I've always been a big fan of chubby babies. The pudgier the better. A week or so before my due date I visited Deep Eddy with a girlfriend and saw an adorable specimen of infant portliness. "I hope my baby is nice and fat.", I confessed to Keeley. She laughed and reassured me that my own little one would surely be the perfect chunk.
Though Charlie started out on the extra-tiny side, he's been working very hard at making up for his low birth-weight. In four months he has more than tripled in weight. First came butt cheeks, then a round little belly. After that, Charlie's arms and legs plumped up. It was around that time that little rolls started springing up all over his body. According to my last count he had no less than three chins.
He truly is the baby of my dreams, but all of that darling chub comes with a price. Things can get awful funky inside those rolls. Keeping them clean and dry is an ongoing battle. For a while I thought cleaning them out daily would be enough, but eventually I wised up and started using baby powder too.
Commercial baby powder is often made of talc, a surprisingly nasty ingredient linked to all kinds of horrible health issues including cancer. You can find talc-free powders from fancy-pants baby brands, but making your own is relatively cheap and easy. If yeast isn't an issue, plain cornstarch will do just fine. Adding Arrowroot Powder or Kaolin Clay makes homemade powder even better. Here's a super simple recipe for Homemade Baby Powder that you can make in about two minutes.
Simple Homemade Baby Powder
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup White Kaolin Clay
- 1/4 cup Cornstarch (or Oat Starch)
- 1/4 cup Arrowroot Powder
Directions
Whisk ingredients together, then pour them carefully into a jar or powder sifter.
To Use
Tap a small amount into the palm of your hand, then carefully rub it onto baby's skin. Avoid baby's eyes, nose, and mouth.
If you really want to go all out, you can whip up a batch of this Aloe & Chamomile Baby Powder I created for The Natural Beauty Workshop. It includes pulverized Chamomile Flowers and Spray-Dried Aloe Vera Juice, two ingredients that are great for soothing sensitive skin.
By the way, you can find all of these ingredients (and many more) at www.FromNatureWithLove.com. If you order from them, use this code MMGOOD42. You'll get 7% off of your order, and I'll get a little commission that helps support this blog.