Simple ways to reduce waste & help the environment

Humans have been impacting the earth and environment in many ways. We have been leaving our footprints in every corner of the world since the beginning of mankind. And that footprint is not always in earth’s best interest.

Most of the time, we cannot help but contribute to environmental pollution in many ways. Lots of time, it is too much hard work not to cause any kind of pollution.

Here are few ways we are hurting the environment and increasing our carbon footprint without even thinking:

• Our food habit
• Using plastic and disposable utensils
• Too much use of plastic bag
• Wasting water
• Using AC/heater unnecessarily
• Using disposable diapers and sanitary items.

Here are few ways I try to follow to help the environment:

• Reuse when I can. When using paper towel or wipe, I try to make full use of it by washing it and reusing it a few times.
• Try to use the house fan and open few windows instead of AC if the outside temperature is low enough.
• Reusing the water from the kid’s pool to water the lawn trees.
• While doing landscape, try to avoid grass and use more native trees as much as possible.
• Use the vegetables scrapes for our vegetables garden as compost.
• Recycle the recyclables as much as I can.
• Turn off the water whenever possible during use.
• Let go off the disposable diapers (though it is not an easy approach)
• Switching off to more environment friendly period products (e.g., menstrual cup)

Humas are destroying the earth in many ways they are or aren’t aware of. But we can do whatever we can from our ends. It might not have a big impact on the earth’s climate, but we still can try these ways as they will not hurt us and we might save a few bucks in the process. If you are thinking that any small change from only one person will not have a strong enough impact on the environment, consider that there may be 100 people like you who are also thinking the same. Maybe you are thinking saving one paper towel is nothing, but over the time, this small saving can add up to something big.

Do you have any other simple techniques that you use to help the environment? Feel free to leave your comments 🙂

Vacationing: Why it’s so “IN” right now

We all need vacation to get away from the mundane life for a few days, leave all our wordly worries at home and be completely present in someplace new. But did we all have this much frequent vacation growing up? I know I didn’t. Why is vacationing getting so frequent between your friends and families now a days?

I came from a middle-class background. While growing up, we used to have a big vacation once a year mostly. There were a limited number of hotels and restaurants near any tourist spot. But now, the scenario seems completely different. Any long weekend people get or even on weekdays, you keep seeing pictures of people vacationing or hear about vacationing from different people. Any tourist spot you go to, you have endless options to choose for hotels or airbinbs. How are these many hotels/airbnbs operating? Are they really full throughout the year? Why is vacationing so trendy right now?

Is it an Illusion?

First of all, though I think people are going on a lot of vacation, the frequency is not exactly the same as you are thinking. “In the old days”, you used to hear about people going on a vacation by only talking to the people directly or through a postcard. And by talking to people, I mean talking over the phone or in-person. The number of people you talked to in a year (in-person & via phone) is not too much, and by talking, I mean talk for a sufficient amount of time so they can deliver the news of them going on a vacation. Suppose that number is 100. But now, even if you are doing WFH, you still get notifications of people going to a vacation through Facebook/Instagram/Twitter or any other social networking app. How many friends do you have over these social networking apps? 1000? 2000? Obviously, you are going to see lots of new pictures of people vacationing. Even if you see pictures of 20 people out of your 1000 friends in Facebook, the percentage is not too high.

Monkey see- monkey do

As I was saying, not a lot of people from your friend-list are vacationing right now, only a handful of them are. But what happens seeing the pictures of their friend-list is, everyone starts thinking “oh everybody is going on a vacation except me, so my life is boring unless I go on a vacation”. So, it creates a spiraling need for people to go on a vacation. Those who have the means for going on a vacation, they go. And those who cannot go to a vacation right now due to different reason (may be due to job or different kind of responsibility or don’t have enough money), they get depressed and starts saving and planning for a vacation.

Increased work-pressure

It is true that the quality of life has changed drastically recently. Along with this, the nature and quality of job-responsibility has also changed. If you are working on a high-paid job, most likely you are working hard enough to feel drained after each day’s work. And if your job is not a high-paying corporate job, there is still a chance that your workplace environment is not healthy. In these types of situations, our only gateway is a vacation. And after each passing week, you feel like you deserve a vacation. I feel like now-a-days, we are becoming robots doing what we are supposed to do and one of the rarest times when we feel the humane emotion and drive is when we are travelling to someplace.

Fulfilling a virtual bucket-list

I am not trying to sound too millennial but I am blaming social networking sites or easy internet access again. There was a time when we only knew a few beautiful places nearby. Now, thanks to various internet sites, we know lots of hidden beautiful places nearby and far away. And thanks to some experienced photographers, some of these places looks way better than they actually are. Whenever we see a beautiful picture of a place, we start to build up a never-ending bucket-list of the places that we want to visit.

What I am trying to say is:

It’s not bad that we are travelling too much. If you are tired and feel the need for a vacation, or if you like travelling, please go on a vacation. Travelling to new places and meeting new people really broadens your mind and changes your personality in the best possible way. But the least we could do is not beat ourselves up if we cannot go on a vacation. If you have a friend who had multiple trips over the past year, don’t go comparing yourself with them. The job/family/personal responsibility of you and your friend might be different. And the social media picture can be misleading. Give yourself a break 🙂

Co-sleep: Yay or Nay

The word co-sleep creates so much controversies among new parents, pediatricians, relatives and even to an observer who is very quick to judge. There are people who thinks a newborn or infant should always be put to their separate bed/crib while sleeping because that’s what they saw while growing up and it is a norm to their culture. And there are people who think that it is ok to share your bed with your baby because it is convenient or it is a norm to their culture.

I came from a middle-class Asian background and my baby was born in USA. During my childhood, I shared a bed with my parents and always thought that this is normal. I came to know that co-sleeping as considered dangerous when I just had the baby and the nurse strictly forbade me to co-sleep with her. I know I have lots of relatives who is going to freak out if they see me putting my baby to a separate bed, let alone in a separate room.

People from different culture take care of babies in different ways and have their different versions of normal. But if we put all the judgmental thinking aside, weigh only the pros and cons and the safety concerns, then what is best?

Co-sleeping: Is it safe?

All the doctors and nurses (at least in western countries) will tell you that co-sleeping is not safe. A newborn is very small (even smaller if it’s a preterm baby) and very fragile. No one can deny the risk of a baby being suffocated while co-sleeping. Specially if the primary caregiver is a heavy sleeper. But personally I have seen lots of people co-sleeping and I myself also did it with a newborn, just make sure to take caution. Do not sleep too close to them. you can use some kind of side-pillow barricade for the baby while making sure their hands or legs don’t get stuck below the pillows.

Pros of co-sleeping:

• Peaceful sleep for you: When you co-sleep, you don’t need to get up of your bed to check on the baby frequently. For feeding sessions, if you are breastfeeding, you can just nurse the baby and go back to sleep easily. The night feedings become easier with a growing child. When your baby is few months old and becomes a pro-feeder, they can feed in their sleep and you also don’t need to get up from sleep completely while feeding.
• Longer stretch of sleep for the baby: If your baby is not a good sleeper, co-sleeping might help them to go back to sleep when they are awake in the middle of night. Even if they get up early in the morning, if they see you lying beside them, chances are they will go back to sleep.
• Mommy-baby quality time: If you co-sleep, the waking up time and the in-between wake-up periods can be a good time to cuddle or hang out with your baby. Usually during the weekend morning, our whole family spends some time lying in the bed and cuddling.

Cons of co-sleeping:

• Not completely safe for a newborn: If you plan to co-sleep with your newborn, there will always be a fear that he/she is going to get under your arm or body. While this fear is valid, you can take precautions while co-sleeping with a newborn.
• Dependency: There is a chance that your child is going to be dependent on you so much that they are going to get up and cry whenever you get up from sleep to do anything. They might get used to you sleeping besides them all the time so they might refuse to go to sleep without you.
• Not enough quality time with your partner: You might miss the long night talks or quality times that you did with your partner before the baby came. While you miss the romantic moments with your partner, you get to see another parental, affectionate version of your partner while co-sleeping.

A combination of both:

Though initially I decided not to opt for co-sleeping, I had to choose a combination of both methods just for the sake of my vanity.

My bed time starts getting my newborn/infant ready for bed. Then breastfeed until they fall asleep. When they are completely asleep, I would put them in their crib which is just beside my bed. I would then go to bed and will have a tension-free sleep for few hours.

When it’s time for my baby’s first feeding, I would get up and bring them to the bed and breastfeed while lying down. In that way, the baby can stay asleep while sleeping and I would stay awake and feed (when my baby was a newborn) or feed while sleeping (when my baby got few months older).

After feeding ends, I would sometimes put them again to their bed if I felt like it or just let them share our bed for the rest of the night. For the rest of the night feedings, I would feed them in bed and co-sleep.

After my first baby was weened off breastmilk, I bought an adjustable crib and removed the guard rail form one side and put it just beside our bed. In that way, my baby could sleep with us in the same room in her own bed. My first one used to be very light sleeper so she could reach me in the middle of the night go back to sleep while holding me. This ensured the independency of her by sleeping in her own bed but it almost felt like she is sleeping with her parents. Of course she had her own room with her own bed to encourage her to independent sleeping.

Whatever works for you:

Of course no two baby is same and no two parents is same. One method is not going to fit for all. So do whatever works for you without judging other parents. You can follow any one method or a combination of multiple methods. But don’t stress yourself out while trying to follow the conventional rule. Talk with your pediatrician if you want and if you are concerned over the safety of your child.

Going Back to Work After Maternity Leave

Once you have a baby, your life is never the same. It starts to revolve around the baby as soon as he/she comes in your life. You want to be present for all the activities they are doing, experience all the milestones and just be there for them. But if you were working before you had the baby and plan to join work, it might become very difficult for you. There are lots of things to consider before going back to work: finding a caregiver for the baby, adjusting the baby to bottle (for a breastfeed baby), time management, and most of all, knowing and accepting the fact that you won’t be there for the baby 24/7.

Finding a Caregiver/Nanny/Daycare:

Choosing from a caregiver, nanny or daycare depends on lots of factors like age of the baby, your job requirement (work-from-home or onsite), the availability of a relative as a caregiver etc. If your baby is only a few months old and you are working from home, a relative or a nanny can be best option. In that case, you can feed or see your baby while you are working. They are going to be at home and you can be there for the baby for whatever reason. If you have a relative with whom the baby is close like you parents or mother/father-in-laws, they can be an wonderful babysitter. If you don’t have that option and you don’t want your baby to go to daycare yet, then nanny can be an option for you. Though choosing an nanny can be tedious process and you have to start looking early. There are multiple online companies which can help you choosing a nanny (care.com, The Nanny Network etc.) .If your baby is an active toddler who needs lots of attention and activities, then a daycare is perfect for them. Again, you have to spend a lots of time choosing a daycare. The first daycare you choose might not work for you. For my toddler, her 3rd daycare was the charm. The first two daycare, she couldn’t adjust for various reasons. But she very quickly adjusted to the third daycare she went to. So you have to start sending them early. Start by sending them to daycare for few hours a day and slowly increase the time.

Feeding Arrangements:

Feeding arrangement differ from baby to baby and mommy to mommy. If your baby is completely breastfeed baby and doesn’t take bottle, then it’s gonna be a tough journey like me. My first suggestion would be to keep trying bottle once everyday from at least few months before you start your job. You can try different types of nipples. Also try to bottle-feed when they are sleepy or just waking up from sleep. I have seen some people to spoon feed the milk to the baby.

If you want to breast-pump and feed the baby, then it is good idea to set aside some breast milk for when you start your job. When you start the job, you might miss few breast-pump session or your milk flow might decrease after some days if you are not feeding the baby directly. So it’s good if you can pump a little bit extra every day and freeze it. There are different brand of breast-milk storage bag which are easy to use and doesn’t take lots of space in the fridge.

Time Management:

Your (and of the baby’s) routine changes drastically once you join work. Now may be you can get some morning sleep or take a nap after a sleepless night but once you start work, that is not going to be possible. So you have to get in the habit of going to bed early and waking up early. During maternity leave, when you are with the baby throughout the day, you can bath them or feed them whenever it’s easy for you but once your job starts, you have to feed them before going to work. Also, when you finish work, and your baby sees you after a long time, if your baby is a breastfeed baby, he/she is going to breastfeed as soon as you got home. Also, after you got back from work, you will have lots of work to do before you go to bed early. Now, you might be able to play with your baby after dinner but once you join work, it’s going to be difficult. So, you need to start practicing this routine few days ahead of your joining date.

Emotional Toll:

To me, preparing myself emotionally was the biggest challenge before joining work. During my second baby, I was completely content with holding my baby all day and being busy with him. I felt really horrible to leave my 3 month old for work. The mom-guilt was unbearable. But I had no choice. Also, at work, I thought my colleagues are going to treat me differently after I join from a long leave (though it didn’t happen and everyone was super professional). Even after joining, I wanted to take leave and sit at the home with my infant. But it gets easier once you start to get busy with work. It’s better if you share your feelings with your partner and your family and friends. May be they can help with your household work so that you can spend a bit more time with your baby after you get back from work. Try to spend the weekends with your little one as much as you can. Know that, you are not alone. Also, what you are feeling is totally valid. It is okay to feel overwhelmed. Take one day at a time. Let your house be somewhat of a mess.

Travelling by Car with an infant and/or a toddler

There was a time when you and your partner used to travel to new places without any worries. Then came the new member of your family and you paused any type of travelling (at least not the big ones). Now you are thinking about travelling again for any reason, might it be for fun or might it be for necessity. But this time you cannot just plan to go somewhere overnight, you have to do lots of planning and prepare yourself mentally and physically. As a mother of an infant and a toddler, who had to travel recently, I wanted to share my experiences with you.

Is it okay to travel with a child?
Of course, as long as you plan accordingly. I have travelled 3 hours one way (total trip: more than 6 hours only in car) with my 3 week old baby. If you have an infant, plan to give a stop every 2/3 hours. Stop, pick the baby up from the car seat, change diaper, give some snuggle and may be play with him/her for few minutes and then you are good to go again.

Steps to a Successful Trip

Travelling with a baby can be hectic but with proper planning, it is possible. For that, you need to follow some steps.

Step 1: Planning

When you are travelling with a child, what you need is lots of planning. The planning includes where to go, when to go, where to stay, where to eat etc. If you are travelling for a weekend, try to book a hotel or airbnb as early as possible. Take a pen and paper (or note in your phone) and write down the itinerary for each day. Winging it as you go is bit difficult with a baby (specially an infant). Also, if you have an infant, you might do a quick research regarding the pharmacy/urgent care facilities of your destination.

Step 2: Make List

Start making list of what to take with you at least 1 week before the trip. Keep adding to the the list as soon as you think of anything important. An example of how a list might look like is:

• “x” count of diaper (if you are going away for more days, you can buy diaper depending on where you will be staying. In that case, you don’t need to carry a box of diaper with you)
• Wipes
• Diaper changing pad (multiple)
• Your child’s favorite snacks (take some extra just in case)
• Breastfeeding and breast-pumping necessities (Bottle, breastpump, bottle cleaning supplies etc.)
• Lots of dress for the baby
• Baby food (for my toddler, I would cook some food and freeze them beforehand and take them with me. They will stay cold for a long time during the journey and I would heat them up in a microwave oven or in gas oven depending on where we live. We would have lunch in a restaurant but for the dinner, I would make sure that she is eating something homemade and healthy. Sometimes, I would take some pasta, noodles, rice with me which is very easy to cook at an airbnb. And if you have an infant, you can take any type of baby food that you prefer, including soft fruits, rice cereals etc).
• Some musical toys for the infant to play at the car and some coloring books or story books for the toddler
• Some disposable glass, plates and spoons which might be very handy.
• Phone/tablet charger
• Tablet for your toddler
• A medicine bag containing different types of medicine which you might need (tylenol, gas drop, cough syrup etc.)

Step 3: Packing

Start packing a bit early than usual. Don’t put all the items in the list in your luggage. Depending on your travelling time, put some diaper, wipe, changing pad, baby food, toys/books in the diaper bag which will be near you.

Step 4: Day of Travelling

Start getting ready a couple of hours ago. It’s good if the baby wakes up early that day. in that case, he/she is going to nap longer in the car. Just before you get in the car, feed your infant/toddler and do a diaper change. If your child’s nap time is 1.00pm, try to start at 12.00pm so that he/she will get in the car, play or snack for some time and take a nap. If it’s a 4 hour journey and your child naps for 2 hours, then he/she will wake up from nap and spend 1 more hour in the car and you will reach your destination. In that way, he/she won’t be bored for long time.

Step 5: Travelling

As I told earlier, with an infant try to give a stop after every 2/3 hours. Don’t put the baby too long in the car seat. Pick him/her up when you stop, do a feeding and diaper change and give some snuggles. If he/she is used to bottle, then you can skip the feeding and feed him/her when the car is moving. And with a toddler, I have experienced that stopping in a fast-food chain (like McDonald’s ) is more productive. In that way, we can quickly refreshen, have a quick lunch or snacks, the toddler becomes happy with the new toy and it’s fast and cheap. Within 1 hour, we continue our journey.

Step 5: Staying at an Airbnb or Hotel

For a 1 or 2 day vacation, you can always choose a hotel. But to my experience, Airbnb is more comfortable choice for a longer stay. For a short time also, an Airbnb might be cheaper that hotel if you have a big family. To me, one important reason for choosing Airbnb is the kitchen. I came from Asian background and rice is the staple food for our lunch and dinner. It is the same for my toddler also. So, usually I cook some vegetables and protein from home and freeze them and take them in a cooler. And at the Airbnb, I can quickly cook some rice and serve my toddler some balanced food. Also, for breakfast, we can quickly cook some eggs and have a homecooked meal. It’s all up to your preference. My toddler is a picky eater so I had to adjust to her preference. If you and your children are comfortable with restaurant food, go with it!

Useful Tips:

1. Manage your expectations:
   • If you are on a vacation and going to see new places, don’t expect this trip is going to be something like previous. Keep in mind that you won’t be able to take as much photos as you could earlier. You are going to be tired. You won’t be able to visit all the important places. You have to make adjustments to the little one’s need. Maybe you have to see some places from inside the car.
2. Bathing the baby:
   • Sometimes when you are on a trip, it might be difficult to bath your baby everyday because you might not get time or you might not like the bathroom in your hotel. In that case, opt for alternatives. Soak a towel and carefully wipe you baby’s body including the head. This will sooth the baby.
3. Daily routine disruption:
   • If you are very organized person who likes to follow certain routine, keep in mind that your routine is going to get disrupted. Try not to get too upset about it. If you are used to feeding your baby a very healthy diet, you might have to opt for an unhealthy option few times during the trip. You can minimize the frequency by careful planning but it will be difficult to ignore it completely.
4. Useful gadgets and tools:
   • Take the help of different electrical gadgets to make your trip easy. If you are travelling for a long time and your baby is bottle-fed, you can opt for a portable bottle warmer. Also, you can buy portable food warmer to heat up your toddler’s lunch on the go. When we travelled to Yosemite, where there is not enough restaurants at night, we took our air-fryer with us to heat up some ready to cook food. Research well before buying anything. You don’t want to buy an expensive item and use it once or twice in the whole trip. Think it through if you really need this item or not.
5. Prepare for the cold:
   • Always research about the weather of your destination. Take necessary precaution if there is a cold night. Especially, if you are going to or near mountain, take warm clothes with you.
6. Start small:
   • With an infant, try not to plan a big trip even before he/she has a one day outing. See his/her attitude when you go outside and prepare accordingly.

My advice to you is that, don’t stop travelling altogether once you have a baby. The earlier you start to having small trips with your newborn, the earlier he/she is going to adjust (and even enjoy) these trips. With an active toddler, these trips can be a way of including their active personality to an enjoyable event for all of you.

Dealing with Infant/Toddler ECZEMA as a Parent

Imagine seeing your little one’s super soft creamlike skin and seeing a rough patch on it which looks a bit odd. And days pass and you keep seeing newer patches and within weeks their little back, thigh and cheeks are covered in this little deviled patches. It’s every parent’s nightmare, specially the first time parents. That’s what I experienced with two of my children. Eczema, the thing which is troubling me for the last four years.

I wish I could tell you that this will be gone soon. But I cannot. What I can tell you that it WILL get better (with time, patience and lots and lots of moisturizers).

What is Eczema:

Eczema is a medical condition where the skin develops some rough and inflamed patches which causes itchiness and bleeding (in extreme cases).

Is Eczema genetical:

Not always but there is a strong chance it is. For example, I don’t have any history of eczema but my husband has had some history of skin condition and both of my kids has/had severe eczema.

Does it get better with time:

Yes. I heard a lot that eczema will go away by the time the child is the age of 2. For my elder one, it is not completely true. The frequency of eczema flares popping up will decrease though. My elder one is almost 4 years and still have one or two flares popped once in a while. But it is not like during the infant times when the whole skin got covered in flares.

How to take care of or treat Eczema:

Moisturize: The first thing your pediatrician will tell you is that keep the skin moisturized. And the best occlusive moisturizer available is the Vaseline. It is super cheap and every household has one. The difference between a lotion and Vaseline is that the lotion gets absorbed in the skin and thus moisturizes the skin. And the Vaseline creates a protective layer on skin and traps the skins moisture from outside. Vaseline is very neutral and suitable for all skin types. The drawback is the greasy feeling that comes with it and it might clog some pores (though I never faced this issue).

Eczema relief lotion/cream/bodywash:

Most of the eczema relief moisturizer or bodywash contains 1% colloidal oatmeal as a skin protectant. There are lots of brands in the market to choose from. I have personally tried the Vanicream, Aveeno, Eucerin and gold bond brand. Sometimes it gets difficult to find a certain type of eczema-relief moisturizer in a store but you can experiment with different brands. Initially my elder one got a severe case of newborn eczema and cradle-cap so the pediatrician suggested to use the Cetaphil daily facial cleanser for her whole body. I did that along with Aveeno eczema therapy lotion. But Aveeno eczema therapy lotion was difficult to find so I tried few other ones. Recently, I started using Eucerin eczema relief cream which I really like.

Changing the Detergent:

That’s another thing that your pediatrician will recommend as soon as he/she hears about your little one’s skin problem. The idea is to choose a hypoallergenic, dye-free and fragrance-free detergent for the sensitive skin. You can use it to wash the little one’s cloth only or you can use it for all the family member’s clothes.

Steroid ointment such as Hydrocortisone:

The next thing your doctor is going to recommend is over-the-counter 1% hydrocortisone cream/ointment. Costco has a good deal of 1% hydrocortisone cream of 4 packs. Though choosing ointment over cream is better because ointment is a little bit powerful than the cream though they are both 1%. But ointment comes with the sticky/greasy feeling that we hate. If the OTC hydrocortisone is not proving to be much helpful, the next option is to prescribe higher strength steroid. But it requires a prescription. If the pediatrician sees that all the above mentioned method is not helping your little one, then he/she might prescribe it.

Extreme cases:

Even after doing all the right things, it might go out of hand (as it happened with my younger son). I stopped using steroid for 1 or 2 days as it was not working and I was waiting for an appointment with the doctor. In the meantime the rash got do worse that it became kind of infected and watery substance was coming out of the open rashes. So my pediatrician prescribed very high strength steroid along with antibiotics ointment. After diligently following doctor’s instructions for few days, the situation came under control (thankfully).

Overall treatment I opted for my children:

1. Change the detergent.
2. Bath with eczema therapy/relief bath soap or cleanser.
3. After bath, apply hydrocortisone on the affected areas (or sometimes on the whole body if the body is almost completely covered with flares). On top of hydrocortisone, apply a eczema therapy/relief lotion or cream. On top of it, apply generous amount of vaseline. Try to apply these three layers of cream/lotion/vaseline twice a day.
4. If your little one has eczema or reddish spot in the face, you can apply vaseline before every feeding so that the breastmilk or saliva doesn’t touch the facial skin directly.

What to expect:

You can expect to see better condition of the little one’s skin after following this recipe for few days. If there is no improvement, contact your pediatrician. Even if you follow it, you might see a sudden onset of new flares every now and then. Once the little one’s eczema is under control (there are 1 or 2 flares here and there and they are not covering the whole body), keep using the special bath soap and lotion. And apply hydrocortisone only on the affected areas. And you can move to applying lotion once daily and may be ditch the vaseline if you want. But remember, when you think everything is all better and you move to a simpler routine, you might see that the condition got worse. And you have to move to the aggressive routine of 3 or 4 step care. But know that, this will get better in the long run.

Tips:

• Use cotton hand mittens if your newborn has eczema so he/she doesn’t scratch themself.
• Skip using hydrocortisone once in a while if you think you are using too much medicine on little one’s skin.
• Use humidifier to increase the humidity of the air.
• Massage gently your baby’s whole body with lotion or vaseline to relief from the itching. It will also help with the absorption of the product.
• If you have an active infant who just started to roll/crawl or spends lots of time rubbing his/her face, you can apply the medicine while they are sleeping. When my son was learning how to crawl, his eczema got really worse as he would wipe off all his medicine within few minutes of applying. So I started applying the medicine while he dozed off for the night. And at daytime, I applied the medicine when he settled down for a nap. And that worked wonders for me.