Winter care for your little ones
The winter season can bring some key challenges for new parents as newborns are a little more sensitive and need extra care in the cold season. Ensure their skin is well moisturised and protected, say experts.
■ Must-have body lotions for winter: To fight dryness of baby skin in winters, selecting the perfect baby lotion can be a task for parents as babies have thin skin which loses its moisture fast. Body lotion with Parabens-free formula and sweet almond milk are ideal for protection and moisturising baby’s delicate skin.
■ Moisturising rich cream: In winter, parents should always make sure that their baby is being moisturised properly, especially the most exposed areas like face, hands and legs after bath. Good quality cream with the Omega-3 and Vitamin E helps in deeply nourishing
skin’s driest areas.
■ Nourishment through massage oil: The skin of a newborn is very gentle and massaging the baby with special baby oil that is parabens-free and enriched with high nourishing properties of rice bran oil is very beneficial for the baby’s delicate skin.
■ Winter apparels, for keeping your baby warm with comfort: While shopping for babies, parents must look for certified and high quality natural fabrics which are soft and comfortable so that it does not cause rashes and discomfort to the baby.
■ Protection from dry air: In winter, the humidity level drops and dry air can affect baby’s health — from nasal infection to sore throat — which they can’t even let you know, and from dry skin and cracked lips to breathing issues in some cases. A humidifier in the baby’s room adds much-needed moisture to the air and creates favourable breathing conditions, allowing your baby to sleep comfortably.
■ Take Care of the skin: Do not apply too much of soap and leave it on the body for long as it dries up the skin causing irritation. Bath duration should not exceed five minutes in order to prevent over hydration of skin which may lead to easy fragility of skin and decrease threshold of injury.
■ Give a quick bath: As baby skin is very thin and fragile you should dab rather than vigorously rubbing which results in damage to superficial layers of skin. Finish bath quickly.
■ Keep the child warm: Make sure the baby is warm inside the home. Your baby should be well covered while you take him/her out in the winter and must be covered in woollen clothes, socks and mittens (if there’s any allergy or irritation, use cotton). The child should not be exposed to cold winds which cause can cause cold, cough and pneumonia.
■ Keep the skin moist: Always try to keep the baby skin moist. Apply moisturiser within a few minutes after the bath. Since the skin is very delicate, use moisturisers that contain coconut oil, olive oil and almond oil. This will also nourish the skin. With inputs from Rajesh Vohra, CEO, Artsana India (Chicco), and C Suresh Kumar, Head Of Department - Pediatrics and Neonatology, Apollo Cradle.