What to Expect the First Year

Aug 31, 2006 5:04 AM

Jodee Redmond :

I absolutely loved this book! It was my Bible for the first year of my oldest child's life.

With each month mapped out, it was easy to find what I was looking for. I would recommend it highly.

Sep 2, 2006 8:54 AM

Teresa Simpson :

I completely agree! Are there any books that you found useful?

Feb 27, 2007 5:59 AM

dawn :

my son is 6 months old and has recently began breaking out. Eczema does run in my family and the doctor has diagnosed this as eczema. She had told us to put olive oil on his skin and use sensitive olive oil soap. However in the book what to expect states not to use oils I am wondering why they feel that way. Also a gentleman at the nature store suggested probiotics, has anyone ever heard of this. Please Help. Thank You

Feb 27, 2007 4:48 PM

Jody Collin :

my husband takes probiotics for his crohns disease and they help his skin alot. When he doesn't take them he tends to break out on his face and neck. And they are amazing for the digestive system.

Feb 28, 2007 2:28 AM

Rachel Lister :

Both of my sons have had severe eczema. We used a steroid creme when they had flareups and very mild cleansing products and creams the rest of the time.

I will get an article put together for you and post it on the Infants and Toddlers site for next week. We have been dealing with eczema since my oldest son was born.

Mar 16, 2007 8:50 AM

Rachel Lister :

I didn't get this finished for this week but it is still on my schedule.

May 29, 2007 4:54 PM

sima :

Hi,

My daughter (7 months) has eczema. It was very bad in February and the flareup lasted a month or so. It was the first flareup, so I have spent a lot of time educating myself about this. Yes, probiotics are very very good and essential to give. The reason for this is because children with eczema have sensitive immune systems and probiotics (fresh, natural ones, in the refrigerator section of natural stores) assist in eliminating allergins and toxins from our system. Thereby, this usually helps kids who have eczema deal with the many allergens they come into contact with (whether that be food related, pollen that gets in the blood, milk proteins, etc.). I have seen a big improvement with my daughter because of this. Also, what has helped is the addition of "UDO's DHA Oil Blend." Children with eczema do not have the same lipid (fat) structure on their upper and inner dermise levels of their skin. Therefore, adding any type of oil to their bottle (unless you are breastfeeding) helps. I have found this helps her a lot. I called the company and they recommend I think about a capful for every 13 pounds, but call them to ask. And ALWAYS, test a small amount before adding more. And, another thing that has worked for us is Mustela Stelatopia lotion. I tried Organic Coconut Oil, expensive creams from the U.K., etc, but found this simple moisturizer designed for children with eczema works wonders in creating a layer of protection against allergens they come into contact with. You will notice that the lotion makes your babies skin more strong and rigid yet soft. So, if your child has a lot of contact dermatitis, it is resolved because the allergen doesn't penetrate the skin. That being said, this week Rose (my daughter) started breaking out a little again. She is teething very badly and the stress of teething is causing her to flareup a bit. So, sometimes a flareup is inevitable. But this time I feel a lot more at ease because I have the steriod creams (if needed, which I found 2.5% Hydrocortisone to work better than the harsher ones such as flucinonide and triamc.!), the Mustela, Probiotics, and, oh, last but not least Camomile tea! Put the tea made from two bags of Organic Camomile Tea in the baby's bath. This helps with inflammation. Oh, and I wanted to mention that Olive Oil works fine, but children with eczema can get overloaded with the oils too. So, you have to try different moisturizers to see what works. I was on Coconut oil for the longest time, and t

Oct 22, 2007 9:55 PM

Elaine Soo :

My son has a bad skin problem too - We applied breast milk to his face for 2 days and the skin looked less angry and stopped peeling. Then we use calendula oil - the weleda brand, just 2 days after and the redness and the dryness is now starting to subside. My recommendation is to go with that.

Nov 1, 2007 7:03 PM

Angela England :

I would imagine the "what to expect" book is referring to not using BABY oils which have mineral oils in them. Those are harmful to an infant's skin - actually to ALL human skin.

The best oils to use on the skin are pure vegetable-based oils. Olive oil is nice but often rancid by the time you get it to the cupboard. :-)

I mix up a personalized infant massage blend for my kiddos and for my clients and they love it! A blend of sweet almond, apricot kernel, etc.

So don't feel bad using HEALTHY oils on your child - it can greatly increase the health of the skin, especially when irritated with eczema.

Blessings, Angela

Nov 5, 2007 9:18 PM

Angela England :

By the way - I just wanted to add - I find the books my Dr. Sears to be more balanced, well researched and informative. :-) Just thought I'd throw that in there.

Angela