Long story short my 4 month old son has cradle cap and eczema. Having experience with this before with my daughter I take him baths every 3rd day and moisturize him and so everything I know I need to do. His cradle cap was pretty bad but I was handling it. My husband and I took a 1 week trip so my son stayed at my MIL's and when we came back she had gotten rid of his cradle cap...in one week. My question is should I be happy or upset? Its been about 5 days since we've been back and his head is starting to dry out. She said she took him a bath everyday for 2-3 mins and just kept brushing the scales off. Isn't a week too fast?
I would like to clear something up :) I have twins, and when they were his age one of my daughters had cradle cap and it took me a while to get rid of them, thats why i was suprised it was gone in one week. I also know my MIL and I can see her just brushing and peeling away. I just wanted to make sure that doing it too quick wouldn't harm him or make it come back or something like that.
Be thankful! She did you a favor! No mom has all the answers! Appreciate all the help you can get! My son also had cradle cap and my doc told me to bath him everyday and afterwards put johnson baby oil on his head and use a soft baby hair brush and poof! it was gone! I still do it every night just to be on the safe side!
My son's comes and goes and when it acts up, it usually corresponds to something bigger going on, a cold, teething, etc. Cradle cap can indicate a deeper sensitivity...
Anyway, I wouldn't worry, just be glad it's gone for now. When we have flair-ups, I do the same, wash hair everyday, use a little drop of oil in it and comb vigorously, but gently back and forth to loosen it all and wash it out.
Just a side note: Be sure to thank her and ask what she did. MIL's LOVE to be appreciated and asked for advice. (Even if you don't agree with her advice, it goes a long way toward a better relationship.) Be sure to ask for advice from time to time. After all, she must have done a good job with your husband. The more appreciated she feels, the more often she will babysit.
I thought that cradle cap was a fungal infection that needed ointment to get rid of it.
My mother and I "scratch" my baby's scalp whenever it shows up. No, one week is not too short a period to get rid of it. It just depends on how much time you spend on it when you do it. You've got to scrape it up before you wet it, and then shampoo and scratch two or three times to remove it. Then, moisturize the scalp regularly.
Be thankful! I week isn't too fast. My son's went away in 2-3 days with the baby oil and the soft brush in the bath. Then we continued to do that about once a week for maintenence, until his hair became thicker and there was less of a chance of it.
I too gave my babies a short bath each day and washed over the head to prevent and/or get rid of craddle cap. They never had a problem with it, except baby girl for about a week then it was gone. I think it is WONDERFUL that she was able to resolve the problem over the week. By rubbing over it daily, gently while washing with a gentle, moisturizing baby shampoo it probably will help the problem.
To keep cradle cap at bay use a little baby oil and brush it through. I don't necessarily think baby needs a bah everyday, but definitely moisturize ever day!
my daughter had cradle cap badly. nothing like what my son got. when i bathe her i put shampooh in her hair then a little bit (quarter size) of burts bees baby bee oil directly into the shampooed hair. if i do it after i rinse her hair out her hair is greasy/oily. this seems to have cut out all the cradle cap for the last few months.
brushing them out like your mil did was not working for her. it did work when my son was a baby though.
No clue about the speed, but the best thing I found with my kids was to gently brush a little baby oil in with a soft-bristle brush then very gently "scrape" it off with a baby comb. As long as his skin is fine I see no reason to be upset. I never bathe my kids that often, but a couple minutes a day is probably fine. Cradle Cap kinda grosses me out, so I'm usually a little agressive with getting rid of it myself.
one treatment cleared my DD. I put baby oil, left it to soften the scales for quite a while, the combed and combed till it was gone. follow with a shampoo, and done & its never come back.
Thank her til you are blue in the face. Cradle Cap is very hard to get rid of. My twins had it and it took forever to get rid of it, they were over a year old when it was gone.
I say yay and thank you!
If it's gone, that's great, no matter how long it took, no reason to be concerned. Just keep moisturizing it. It usually takes a few month to heal, and your child is 4 months old. Sounds about right timing wise.
http://www.babycenter.com/0_cradle-cap_80.bc
According to the Mayo Clinic, under the 'treatment and drugs' section, they suggest washing baby's scalp mildly once a day.
