Monday, June 13, 2011

First Day at the Pool! And Sun-Protection 101

Hadley is NOT taking after her momma in one aspect, for sure; she does NOT enjoy the pool. 

With the highs in the upper 90s here, summer has arrived and is not going anywhere until probably late September, so we decided to try to stay cool at the baby pool in our neighborhood.  First of all, who builds a baby pool without any shade?  It’s sort of annoying to have to really limit our time there and make sure Hadley is covered head to toe in either SPF clothing or sunblock! 

{sidenote: I found this site to be really helpful when choosing sunblock (and other products) for Hadley - http://safemama.com/cheatsheets/sunscreen/

Also – this is a quick sun protection 101 that I found online while doing research – it is written by a dermatology nurse practitioner, and mother: (I made a few small changes for typos – the English teacher in me couldn’t help it!)

“First let me start by saying there is a big difference between Sunscreen and Sunblock

Sunscreen is 100% NOT safe for infants under 6 months old. Honestly I would never put sunscreen on my child at any age. Period. Sunscreen is a chemical blocker that simply gets absorbed into the top of the skin as a chemical thus reflecting the sun’s rays and not allowing them to penetrate. These chemicals however are not safe for infants.

Sunblock is a physical sunblocker which is 100% safe from the day your child is born up to the very elderly. Sunblock is a product that literally creates a shield on the top of your skin and gets absorbed and will block out the harmful rays.

Many companies mislabel their products calling themselves sunscreen and sunblock interchangeably.  You need to look for the active ingredient.

Avobenzont; Homosalate; Octisalate, Octocrylene  and Oxybenzone, : ARE CHEMICAL BLOCKERS aka Sunscreen. NEVER use this on your child; this is what pediatricians do not want you to use on your children.

Titanium Dioxide and Zinc Oxide as the active ingredient is a PHYSICAL BLOCKER and this is absolutely safe for your child at birth. As noted with the American Academy of Dermatology. The active ingredients are actually pretty much the same as diaper rash paste.

The key is putting it on 30 minutes before going outside. Physical blockers need time to get absorbed into the top layers of the skin. Also you must reapply every 2 hours of continuous sun exposure. Long sleeve shirts, wide brim hats and sunglasses are also recommended. They sell bathing suit coverups and bathing suits with a UV protection.

Recommended Sunblocks by the AAD are as follows:

Neutrogena Sensitive Skin

Neutrogena Pure and Free

Blue Lizard

California Baby”

The site I listed above has a more thorough list of sunblocks, as well!

Okay – Sun 101 lesson over!}

Next up, little miss drama proves once again that she rules the roost and we spent all of 10 minutes in the baby pool, another 10 changing her and drying her off, and then we were on our way home.  Fun times Winking smile 

Here’s our little chunker in her sun/pool get up…

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Look at that belly!!  (Hadley’s, not her daddy’s… ha)

Dad… I don’t know about this place…

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I definitely do NOT like it here!

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What?!  You’re still making me get in? I already told you I don’t like it here!  Take me out immediately or I will make an even bigger scene!

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Ahh, much better now that I’m away from that giant cold bathtub!

We’ll keep trying; the girl lives in Texas and her momma loves the beach and the lake, so she had better get used to playing in the water!


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2 comments:

Marci said...

Colin wasn't so hot about his first time. He hated baths up until recently. We were with Katie on Sunday and he had a BLAST!

mom e said...

Hahaha! Love the surfer girl suit, and the looks on her face are priceless!

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