What baby soap should you be using?

I thought I would share a tip with any moms or mom's to be who MIGHT be dealing with this same problem at some point.

For the most part, Johnson & Johnson baby soap products have been one of the top baby shower gifts & leading brands out there. I got tons & of course, being that they used it in my hospital I never had any reason for concern. Awhile later, I started reading articles like this one about J&J baby soaps & brands being "exposed" so to speak for harmful chemicals being put in the soap. 

There always seems to be "something" wrong with everything these days! I mean I can barely keep up with all the food we're not supposed to eat to all the other products dubbed "bad for you" so I didn't really pay it any attention. I know...cue the gasps,  but you can only take SO much information of what you should or shouldn't do!

I'm sure a lot of moms feel the same way...

Eventually, I came across a blog that talked about about her experience with soap & it was very similar to what I was going through so I decided to pay attention!

Of course, from the moment Greyson came into the world, he was bathed with J&J baby soap. It was all I used for the first 14 months of his life! A few weeks after he was born he got baby acne which is a pretty normal thing that happens...however his face was so scaly & dry I knew it was more than just acne. At his 2 month checkup my pediatrician said he had a mild case of eczema. It wasn't horrible but just enough to be irritating. We ended up getting a cream she recommended & it helped...for the most part.

 Fast forward 12 months & he was still suffering from eczema. I have seen really bad cases & Greyson's was never what I considered bad at all...just annoying...he would have dry patches pop up here & there, sometime red & sometimes just bumpy & flaky which he would scratch & cause even more irritation. He would get it all over his body & other times just a spot on his leg or arm.

At around 6 months, I finally decided to get Johnson's brand of aveeno eczema baby wash & also the eczema lotion. These together seemed to help & I still use the lotion to this day but it never cleared it up completely. The blog I was reading also mentioned that even some hospitals have switched from using the J&J baby soap products because of harmful chemicals they didn't agree with & recommended switching to different brands of baby soap. 

 Since the beginning of the year I have gradually started swapping a lot of our food & products over to organic brands. I came across this organic baby wash in Publix one day & decided to try it.

I started using this when Greyson was 14 months old...3 months later this is all the wash I've used & it's not a huge bottle! It's only 16 oz of soap so I think it will last us awhile! They always recommended bathing Greyson every couple days or as needed to help prevent breakouts & irritation...so only after a week of using this organic brand, I started noticing some results. After a few more weeks he had no signs of his regular eczema at all! Every now & then a skin toned dry patch with pop up but it isn't like his eczema & he doesn't scratch at it at all.

To this day I still love my J&J pink lotion because it just smells so good & I like to use it in his hair. I know I should be skeptical because it is from the same brand, but I have not had any major breakouts with continued use like I did with the head to toe soap. I also still use the eczema aveeno lotion just when I feel his skin is a little dry. 

So, to say the least I am very happy with this organic baby wash & the conclusion is kind of up to you. Who's to say it really was the J&J baby soap I was using, but it seems pretty clear that switching made a huge difference & we are basically eczema clear. I'm not sure if my hospital is still using J&J soap but if there are hospitals out there making the switch it might be a good idea to do your own research & see what you think.

I have seen a few other moms switch from J&J head to toe soap & have had the same results. However, using J&J may be just fine on your child & some parents have never had any problems...but just in case you end up dealing with something like eczema...it may be time to check your soap, any soap & switch or just start out using something more natural to begin with! 

Nana & Papa come to Alabama!

We LOVE having Nana & Papa visit! 

Checking out his Easter basket

Nana showing Greyson the wind up toys she brought =) 

One of his favorite snacks from his basket

Fun at the park!

Playing out side with Nana

Bath time!

Papa showing Greyson how to use a turkey call...haha

We made lots of new memories, had lots of fun & just enjoyed each others company! Until next time...we already miss our Nana & Papa & Greyson asks about them on a regular basis. We are looking forward to seeing them again in July! 

Easter 2013

Easter this year was so much fun. Now that Greyson is walking...more like running all over the place...we have been able to include him in all the festivities. 

We started the week off with an Easter party with our play group! We had a trial egg "hunt" for the kids to see how they would do...they loved playing with the eggs & throwing them all over. 

We celebrated daddy's birthday with friends (Matt, Emily & Jace). As it turned out, Matt P's birthday was that very day & so we had an impromptu get together to celebrate. Emily already had a cake for her husband & just added an "s" to it so we could include our Matt =)

Our church had their annual Easter egg hunt in the church yard. Greyson kept thinking each egg was a ball so he would say ball & throw it instead of putting them in his bucket. He finally caught on & had a lot of fun.

 There were at least 25 kids in attendance & they all got a prize egg in the end. Greyson got a little ball & bat to play with this summer as his prize.

While we were waiting for the prizes & everything, I was in charge of the flowers & decorating the church for Easter. This was the table in front of the church...I just love tulips! They look like spring =)

Sunday morning, we got up to see what the Easter bunny brought =)

Greyson walked all over the living room looking for his basket & then spotted it behind a chair...he was very interested in all the contents, especially the food =)

Next we went to find daddy's. He had a basket, plus card & gifts since he shared Easter Sunday with his 30th birthday.

We couldn't forget to wear the bunny ears! Nana got them for him for his first Easter & I think I will make it a tradition to put them in his basket each year so he can wear them during breakfast =) I wonder if he will still enjoy that when he's 18...

Matt's gift to me for Easter was money to buy clothes...=) I have been eating pretty clean lately so candy & other snacks weren't that important to me & I enjoy shopping way more so it worked out for both of us. I was happy to buy a few new outfits for spring including my Easter dress I wore Sunday to church. When Matt admired my dress he said...did I get that for you? haha

We got all dressed up in our "Easter" finest & went to Resurrection Sunday services!

 A BIG thank you goes to "Aunt Jenn" for finding Greyson's outfit & sending it to us. It was hardly visible in the photo, but the outfit had little white & yellow pinstripes & a pocket with a little white "handkerchief" sticking out the top. TOO cute!!! 

Church was wonderful & we had lots of visitors. I love this time of year when we welcome spring & everyone celebrates the risen Savior. After church we went to my inlaws house to celebrate the rest of Easter & Matt's birthday. 

Uncle Jac & Jacinda got lots of Greyson time in while they were here from Florida.

After lots of family photos, we changed into our play clothes to play with the ever doting uncles.

My mother in law had a beautiful Easter table set complete with butter in the shape of a lamb. My grandma used to carve a lamb out of 4 sticks of butter but this one came from walmart. None of us had that kind of time =) it was soo cute!

After dinner, we had lots of dessert! A cake & sugar cookies Matt & I made for his birthday & a delicious apple pie that Jacinda made. I didn't get a picture of it, but it had little lamb crust shapes on the top too!

Matt did most of the "interesting" decorating & I kept mine pretty normal. He went all out with faces & combining colors..I'm sure you can tell which ones were his =)

Then it was time for Easter baskets from Mimi & G'pa & gifts from Aunt M & Uncle J too =)

She even had a little mini Easter egg hunt set up for him after he opened his basket.

We've been asked several times if we are sisters, related some way & even twins. I hope to have another red head in the family someday & already think of Jacinda as a sister anyway. We took this picture together because we "matched" a little bit =) 

 Nana & Papa got to come the day after Easter & gave Greyson another little Easter basket.

It was SO cute & had these adorable little fuzzy wind up toys in it that Greyson was just carried away with. The little chick & bunny hop all around & he just watches them go! We got cute shoes & lots of other fun things from them too. 

He immediately wanted his yogurt from the basket...those make great alternatives to Easter candy!

 I hope you had as good a Happy Easter as we did celebrating the true meaning of this holiday. Yes, there are Easter bunnies, eggs, festivities & candy...but what's really important is knowing that Jesus died for our sins & didn't just stay that way. He rose from the grave 3 days later so that one day we might live with him. I am so thankful for what Easter means to our family...it is truly the best reason to celebrate of all!