Your Newborn Baby's Appearance

It is so exciting bringing your baby home for the first time. However, it is also scary not knowing how to take care of your newborn. When you bring your newborn home, you noticed little stuff that you are not sure what it is. It is somewhat scary because you do not know if this is okay, or bad. You could also be confused. You could ask family members or friends and all of them would tell you different opinions on your newborn. You could ask your doctor and be sure he will give you the correct answer.

The most common stuff you will see on a newborn is acne. Some newborn get acne around 2-4 weeks of age. This acne is small white dots on the face. It goes away when the baby is 4-6 months old. You usually find the pimple on their nose, face, or neck. If you see on your newborn pimples with dark centers, they are called blackheads. If you see pimples with a light center, they are call whiteheads. If you are wondering what you can do about it, you could start by washing the newborn face gently and using a mild soap like dove. Also, leave the pimple alone. Do not put creams or scratch the pimples. They will go away. You need to pay attention to your baby's body temperature. Do not use many covers on your baby. If they get to warm this could make the acne to be more noticeable and red. This is because of increased blood flow on your baby. Try to keep your baby dry. This includes face and mouth. When your baby spits up this could make the acne red and more noticeable. If acne does not go away by six months, you may want to have your baby's doctor to check your baby's skin. Your doctor would prescribe you a special medication to apply to these areas.

Another concern parents have is seeing their newborn with yellow oily crust or scales on baby's head or scalp. Newborns may have crust on their forehead. This called Cradle cap. Cradle cap it is not caused by an infection, allergy, nor from poor hygiene. The Cradle cap comes from body oils and old skin. It does not hurt babies. It does not itch babies. It is very common in newborn. What can you do? You could wash baby's head with shampoo everyday. You could brush the head with a soft brush while shampooing baby's head. This will take off the crust. Then you could rinse baby's head. If the scales do not come off or are too thick, try rubbing baby oil on baby's head. Wash baby's head well with shampoo 30 minutes later. Cradle cap could come and go. It could start as soon as 1 week old and goes away within two weeks of treatment. If Cradle cap does not go away after two weeks of treatment, call your doctor. If you noticed a watery rash behind your baby's ears, call your doctor.