no I am not exaggerating since the Hubs confirmed this smell too. When the smell occurred, I became nervous as this had never happened with EV, but thank you Google and the Internet since there were a lot of mama forums, blogs, and websites that talked about not only the condition, but the smell as well. I found THIS one to be the most useful since it was the only one that mentioned the importance of reaching out to your pediatrician as the smell and the intensity of the cradle cap can be linked to yeast infections and would need to be treated by antibiotics if diagnosed.
I did not take a lot of "before" pictures, so this is more the tail end, but at least it will give you an idea of what you are looking at.
the kid has mastered the fearful face
Treating Cradle Cap:
Even though our pediatrician suggested Johnson's baby oil, I believe it had the same effect of the shampoo. The smell only intensified and it appeared to be worsening (it definitely was not getting better) once I introduced the baby oil. I abandoned the baby oil pretty fast and instead followed the suggestions of the other mama's and used olive oil instead. Yup, regular olive oil from your kitchen. If you tend to give your baby a bath solo and do not have someone there for the assist, I suggest using the olive oil from one of those glass bottles that have the spout (slow pour topper). It just makes it easier to hold the babe and then poor the olive oil slowly onto the scalp. Especially since you only need a couple of drops.
You also want to gently scrub the scabbing to loosen up the bits. You could use either a newborn baby brush or some suggested a soft toothbrush (we used this for his eyebrows), but we purchased the FridaBaby Cradle Cap Scrub from the same company that has that nose to mouth booger suction tool that you always receive at a baby shower and that you swear you will never use until you are using it all the time #sogrossyetsonecessary. The cradle cap scrub resembles one of those makeup brush cleaner pads, but with really soft silicone nubs. Much like the NoseFrida, it is amazing. It seemed to be softer then the baby brush which made me more comfortable since I was sloughing stuff off of my newborn babe's head and you will notice that their scalp will get red from doing this.
Once you have loosened the scabby bits, let it sit for about about a minute or so and then proceed to use a sensitive baby shampoo and rinse and repeat twice. Doing this will assure that the oil has been thoroughly rinsed and removed from the scalp.
I am a strong proponent of the Cetaphil Baby Shampoo. it helped immensely with EV's cradle cap as well as resolved some eczema that she had developed. It is not the greatest on her hair now which is thick and curly which is the only reason why we switched to the BabyBum. Since introducing this amazing trifecta, it has been a game changer in his cradle cap game. It also seemed to help with his comfort level as well. Not to mention my own comfort level. Seriously, when you are turned off by your own baby's smell and are finding reasons for your hubs to do the feedings...it is a problem!
NOTE: Before using these products, we did confirm that it was NOT a yeast infection. So if you are experiencing a similar form of cradle cap or at least the smell, consult your physician first.
I should have followed my gut instinct with the baby oil immediately instead of second guessing myself and thinking 'maybe it gets worse before it gets better.' #lesson learned #mamainstinctsarealwaysright. Hoping that these tips help you too...