Smelly Baby

This may seem like a weird question, but my son is 18 weeks old and he gets so musty.  I bath him everyday and put lotion on him.  I also put baby powder under his arms, but a few hours later he smells again.  I havent told my health visitor or my GP cause I don't want them to think that I don't know how to take care of my own child.  But it seems to be getting worse.  It's to the point where I don't want other people to hold him in fear that they will smell him.  Is this normal?  Cause someone told me that babies don't have sweat glands so they shouldn't smell.  I don't know what to do.

Have you tried not using the lotion and baby powder? I've never used lotion or powder on Ethan and he always smells just fine.  Maybe your baby is having some kind of weird skin reaction? If it doesn't improve I would mention it to your HV or GP, don't worry they won't  think you're a bad mother A bad parent wouldn't care!!

I agree with Britwife; I'd stop the lotion and powder too.  I'd even go so far as to make sure that you use non-fragranced laundry detergent and fabric softener.  That way, if the problem continues, you know it's not a reaction to something you are using on him.

If you need lotion because of dry skin, I would recommend something called Aqueous cream.  It's a very mild lotion that is sold at most chemists.  No smell and extremely gentle.

OK. I think I may have posted this somewhere ages ago but Ill say again.
With my first baby I was totally OTT with cleanliness. Everything got sterilized, baby was always clean and everything in the house was immaculate. But after just a few weeks after his birth he started to smell. I mean really bad. I didn't know what I was doing wrong. I took him to the doctor and she smelled it also. Finally we found the problem. My baby was a spitter and at night he would drool and spit up his milk and it was gathering in the folds of skin under his neck and underarms. When I was bathing him I was so careful not to upset him too much and I guess I was avoiding all the folds under his neck and arms. So from that point on I started to pay extra special attn to those areas. I'm not saying this is what's happening with you but I just wanted to share my experience with my smelly baby.
Also, I don't use baby powder as it clumps and that could sometimes produce a smell. Get corn starch powder. Johnsons has it but its only available in lavender scent here in the UK.
I agree with Cait. Aqueous cream is really good and you can use it as a cleanser also.

I'd cut out the lotion and powder, too.  I used nothing but plain soap on both girls till they were about 3 months old.  Aillidh will be three in June, and I still just use a soap made for infants and childrens from Napiers, a local herbalist, on her and some starflower cream made for infants and children when she needs it. 

I never did bubble baths, either.  Just a plain water bath.

Courtney has that problem but like Ricki  its because she has still has folds in her neck and when she spits up milk it get under the folds.

I stopped using lotion and especially baby shampoo on her hair because she gets really bad cradle cap from it

I stopped using lotion and especially baby shampoo on her hair because she gets really bad cradle cap from it

Aillidh gets a rash from normal baby shampoo.  I'm allergic to lauryl sulfates, so I got her a lauryl sulfate free shampoo.  I buy it from a local shop where I get her soap, but they do online as well:  www.organicchildren.com

Might be worth a go!  Aillidh has always had really thick hair and now it's pretty long.

Roisin gets fusty neck as well, but I've found just sponging it w/a warm, wet towel keeps the fusty down!  She doesn't like it, but too bad.

We have used Johnson's Baby Softwash since Ethan was tiny, just squirt it in the bath instead of a bubble bath, then wash him all over with it, including his hair. Works a treat and no bad reactions.  Have also recently begun using a Johnson's bubble bath, it's the mauve bottle can't remember what it's called, but again has been fine for hair and body.

EY - there is a special shampoo your HV can give you for cradle cap. It stinks but it works. I used it on Ethan for  a couple of weeks and it got rid of it and it never came back (touch wood!).

Jack had such bad cradle cap I use to try to comb it out with a nit comb to get it out. Detonex for cradle cap works pretty well.

I also use Johnsons soft wash and recently bought the Johnsons lavender and chamomile massage for baby. I use that at night for Jacks bath and it knocks him right out! 

Thanks for all of the tips.  I never would have thought that the baby powder and lotion might be the problem.  I'm gonna bath him without putting them on and see how that turns out.  It's nice to know that Alex isn't the only smelly baby out there.

Thanks for all of the tips.  I never would have thought that the baby powder and lotion might be the problem.  I'm gonna bath him without putting them on and see how that turns out.  It's nice to know that Alex isn't the only smelly baby out there.

Far from it!  Make sure you pick up his chin and sponge him down ALL over his neck, even if he doesn't like it!  Also the folds between his hips and thighs, those can get 'foosty', as they say in Scotland, as well! 

Let us know how it goes.

DS started drooling at 3 months and didn't stop until a few months ago (he'll be 2 in April).  It was always connected to teething, but he didn't always pop a tooth.  His whole front would get that awful musty dried spit smell,  I was able to solve some of it by changing cloth bibs often and washing with some plain water when it was realy bad. 

It might also be the detergent you're using, I can't remember the name, either Bold or Surf, but if you're using a different detergent for the baby's clothes and things, that may be the culprit. There is a detergent here that - to my nose, anyway - has this musty, dank sort of smell to it, drives me nuts when I smell it, and it also lingers, it's strong. If it turns out that the spit up isn't the culprit, maybe it's this?

I gave him a bath without any products, and he does seem to smell a little bit better but not 100%.  I don't know if it's because he smelled so bad before or the bath didn't help.  But on the up side, he hasn't gotten worse .  So I am gonna give him another bath tonight to without the products again and hope it clears up more.