WORRIED ABOUT YOUR BABY'S SKIN? MD MOMS TO THE RESCUE!

Sometimes it's tough to be a baby… Sure, they get to sleep and eat a lot, don't have to work and they have more personal help than most royalty. But they also have very sensitive skin and what with diapers, umbilical cord plugs and baby acne, the chance of irritation and rashes is pretty high. Plus, products for adults - like laundry detergent and bath soap - are often too harsh for their delicate skin. J.J. Levenstein and Diane Truong, the two Clever Parents behind Baby Silk™ understand. “(B)abies aren't miniature adults. They need special products formulated just for them, with ingredients that are gentle, pure and effective.”

J.J. and Diane are not only Clever Parents, they are also practicing board-certified pediatricians. The MD Moms, as they go by, make sure that Baby Silk™ products are free of skin irritants like petroleum and mineral oils and are instead made from ingredients like botanicals and vitamins “to provide antioxidant protection, relieve dryness, promote healing, and protect the skin's natural moisture barrier.” Plus Baby Silk™  products have a scent that is “almost as yummy as that new-baby smell” and the products go own like a lotion, but dry to the touch like a fine powder.

Another great aspect of Baby Silk™ products is that they come packaged in a way that makes life easier for parents (tubes come with flip caps that can be opened one-handed while changing a baby; bottles have tip over resistant wide bases; sunscreen comes in towelettes for easy application).

And Clever Parents is especially impressed that every year the MD Moms designate a children's Charity of the Year to receive a portion of the proceeds of their sales. In fact, we're so impressed with the MD Moms that we've asked them to contribute a regular Clever Parents column.

We thought it would be fun to ask the two esteemed doctors a question that has likely been in the mind of many Clever Parents as it pertains to your own pediatricians: "What has becoming a mom taught you that medical school didn't prepare you for?" You won't be disappointed with their answers.

Dr. JJ:
Medical school teaches the student methodical orderly thinking so you can work your way through a problem, and enroute to the solution or diagnosis, a predictable train of thought is used..... but then, enter emotion!  You get an early taste of what it's like to be a mom, when you inevitably become emotionally involved with a patient - whether it is a dying story- telling grandmother, a child with leukemia, or just a lost soul in need of a hug....so what happens to that methodical thought process....it's still there,  but takes many twists and turns as your emotional self throws it off track....hence the introduction to being a parent....methodically we plan a conception and pregnancy (in my case had to sandwich Max's birth into a tight 4th year of medical school), methodically we set up our orderly nursery, carefully construct our birth plan, and envision ourselves riding that train of parenthood from start to finish without a hitch.....and then, enter emotion!  Hold your breath as he waits to take his first inhalation of air outside the womb....and throw all orderly thought out the window...you gaze at this baby and most objective thought is lost to wanting to drop everything to meet his every need...when just a moment ago life was about meeting your own, your spouses' and your patient's needs.....reality check.....that orderly regimented medical education actually might help you structure your day a little better, a soothe a boo boo with real medicine...but then enter emotion! and mom cries more than baby (when he's not looking)....the fear and terror we often feel with patients (but can stow in a safer place in our hearts) unleashes itself without warning when danger gets near our kids.....so, we make a living helping, healing, hand holding, advising, and loving, and we do the same with our own children.  Our payment on both ends is an indelible memory we create for all children in our care....what a great job we have being the MD Moms!

Dr. Diane:
Going to medical school and training to become a pediatrician taught me to recognize a critically ill child, to diagnose uncommon symptoms and to treat illnesses with an objective eye.

All those lessons somehow evaporated when I became a mom.  I was hysterical when my toddler fell off the swing for the first time, believing she had sustained a brain injury.  I couldn't ascertain whether a cough was from a mere cold or pneumonia when my baby developed this symptom in the midst of a flu epidemic.  Never mind watchful waiting when my son's swollen red eyes did not improve, it was critical that I receive a second opinion from an ophthalmologist….yesterday! I became the mom of my profession's worse nightmare.

Needless to say, being a mom taught me valuable lessons which did not come from any lectures or textbooks: empathy for other moms' anxiety, compassion for other moms' crises and patience for other moms' concerns.  It has helped me become a much better pediatrician….just don't ask me to treat my own kids!

Learn more and buy Baby Silk™ products at www.m dmoms.com.