Sun protection for baby - Infant Care (up to 18 months old) Message Board

2fst · 04-26-2007, 08:27 AM

On sunscreen bottles it says not to use on babies under 6 months. My DD will not be 6 months till August. I know I can put hats on her (she's bald) and keep her in the shade but I want to lotion her up. Come summer we will be taking trips to the shore, zoo, flea markets, playing outside, etc. I can't be always making sure she has shade. How do I protect her? Is there a lotion out there for babies under 6 months? She is fair skinned and bald. The sun is going to fry her up. I burn real easy myself. What do you do for your babies? Also the sun hurts her eyes (they are blue) and it can burn her eyes,, I have had my eyes burn if I am not careful down the shore. Fair skin, blue eyes and blond hair

sucks in the summer. My mom has had skin cancer too.

luvmy2kids · 04-26-2007, 08:44 AM

2fast, I'm sure you'll have some opposing opinions to this, but my dd's ped said that it's absolutely fine to use sunscreen on children under 6 months. He said to test out a small area of skin to see if it will cause irritation, otherwise it's fine. He also said that it's been proven that name brands (like banana boat, etc.) work better than generics. Also, my dd got a slight sunburn when she was about 3 months because I didn't have sunscreen on her - she was under the umbrella, with a hat on - and her ped said that it was probably a combination of the umbrella not having enough UV protection and/or reflection off the water. So the shade is still not always the best option.

neshee · 04-26-2007, 08:47 AM

Unfortunately (and your ped will tell you the same) it is not safe to put lotion on baby until 6 months old. I have not found a lotion that is safe before then. My DD wasn't 6 months until August too, and we found the same problem. I bought shades for her eyes (they make these with straps around back for little ones), shades for the car, stroller and sun shades for beach and yard. Umbrellas work well and big brimmed hats. You should get the catalog "one step ahead" b/c it has all kinds of these things necessary for sun protection. They also have clothing that is breathable (not heavy) and UV protected. Hope this helps. I know EXACTLY what you are going through.

MissChicopea · 04-26-2007, 05:47 PM

We used california baby when DD was younger and it worked great! We still use it

xinerevelle · 04-30-2007, 06:31 PM

We had plans to take our 3 month old to spring training baseball games in central FL so I asked my doctor about sunscreen. He said that if the option is for her to get a burn or to use the lotion, definitely use the lotion! He said the reason the bottles say not to use on babies below 6 months old is because they have not done studies to see if it effects younger children or not. He laughed and said "no one with a younger baby is going to volunteer their child for a study like that." Made perfect sense to me!

So what did I do? I tested the lotion (a "babies" brand) on her arm and a spot on her cheek about a week before we left -- checking for any reactions and prepared to call the doc or go to the ER if any developed. None did (yay!).

I use it sparingly when we go to the park, like only on her legs when they are sticking out from under the hood of the stroller. Otherwise we use hats, umbrellas, the stroller hood, etc. to keep her fair skin fair.