Udderly Smooth Udder Cream lotion was originally developed for use on dairy cows and the product still bears the instructions for use on cattle, as a treatment for cracked or sore udders.

I first herd… sorry, bad joke… heard about Udder Cream from a friend whose six-month-old baby had eczema, and was having a difficult time finding anything that would relive it. Her son’s pediatrician recommended Udder Cream, and reassured her that he didn’t think that her baby was a calf and that the cream was perfectly safe for human babies, and that he had used it on his own children.

My son, a few months older, also had eczema and dry skin on his legs and arms. I had been using other lotions but hadn’t found one that helped. So, I tried the Udder Cream on the rash, and on his dry skin. A few days later, his dry skin was much improved, and while his eczema rash was still there, it didn’t seem to be bothering him so much. We used it twice-daily from then on.

One of the first compliments I received on a date with the man who turned out to be a serious relationship was what soft skin I had. Oops, did I mention that I’d been stealing it? Mom’s skin takes plenty of abuse, with frequent handwashing after all those diaper changes, and baths and all that extra laundry and housework babies generate. I love using it on my hands, and I keep a pot in the kitchen, and one in the bathroom.

It comes in a nice big screw-top tub that cost about $5 each and last a long time, and then are useful for storing bits of toddler toys in when empty.

The downside is that it’s hard to find in stores. I order mine online in packs of six. Ace Hardware is the only store that (sometimes) carries it in my town, but you can order a tub online and have it shipped to your local store for free.

And a little warning – the cream contains lanolin, which is a natural product from sheep, but rarely, it can cause an allergic reaction. I’d advise doing a patch test and trying a little out on your baby and watching for a reaction before using it.

I love Udder Cream. It helps dry skin better than any other lotion I’ve tried, and it made a big difference on my son’s eczema. The best part is that it’s cheap enough to try even if you’re unsure.

This week, the New York Times says that dirt and worms are actually good for your baby.

Babies love putting horrible stuff in their mouths. Rediscovered ancient cheerios dropped weeks ago, fluff from under the bed, and grot they find in the grass at the park. I know a couple of babies who love to eat sand, and the contents of the dog’s bowl is irresistible to just about every crawler.

Scientists and moms alike have wondered why on earth babies do this. It’s hazardous, for one – small objects can choke a baby. And things from the ground are covered in germs and dirt and dog drool and other unpleasant substances that make babies sick.

Or do they?

Being worried about small objects choking a baby is a very real and valid concern, us moms have to always be vigilant about what baby is putting in her mouth.

But dirt, dogfood and Jurassic crackers? That could be a different story. A growing number of doctors are advocating letting your child play in the dirt, and taste it too.

A newborn baby’s immune system mostly doesn’t know how to deal with germs in the real world. It has to learn what to do with bacteria and viruses that the baby may encounter. When a baby sucks something she finds on the floor, she’s ingesting a small amount of bacteria and viruses and her infant immune system gets to practice responding to the bacteria or virus. It’s critical that this happens, so when baby is exposed to a large amount of that bacteria/virus, her immune system knows what to do and she won’t get sick, or won’t get as sick.

Some scientists theorize that today’s clean environment is responsible for kids with perma-stuffy noses, allergies and eczema, and serious immune system disorders like multiple sclerosis, type 1 diabetes and inflammatory bowel disease, which are all on the rise. Babies just aren’t exposed to as many germs as they need to train their immune systems.

It’s well known that children who live on farms and are exposed to all kinds of germs get sick less often than children who live in nice clean houses in the suburbs. And I’m sure you know a parent who has a spic-and-span home but a baby who is always missing playdates because he is sick.

You probably have heard that theory already, and maybe you quoted it to yourself when you decided to watch Gossip Girl instead of wash the kitchen floor. And you probably did the right thing.

And now scientists from the University of Iowa have upped the ick factor. Not only do they encourage babies tasting muck from the sandbox, they theorize that intestinal worms are responsible for training infant immune systems. It’s becoming much less common for someone to have worms in America these days, and the researchers lament the demise of the worms. Apparently, worms play a very important role in learning immune response, and the scientists have successfully treated and improved symptoms of patients with the immune disease multiple sclerosis by infecting them with intestinal worms.

When you say “worms”, most people think of tape worms, the kind that give you an itchy bum. And while some types of worms cause serious complications, there are also many other species of worms that live in human gastrointestinal tracts, such as the whipworm used in the MS study, which don’t cause symptoms in low numbers, and are basically harmless in healthy well-nourished people.

It ties in with the theory about the kids raised on farms who don’t get sick so much. They are much more likely to have contracted worms from the farm animals.

I can’t get my head around letting my kid get worms. I love that someone has thought up this theory and it’s even more wild that it seems to improve patients with MS and Crohn’s disease. But I still don’t think I could willfully expose my son to worms. I think I’ll wait for more evidence.

But dirt? I am in agreement that a little dirt isn’t bad for you. In my house everyone washes their hands before meals, before and after preparing food, and after diaper changes, but otherwise my household is generally clean but in no way sterile. So when I see my son picking between his toes then eating the gerber puffs that have been under the couch for a month, I don’t care.

Necessity is the mother of invention, as they say – well, emphasis the mother part of that expression.  You know when you are out with your baby, and suddenly you realize that you have forgotten something vital?

I’ve made my own wipes with paper towels, soap and water to change my son when we were out and I forgot to bring wipes with me. I’ve duct-taped diapers shut when the tabs broke off, and made a baby carrier for my son with a shirt. How? Watch this video – you can also improvise a baby carrier with a pair of sweatpants or a towel.

I’ve also forgotten to bring a diaper out on one occasion, and created a makeshift diaper from a receiving blanket and a plastic shopping bag. How? Fold receiving blanket in half diagonally to make a triangle. Long side wraps around baby’s waist, third point of triangle goes between baby’s legs, tie the corners together. Then poke two leg holes in the bottom of the plastic bag, insert baby’s bottom in bag, tie bag handles around baby’s waist together to secure. Replace baby’s pants and ignore strangers who are looking at the odd rustling baby. Naturally, keep an eye on baby to ensure baby doesn’t pull the plastic bag apart and that no plastic bag accidents happen.  The receiving blanket is absorbent and the plastic bag is fairly waterproof.  The best part of this is that I did my MacGyver diaper, not somewhere discrete, but was forced to do so in the middle of Waikiki Beach.

And conversely, baby and toddler products can be useful for moms too. I used a Crayola paintbrush to apply eye makeup the other day, lansinoh nipple cream on a patch of eczema (worked a treat) and used a shovel from the sand box to open a locked window when I locked myself and my baby out of the house. I’m not telling you how I did that just in case someone else decides to break in!

There’s a theme running here… you might be thinking perhaps I need to be a bit more organized and a little less forgetful? Hey, I’m a busy mom, and forgetting keys/diapers/wipes happens… at least to me, anyway! And mom creativity has usually saved the day.

Do you have any clever mom tricks or improvisations to share?

Once, the American Academy of Pediatricians recommended that parents of children at higher risk of eczema and allergies held off feeding their babies certain foods until age 3. The thinking was that if parents avoided foods that cause a large percentage of all food allergies, like fish, until the child was older, then their immune system would be better able to cope with a possible allergic reaction.

In 2008 the AAP reversed their recommendation, saying there was no convincing evidence that eating fish early did increase the likelihood of allergies. And a study from Sweden now suggests that babies who start to eat fish between 6 and 9 months may actually have a lower risk of developing eczema.

The type of fish eaten didn’t seem to make any difference. Researchers had thought that the affect might have been due to omega-3 fatty acids found in certain fish, but now they believe that’s not the cause.

White fish is the least “fishy” tasting and can be pureed for younger babies, and of course fish sticks are always popular with older babies and toddlers.

German researchers claim that having a dog in your home during your child?s infancy, reduces your child?s risk of developing allergies. Their findings were based upon a 6 year study of 9,000 children and were published in the European Respiratory Journal recently. The findings show that having a dog in the home is associated with a significantly lower level of sensitization to pollens and inhaled allergens.

Scientists admit that they aren?t totally sure how the presence of a dog would reduce the risk of allergies, but theorize that perhaps the results give credence to a theory that growing up with a pet trains the immune system to be less sensitive to potential triggers for allergies like asthma, eczema and hay fever. Scientist believe that perhaps youngsters may get beneficial early exposure from the germs carried into the house on the animal?s fur, which helps their immune system develop.

When I came across this study recently, my husband and I joked that our dog isn?t quite up to snuff as our son has developed both allergies and asthma. Then again, we?re in the middle of home renovations which our doctor pointed out can stir up dust and mold which could cause the allergies and asthma.

So, do the negative effects of home renovation outweigh the positive effects of having a dog? Sounds like someone should research that!

A Dutch study published in the British Journal of Nutrition has shown that where pregnant women consumed organic dairy products instead of the non-organic version there was significant reduction in the occurrence of eczema (36%) and of wheezing (11%) in their children by the age of 24 months.

This is part of an ongoing study called the Koala Birth Cohort Study which is comparing the benefits of a consumption of organic products with non-organic.

Organic Dairy Lowers the Risk of Eczema in Early Childhood

Organic Milk Reduces Eczema

Buy Organic Online: The Top Websites