Yesterday, Maddy came home with an awful diaper rash.
She’s two years old now, and starting to learn to go on the potty. She’s at the stage where she will consciously make the decision to either go in her diaper or ask to go on the potty. More often than not, she will go in her diaper, then walks to us like she has an alien on her butt and asks us to change her.
Yesterday she not only walked to us like she had a kickball between her legs, but also told us that her “bottom hurts”. When I changed her she was bright red and cried when I changed her diaper when I had to wipe her.
So, for her tubby we did what we always do when she has a rash – we went to the freezer and grabbed some frozen milk to put in her bath water.
We grabbed about 5 oz to add so the milk would turn the bath water cloudy white. We did our normal bath time routine but I let her play and soak a little more than usual so she could get the benefits from the milk bath.
After her bath it was still there but the bright redness had already begun to subside.
So after doing this last night without even thinking twice, I thought to myself, “I wonder how many moms don’t know this is something they can do!? I wonder how many moms don’t know all the wondrous things breast milk can do besides nurturing our little ones by way of nursing?!”
So, with that I give you…
5 Life Hacks – Breast Milk Edition!
Tubby Time!
As I mentioned above, breast milk can be used in bath water to help with any and all skin ailments.
Not only did it help with Maddy’s diaper rash, but it also helped a little blemish on her cheek magically disappear too!
Nipple Cream
If your nipples are sore, forego the Lanolin, and just place some breast milk on your nipple after a feeding and let it dry. There are natural healing agents in the milk that will have you good as new in no time. Something else to think about while we’re at it, is the reason behind your nipple pain. That’s for another post, but in short, if you are having nipple pain or rawness, get to the root of the problem by visiting with your local support group and/or getting in contact with a lactation consultant right away so you never need any type of nipple cream to begin with (yes, it is possible to not need it).
Ears & Eyes
If your little one is pulling at their ears or on strike, it could be because of the sucking hurting their ears meaning they might have an ear infection. You should see your pediatrician if your little one needs medical attention, of course, and I’m certainly not that. But what I have done to help my little one in the mean time was squeeze some breast milk into her ears. It has been known to give some relief to babies that feel discomfort.
Along the same lines of ears, is the use of breast milk to help comfort a baby with pink eye, or conjunctivitis. Again, see your pediatrician, of course, but while you wait you can squirt some breast milk into their eyes for comfort and it’s possible that it’s helping with the infection as well, especially colostrum.
Baby Food
When your little one is ready to start solids and if you decide to make some purees, instead of using water, use breast milk. It will help liquefy the food to the consistency your hoping for and it will also give them an added nutrients they wouldn’t get with simply adding water. And you already know they love the taste!
When In Doubt Whip It Out
So the last hack I have for you is… ANYTHING!
The thing about breast milk is, 99% of the time it’s never going to be a bad idea to put it on or in your baby!
If they have a scratch on their chin, whip it out and squirt some on your finger and dab a little bit on the scratch and let it dry. It will heal faster!
If they have a stuffy nose, whip it out and squirt some up their nose.
You get the idea.
So go and discover all the wonderful uses for breast milk, besides of course, feeding your baby! 🙂
Resources:
Journal of Education and Health Promotion
Naturally Milk 