Baby Acne

Saturday, June 25, 2011. 11:55 p.m. Mark it down, folks! That’s the date and time that Jessie finally admitted that using the 5 S’s actually works. After seeing me repeatedly calm Caitlyn during each feeding, she had no choice but to deem me a magic man for being able to calm our baby so quickly. Sure, I might be getting lightheaded every time I start doing my shushing, but if it earns me a little respect around here and gets the baby to stop crying, I’m all for it. No pain, no gain.

Jessie’s milk supply has slowly increased to 70 ml. Yippee! If the current rate of change holds, we’ll be up to 200 ml in no time. She’s been trying all sorts of remedies to help her body produce more milk. Pork feet soup, fish soup, cherries, organic tea, sesame paste, etc. Maybe one of these is responsible for the increase. But in the end, I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s just plain ol’ nature taking its course.

If you look at recent photos of our daughter, you more or less get an idea of what I looked like in high school. Instead of being Edward Scissorhands in high school, I was Edward Pimpleface. Heck, I still get the occasional pimple more often than not. Sometimes, I’m happy about it because I feel like I’m still young. But other times, I’m not happy about it because of the stares I get when I have one on my nose. Thankfully, babies are blissfully ignorant of their less-than-perfect complexion.

Baby acne is fairly common in babies. It’s caused by hormones that are passed from the mother, through the placenta, to the baby right before birth. These hormones stimulate oil glands in the baby’s skin, which give rise to the acne. It usually occurs on the cheeks, forehead, chin, and back. The acne typically appears at 3 to 6 weeks of age and will usually disappear on its own within a few weeks. No need for Clearasil or Oxy pads. A good wash with warm water and mild soap to keep the face clean will do.

These facts and statistics don’t help ease Jessie’s mind because she’s comparing our baby with the other babies in the postpartum clinic, which all have silky smooth skin. She’s probably thinking about how the other babies will mercilessly tease and torment our daughter à la Mean Girls when they grow up, and how she’ll never get a date to a dance. I know that exact feeling all too well. I tell her to wait another week or so. The other babies will join the acne club soon enough.