As a parent, maintaining your baby’s super silky and smooth skin in winter can be a challenging job. Babies are super sensitive and their skin requires a lot of protection against changing weather. Winters can be especially tough on the delicateness. You will have to employ the best care for the tiny one because your baby’s skin can get affected by the dry winter air.
Even the heating equipment like heaters and blowers used in winter can be detrimental to your munchkin’s skin. Look into the various tips below for all-around protection against the cold spell of winter, and keep the baby’s skin smooth and soft. The only way to enjoy winter is to stay warm! This applies even more to the baby.
In This Article
- Top 10 Tips To Take Care Of Your Baby’s Delicate Skin This Winter
- Outdoor Care
- Treating Common Winter Skin Changes
Top 10 Tips To Take Care Of Your Baby’s Delicate Skin This Winter
When the temperature drops and the flu season approaches, winter can be a particularly trying time. During the cold and snowy months, it might be difficult to ensure your baby’s safety and comfort. Instead of taking any risks, try one of these 10 tips to make the harsh winter season more bearable for you and your child.
1. Baby Oil Massage
This is totally mandatory for all babies. The oil massage actually supplies nutrients to the skin besides the protective layer on the surface. All you have to do is find a good baby oil. Traditional products, like almond oil, are good, but avoid using anything based on petroleum products. They lead to skin rashes almost always. Many organic alternatives are available nowadays. In fact, mustard and olive oil from your kitchen are great for the winter massage. Massages with these oils will make your baby’s skin soft and protect it from dryness.
2. Take Care Of Temperature Changes
Always help your baby to acclimatize to the temperature change. A sudden fluctuation can disrupt immunity and lead to a viral issue. Don’t let it happen! So, when you are giving your baby a warm water bath, make sure that windows in the bathroom are closed not to allow gushes of cold air. Also, take extra care when you are going in or out of the home in winter. The baby should not be too hot or too cold.
3. Bathing The Baby
The most crucial time during winter for babies is the bathing time when they may get easily affected by the cold. Follow these tips to prevent your baby from cold during a bath:
- Try to give her a bath in a room that is warmer than in other areas of the house. Close all the windows or doors while bathing her to make sure the cold breeze does not enter the room.
- Use a bathtub for bathing her inside the room (instead of giving her a bath in the bathroom). As you take her out of the tub, immediately wrap her in a soft towel to dry her body. Dry her hair first and apply moisturizer all over the body. You may use room heaters to keep the room warm while dressing her after the bath.
- The idea behind giving her a bath inside a room is to avoid exposing her to sudden temperature differences (that is temperature in the bathroom and changing room).
You do not have to bathe your baby every day. Every alternate day or once in 2 days should be just enough! Make sure that the water is at a temperature your baby likes. It should not be a little too warm or a little too cold. You can give your baby a sponge bath if something has been spilled, be careful with the folds of the skin. Keep the bathing time short and sweet.
4. The Right Nutrition
Make sure that your baby has the right nutrition. If you are breastfeeding, there can be totally nothing better than that elixir! However, you can also include certain foods that create warmth from the inside. If your baby is on solids, make her nice and hot idlis. Obviously, you cannot cook spicy foods for the baby!
Keep the diet amounts moderate A little warm milk can be amazing. Besides, nutrition also strengthens your baby’s immunity from the inside. You can add fruit pulps to your baby’s diet if his digestive system can adjust them, that is, if solids have been introduced to the baby. Fruits are rich in water, vitamins, minerals, etc.
5. Try Aromatherapy Products
Aromatherapy products are made from flower extracts. They have unique fragrances and offer very deep natural protection for the baby. However, you should be very careful in using these as even a little more than the right amount can cause dizziness! When you are buying, check the concentration of the extract in the solution. It should not be more than 1 -2 % typically.
6. Dressing The Baby In Winters
Just bundling your baby in a lot of warm clothes is not necessarily a good idea. It can sometimes lead to sweating, which can further cause skin irritation and other problems. When the cold is not that severe, you can always dress the toddler in a few layers of thin clothing. Keep a note of the weather to decide on the clothes. Also, make sure to have the comforter, the mittens, and the woolen headwear on at all times.
Cover the baby’s feet with soft fabric shoes. Ensure that the baby has a layer of thin clothing before you dress him up in woolen. Make sure that the baby’s clothes are disinfected and clean. Germs leading to skin rashes can also travel through the hands of the parent. You should be careful to wash your hands every time and very sure before you feed your baby.
7. Protect From Chapped Lips
Winters bring along lots of dryness, and because babies are mostly drooling, licking, or dripping, it can lead to chapped and dry lips. To keep your baby’s lips soft, you can apply a thin layer of a natural lip balm or petroleum jelly, in consultation with the pediatrician. You will also need to protect your baby’s cheeks from getting dry.
8. Careful With The Blanket
Blanket covers keep your baby’s skin warm when he sleeps. When you are putting over the blanket, make sure that it is tucked properly, safely, and cozily. Do not ever put it over the baby’s face! Be careful. Also, it may be unnecessary to put on the blanket and have your baby wear winter clothes as well. That can get too warm unless you live in a very chilly place.
9. Honey Nutrition
Your little honey would definitely benefit if you include honey in your diet. Honey has a wonderful warming quality from the inside. It’s taste is smashing and is the favorite of every toddler! It is also very nutritious, however, honey should not be given to infants under the age of 1. Read more about it here.
10. The Medicine Support
Make sure that your baby’s vaccinations are up to date. Your pediatrician may have medicines to strengthen the disease-fighting mechanisms. Many parents also look for alternative treatments such as homeopathy. Indeed, the latter can be better because pills are chemical products after all. Homeopathy globules are just sugar seeped with a dilute medical concentrate. Definitely, it depends on your preferences. Just make sure that you are visiting a good pediatric specialist who does not push pills for the child unnecessarily. Keep the best doctor’s phone number on speed dial on your phone always
Cold weather can be harsh, so a good balance of care and attention is a must to protect your baby. We would suggest you be sure about the products you use for the baby or run them through your pediatrician. Have a great winter season ahead.
Outdoor Care
While stepping out, cover the baby with layers of clothes so that you may add or decrease clothes as per the weather for the whole day. Cover her ears, especially to avoid cold and cough problems. Keep extra mittens and booties along with her suit when you go out. Maintain proper hygiene so that the baby does not get infected. Try not to take your baby to crowded places where the chances of getting infected are more. Also avoid going out with the baby when it’s chilled outside, especially in the evenings when the breeze, even makes us adults shiver with the chill.
Treating Common Winter Skin Changes
Wintery, icy and cold breezes can be particularly harsh on your baby’s thin and delicate skin. Keeping your baby indoors would be the best idea, but when it comes to your little one, you cannot be sure to restrain his movements outside.
Here are some tips to tackle common winter woes:
1. Chapped Lips And Skin
Reddish, pinkish, parched lips and skin can be an eyesore for every parent. Winter robs the skin of moisture, and leaves behind dry and red skin. You should use hypoallergic moisturizer lotion, cream, or ointment at least twice a day to keep the ill effects of the chilly weather at bay. Special baby care tips are also available. Make sure that you opt for non-chemical-based and fragrance-free products.
2. Frostbites
People living in areas where it snows would know that frostbite can be particularly irritating. It makes the skin look whitish or yellow-grayish, and as infants lose body heat faster than we do, their fingers, toes, ears, nose, and cheeks are more prone to getting them. Frostbites can only be treated by keeping your baby warm, so snuggle a lot, and if possible, see a doctor soon. Keep your baby covered in mittens and hoods.
3. Heat Rash
Overheating your baby can cause heat rashes, and is pretty common in winter. Clogging of the sweat glands due to overdressing results in red, itchy eruptions on the skin. To avoid this, it is suggested that you dress your baby in many layers, and chose a breathable fabric. To get relief from itchiness, use a 1 % hydrocortisone lotion or cream.
4. Eczema
Eczema can strike, particularly hard during winter, and if you notice any signs of it on your baby, you should tackle it heads on. Moisturize your baby’s skin at least twice a day apart from moisturizing your baby after baths. Apply the ointments while the skin is still moist to that greasy feeling.
These tips will help you take care of your baby during winter, and keep your baby away from sick people as diseases spread easily in this season. Enjoy these winters by putting your anxieties at rest. Think about the most precious immortal flower of heaven! Its beauty is innocent and delicate and it needs your protection. The years of childhood are like this magical flower from the skies. The mother is the earth, and the father is the seed. The flower blossomed on the earth! The earth and seed are also the guardians of this paradise flower.
