I don’t know about you but I give a shit what goes on my child’s ass. When I became a mom I knew absolutely nothing about toxic chemicals, irritants or preservatives. I knew these words, but I had no idea they were something to think about when considering what to slap on my baby’s butt when it got a bit red.
You see, I questioned nothing. Whatever the internet or my doctor told me to do, I happily did. We got gift bundles of all the mainstream diaper creams and baby lotions and we felt like we had hit the lotto! Then we started to learn more about natural living and clean products. It made sense and we quickly took to reading labels and thinking more about what we put into and on our bodies. And even more so the bodies of our babies.
As quickly as we began to adopt a Question Everything attitude as parents with everything from breastfeeding to sleeping to eating, our oldest son, Jack, started to have skin problems. He was born in the moist summer and his skin was always lovely and sticky. Isn’t it funny how the sticky hot summer is so gross except when you have a newborn on your chest? It’s the only time I can admit to loving sticking to another human being while sucking down ice water.
Turns out Jack is a sensitive boy; from his emotions to his senses to his skin. The doctors say it could be eczema, but it’s not so bad that we would consider prescriptions. November hit and his bum was red, hot to the touch and clearly uncomfortable. We slathered him in just about everything. Often what we put on his skin was advertised to calm inflammation, but caused him to screech out in pain. What the hell? It still boggles my mind that there are products for sale for the purpose of treating irritated skin that have irritants inside of them.
I can speak to this first hand. Jack is now 3 and a half years old. He is now capable of telling me exactly what is going on with him. I have become desperate at times, purchasing pretty much everything on the shelves and rubbing in on Jack’s red butt hoping to relieve his pain and only making it worse. I rush him to the sink, soak a wash cloth in warm water and gently wash off what I just put on.
I am now a solely Motherlove mom. Jack is now entering his 4th winter. Just this week the mercury sunk to 24 degrees Fahrenheit. We live in Chicago so the winters are long, but the summers are hot and moist so I get a good long vacation from the worry that comes with Jack’s skin. The memories of last winter are rushing back to me. I have my Motherlove products on the shelf lined up like little army men to march into Butt Battle.
Jack says the Diaper Rash and Thrush helps to ease the pain of his red patches. He can clearly tell me now that the red patches of his butt hurt and he asks me to help him. Any mother knows how it feels to hear their child ask for help. We would bend over backwards. We would give up anything to help our children. November is here and I refuse to continue to grab random irritants from the shelves and rub them on my son.
I will listen to him when he tells me what helps his skin. It’s always Diaper Rash and Thrush. Only an idiot would argue with a 3-year-old! Jack has even said, “Mommy! Put some of this on my butt!” You bet your sweet ass I obliged! And his response now is for me to play trucks with him and not screeching to get the cream off.
I’m guessing that means it feels better.
I trust Motherlove products because their ingredients are natural and certified organic. They go to great lengths to verify the origin of their ingredients and to test for bacteria, coliforms and heavy metals. It feels good to be able to stop reading the labels of strange products. I just order whatever I need from Motherlove and use it.
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Abby Theuring, MSW
