Help!!!!!!!! What can I do????

My son is currently 6 weeks old. Last week Monday, there were these small pimples on his face and I thought it was a heat rash, took him to the pediatrician and they said it was baby acne and it was completely normal. This Monday the acne is there but his cheeks  were red like if they were blistered and now his face is peeling so badly it looks like he got burned on his cheeks. I had my post partum appointment yesterday and I asked the doctor what to do, she says its normal and there is no need to see the pediatrician again. It looks really bad and I am just wondering if it is an allergic reaction, if it is happening because he drools when sleeping (and he sleeps on his stomach, only way he will sleep), or it is just part of the growing process. I have delayed taking any pictures until it clears up and I am not using any lotions or oils on it just soap and water, per the doctor's orders. When one side looks as if it is clearing up, the other side looks terrible and vice versa. Any one out there experienced this or has any advice?

[nermine]

yup! my sister had the same experience, the dr. told her to stop usiong any chemicals on his face, not even the soap, and then he did fine, it just a growing process, he will be fine, i"ve heard of a lot of babies with the same history, so don't worry. avoid soap on his face.

[filbert143]

Both my daughters had the same thing.  I agree - don't even use soap.  Also, be sure to wipe off his/her face after each feeding.  The breastmilk/formula can make it a lot worse.  It's caused from your hormones that are passed on before birth.  It will just take some time before they get out of the system.  Be patient...

[anxiousmomtobe?]

And switch to all unscented laundry products.  My son had it as well and when I switched to unscented products for the entire family it cleared up in 3 days.

[lhfoo]

Thank you all!

[kjbutcher]

i have a daycare and all 3 infants that i have had had the same thing.  two of them it cleared up by 6 months and the last one is now 8 months and has it really bad.  the best thing that anyone has used that cleared it up the fastest, although temporarily, was breast cream.

[mommy2aj]

my son had the same problem. i also noticed that if his cheek rubbed against our shirts or sheets then it seemed to irritate also. he had one of those real chenille blankets and another real soft blanket that i would lay him on or put over us when we held him. i also used aquaphor ointment, occasionally. the ointment is unscented and i think hypo-allergenic, it worked great. i had to use something b/c where it was irritated it started looking like the skin was dry and cracked. now they also make the aquaphor baby wash, i can only find it at cvs. when my son was 1yr he was diagnosed w/mild exema (eczema) (sp). like you i didn't have portraits taken until 2months old b/c of the rash.

[molley21]

Hi, my friends baby has had the same thing and she said its just a rash they get from feeding them milk, obviously you've got to feed them milk but not all babies have this reaction, it will go away, and she was using some lotions to clear it up, I'm not too sure what though but I'll find out.