I wish someone would have told me about all these normal but freaky things that happen to a newborn.
Let me tell you about all the discoveries I’ve made so far.
Cradle cap. Looks like kind of like a rash, over baby’s head and eyebrows. The whitish, flakey skin made my baby look like he was the real case of Benjamin Button. More like Benjamin Baby. (I’m referring to reverse aging or the fact that my baby looked like an old man. Having no teeth did not help his case.) Now the remnants of the cradle cap are dried, dark flakes on baby’s scalp. Doctor reassures that this is purely cosmetic & can be left alone or can be gently rubbed with baby oil to remove the flakes. We chose the former option.
Pulsating fontanelle. The soft spots in your baby’s head, front & back are kind of freaky though everyone knows this is normal. The front one is bigger & sometimes you can see it pulse. I did not know this. Of course I freaked out & talked to the baby’s doctor who kindly reassured me this was normal. A slight depression in the fontanelle is normal too though it might signal dehydration.
Organic peanut butter poop. Now baby has these huge dirty diapers and this creamy (ew), drippy consistency is totes normal. Baby’s poop go through all color & consistency spectrum though dry, hard poop is no good.
Dirty, dirty ears. While breastfeeding, I noticed the outside ridges of baby’s ears had a lot of excess dirt. I attempted to clean it but it’s like a force field that naturally regenerates. Again, doc says we can leave it alone or clean (but never to stick a q-tip in baby’s ear, for packing earwax deeper into the ear canal is not what you want to do).
Heat rash. This sounds fairly innocuous but for a little baby, oh boy, this can look downright terrifying. One ambitiously dressed (read: overdressed) day, baby sweated in his bear suit when mom & dad were too scared he might get chilled. That night baby had a mean rash on his neck. Baby’s neck has a million folds and every single fold was angry. Doc recommended we air it out, keep dry & it went away. Poor little baby.
Pearl in mouth. I’m referring to the cyst commonly found in newborns’ mouths caused by breastfeeding. I was concerned that baby developed thrush but rest assure, it was a cyst that is supposedly painless & goes away on its own. It’s on the roof of the mouth, a tiny little white spot. How fitting my little oyster has a pearl.
From mom to mom, we gotta help each other out! Of course these are just my observations and the baby’s doctor’s advice per his individual case. I’m not a medical professional & nothing here should be misconstrued as replacing medical advice.
I’m sure we’ll stumble upon many more unusual but normal baby things along this adventure. Hope we all take proper care of ourselves & the little ones. Try not to freak out so much. (I find it hard not to sometimes!)
Live long & prosper mommies & their cute babies!
Warning: semi-graphic images below.
