Wind Chill

Yuck.

I try to save you guys the torture of most of the yucky stuff that goes on around here, but Emma Vance's super-sensitive skin has been a bit of an issue lately, so...

To back up a bit, ever since she was born, we haven't been able to really use lotion on E.V. because her skin gets irritated SO easily. We tried several different brands when she was a newborn, but no matter how "natural" or "suited for sensitive skin" the lotions were, they gave her with bumps all over her tiny body. The worst of it was on her face, of course, and eventually I consulted the pediatrician about the problem:

"If her skin's not dry, then there's no need to use lotion, especially if it's irritating."

Hmmm. I had always just assumed that you HAD to use baby lotion on infants because, well, that's what the television commercials told me! :) So we ditched the lotion except for on occasion and have been fine--until recently. The weather's been so crazy lately, and a week or so ago, Emma Vance developed a nasty "rash" on her face and hands. It took some deducing to figure out what the cause was, but, in the end, I realized that it was severely dry skin caused by icy winds. (It took a few days for me to figure this out because she wasn't outside that much, mostly just running in and out of stores, but those few seconds here and there added up!)

I had purchased some cream with calendula in it before we gave up on lotions the first go-'round but hadn't gotten a chance to use it, so I decided to put it to the test on her poor face and hands. Bad decision. Bad, bad decision! It made the rash ten times worse, caused E.V. to scream (because it probably burned a bit!) and was all around a terrible experience. So I let the bumps settle for a couple days, but when the dryness seemed to be getting worse despite confining her to the house, I consulted the pediatrician again, and Aquaphor was "prescribed." 

I try to use mostly organic stuff when possible for Emma Vance, but I was reaching the point of desperation, so we gave it a go. Miracle worker! Overnight (it seemed) her skin was almost back to normal, and it didn't leave her screaming in agony. Whew. What a relief--for both of us!

So now, in hopes of avoiding such a bad rash again, we've added to our nightly winter routine rubbing Aquaphor on her little hands and chubby cheeks before bed. It's a little messy, but, man, is it worth it to see that pretty face glow in the morning! :)