our weather here has been pretty screwey lately.. we really didn't have a "spring".. it basically went from freezing to summer.. its 80degrees today. first day since last summer that my 8month old has been out in hot weather. She was born the end of july so she was only outside for a little while at a time and it was always in the garage, never out in the sunlight, so this whole sunscreen thing is new to me. I am pretty pale, however I tan.. my fiancé on the other hand is pale and basically turns into a lobster after being in the sun for a little while. Our daughter has daddys hair and eyes, so we figured it was a pretty good shot that she had his skin too, although he was hoping she would have mine lol. Today we took her for a walk in her stroller (it wasn't as hot out earlier) she had on long pants a tshirt and a hat to block the sun.. we weren't gone long, 15/20 minutes maybe. when we came home my fiancé decided to wash the car so me and the baby say out on the front lawn to watch daddy. I put sunscreen on her but the only thing I had was spf 15.. I know its bad but I don't wear sunscreen, usually I use spf 5 dark tanning oil and was not about to put that on my baby, the one I had was left here by my cousins last summer so I figured it was better than nothing since we weren't staying out long. so I put the spf 15 on her arms and cheeks and chin and kept the hat on her.. we were out for about a half hour..
My fiancé just walked into the room after I had put her in her crib and he was like o my god her cheeks are a little red!!
What spf do you use on you little ones with fair skin and how often do you reapply??
im going to the store tomorrow morning so if you recommend any specific brands that would be great, and if you use different brands on body and face?
we spend all of our free time in the summer in the backyard or in our pool.. so please if anyone has any tips advice that would be great! also she has 2 bathing suits that were bought for her by relatives but I was thinking of maybe getting a swim shirt&bathing suit bottoms set that I saw in carters the other day, do you think its necessary, anyone use them??
any helpful tips for summer would be great this will be the first summer she will really be out in the yard and the pool! thanks in advance
-just to add the sunscreen I used on her today was coppertone and it says right on the bottle safe for ages 6months +
We use Coppertone Waterbabies. It's SPF 50. I reapply if he's been sweating or gets wet. He tans extremely easily. Already a little brown baby and we've only had 4 days of nice weather. I do use a swim shirt for him. He won't keep a hat on. Most swimwear for little ones (if it's a decent brand) has some SPF protection. Carter's definitely does.
We use neutrigina spf 50 or 55. Applied every 30 -45 mins.
Clothing
- swimsuits now have SPF 50 built into them
-hats have SPF 50 in them ( I had hair less kids)
There is also shelters that have SPF in them to cover them.
FYI - I have white Irish skin and so do my kids. but regardless, you want to ward off cancer so even though you tan you can still get the bad rays to give you cancer with out the burn.
Good luck
I always check the safe sunscreen list
http://www.ewg.org/2012sunscreen/
SPF 50 all the way.
Cheeks, nose, forehead, neck and don't forget her ears.
Her skin is very delicate and will be for quite a few years.
My son wore rash guard swim suits for the longest time and he's never had a burn.
The swim shirt/bathing bottoms are great - they don't wash off like sunscreen can after awhile - and the more covered up they are, the less sunscreen you have to put on them.
Burns can be so painful - I'd never want to put a young child through that.
Keep her in the shade if you can (at the beach a sun umbrella helps but you can still get burnt from reflected sun light off the sand and water).
Try to avoid being out in the sun from 10am through 2pm - the sun is strongest then.
15 minutes of sun early in the morning or late in the afternoon is all she needs for making vitamin D.
I asked my dermatologist this when my son was born. He said no sunblock for babies under 6 months. Then, he said to buy Neutrogenia with Helioplex because it is the physical blocker instead of a chemical one so it won't go into her skin, and it protects better. Actually, he said its the best. And, I was surprised by this since he sells sunblock in his office, but he sent me to the store. I personally buy 50 or as high spf as I can get because I am like your fiancé and daughter and so are my kiddos.
I hope that helps! Good job trying to take care of her, and she may just be a little red from getting warm too.
If you go to the website One Step Ahead they have a bunch of stuff related to sun protection and babies. They sell sunscreen (not sure which brand) and they also have SPF protection clothes, hats, etc. They might even carry those baby sun domes, which would be nice to use in the backyard with your baby pool. If not, you can find them at babies r us.
My daughters cheeks get soooo red so quickly. It is not from a sunburn-just when she gets hot in the car-running around outside etc. I am always freaked out that she burned-but her cheeks just get really rosey! I hope your little ones cheeks are better already (:
We use water babies and it works fine. She'll probably get pink cheeks no matter what from the warmth. We like the spray for legs and arms and stick for the face. They have some cute bottoms with swim shirts for girls that would be good and keep her cool but covered. I would definitely get a little brimmed hat too.
My dd had very sensitive skin and had major breakouts with all the sunscreens I tried. I finally started using zinc oxide cream because of it's total protection and it's easy on the skin and very water proof. Actually you can just get Desitin with 40% zinc oxide and it works great. My dd was out at the ocean all day and no sun got through it.
Water babies SPF 50. Hat too.
We use 30-50 spf.
For swimming/beach, we use Coppertone Kids Pure & Simple (it's waterproof)
For being just outdoors, we use Blue Lizard Sensitive.
We also like California Baby sunscreen.
All are rated w/ low toxicity on the EWG site listed below.
Also, for water sports and since she's so fair, you may want to consider getting her a UV 50 swimming rash guard or body suit. You can order them online through Lands End or Coolibar.
Oh, and we reapply sunscreen every 1-2 hours, depending on what activity we are doing. That's where the UV swim suits are so key when swimming!
I use Waterbabies for my younger ones. Waterproof and SPF 30 or higher. I apply it at least 30 minutes before going out so it can be absorbed. And then reaply throughout the day. I make sure we get all those hidden spots like the ears, behind the ears, the back of the neck etc. When my older kids were younger, one was very fair skinned. Even with sunscreen she would have a slight pink tint to her cheeks that was gone by morning if not sooner I have found that sport sunscreen can irritate sensitive skin. We have not had any problems using Waterbabies on our faces.
Babyganics sunscreen is AMAZING! I use it all the time for my kids and they never burn.
I use California Baby (unscented/sensitive skin). I also use the UV protected swim shirts if it's a beach/water type activity. I do my best to have my kids wear a sun hat too.
In terms of re-applying, it depends on the activity, how much in the sun they really are, and how much they've been sweating.
I second checking the EWG site for low toxicity brands.
Oh, and one of my kids gets red cheeks when he gets hot too so it's sometimes hard to tell if he really got sunburn or he just got hot. I will reapply sunscreen if his cheeks look red even if I'm not sure if it's needed and when we are done playing in the sun, I will put aquaphor on his cheeks just in case and give him fluids.
