“I was boiling my baby!”: mums admit to common parenting error

Life is hectic for first time parents. There’s so much going on what with breastfeeding, settling and constant caring of your little one. And as hard as we try, it’s impossible to get everything right. Sometimes we drop the ball. I certainly did. With a baby born in the height of summer, I was careful to dress her as warmly as we did in hospital, only to find I gave her a heat rash.

But I am not alone, as I discovered singer Meghan Trainor recently did the exact same thing!

Biggest parenting fail

Meghan Trainor and husband Daryl Sabora were thrilled to welcome their first son Riley into the world in February of this year. The doting parents have taken to their new life with enormous enthusiasm and have posted gorgeous clips and photos of their new little family. However, recently on the Ellen DeGeneres Mom Confessions Series, Meghan admitted her biggest mum fail.

“We would take him on these walks out her in California,” Meghan said on the YouTube show. “I would come home and he would have these little red bumps all over him.”

Naturally Megan was worried and explained that after the third day, she sent photos to her paediatrician. “I was like, what’s going on, I rub cream on him, I don’t know what this is,” she said. “And he said it’s a heat rash.”

“I was boiling my son on my morning walks,” she said. “So don’t do that.”

Meghan is not alone

I was relieved to hear this news as I made the exact same mistake with my first child. After her birth, I was advised to keep her nice and warm in the hospital’s air conditioning. However, in our effort to be the best ever parents, my husband and I took their advice a bit too seriously back home, during a very hot Sydney summer.

My daughter developed a rash with little red spots on her body. Naturally I went straight to the doctor who gave me creams to use, but it was local healthcare nurse who took one look at my daughter wrapped up in the pram with a long sleeve onesie, a wrap, socks and sheepskin rug and told me was it was a heat rash, caused by overdressing her. We quickly stripped everything off and dressed her light clothing and eventually the rash went away.

We were so focussed on trying to do the right thing, we were doing the complete opposite and our poor daughter was boiling hot.

How can I treat heat rash?

Heat rash occurs when sweat glands become blocked or inflamed. It’s common in infants, as their sweat glands are not fully developed. It’s also caused by overdressing or from being in hot humid environments.

It appears as little red spots commonly over the neck and face or in skin folds such as around the nappy area.

Heat rash is easily managed at home by keeping your child cool and comfortable, which might include the following steps:

• Dress your child in light cotton clothing
• Avoiding too many layers when you dress your child or wrap your baby
• Change sweaty clothing or wet nappies
• Make sure bedrooms are cool and ventilated
• Dry your baby’s skin folds after each bath.
• Give your child a luke-warm bath to help settle the itchiness
• Use a soap-free wash or simple moisturising bath oil on your child’s skin.
• Press a cool damp cloth onto affected area to help give your child comfort.

Heat rash generally goes away in a few days, but if you are ever concerned about a rash – or the rash persists or if your child is unwell – consult your GP, paediatrician or healthcare nurse.