My 4-week-old son looks like he has moderate acne and I was NOT prepared for this. I keep wanting to do something about it but the pediatrician is like "leave it alone" and apparently it'll go away in a few weeks. Why does he look like a teenager right now? Why didn't anyone mention this?
One thing that helped my brain was just reading that it's literally just hormones from birth and will resolve on its own. Made it easier to not obsess. Your pediatrician is right - leave it alone.
It goes away fast though - usually by 6-8 weeks it's basically gone. Might pop back up once or twice but nothing like those first weeks. Just documenting it in photos so you can laugh about it later lol
This should be in every baby prep book instead of buried in parenting forums. Like yeah we talk about poop colors and sleeping and feeding but nobody mentions that newborns can look like tiny pizzas for a month.
Nobody warns you about a LOT of newborn stuff. The peeling skin, the weird noises they make, the acne - it's like they only tell you about colic and sleep. Congrats on the 4-weeker though, that newborn fog is real and you're doing great if you're noticing things
The fact that you WANT to do something about it shows you care, but honestly this is one of those things where doing nothing IS the right move. Your skin's job is to tell you when a newborn needs something - acne ain't it. Diaper rash, weird rashes that don't blanch - those get attention
I think the hardest part about baby acne is that it comes right when you're already paranoid about everything. Like okay I'm checking his temperature 47 times a day and THEN his face looks infected. Brain goes brrr
Baby acne is wild right? Looks SO bad but yeah, truly does just vanish. My son had it worse at like week 5-6 and I was googling dermatologists. Gone by 10 weeks and I felt dumb for worrying. Just don't pick at it (hardest part) and you're golden
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Dude yes, the baby acne caught me OFF GUARD. I thought something was wrong with him and I was googling like crazy. Pedi was like "stop touching his face" and it cleared up like a week later. Your son is gonna be fine, just frustrating to look at lol.
The hardest part is NOT doing anything when you can see it. I kept wanting to gently wipe his face or use some cream and had to like physically stop myself. Hands off is the move.