Nurturing baby’s solar callus

Benefits of sunlight for babies, how to build a newborn solar callus, and why to question sunscreen use on babies

How much sunlight can a baby’s delicate skin handle?

I still remember the first time we brought our eldest daughter outdoors: it was to watch a lunar eclipse!

As the summer went on, we didn’t have a specific daylight strategy.

But the weather was nice and our home was small.

Years past my grandmother had taught me that the skin is an absorptive organ.

As such, you don’t put anything on your skin you wouldn’t put in your mouth.

Thanks to Grandma’s guidance, I have never kept sunscreen in the house.

I honestly didn’t think much about protecting my baby from the sun until I had a guest exclaim over my baby’s beautiful, sun-kissed skin.

“I want a tan baby!” she said. “My babies were always pasty white.”

Then she went on to ask, “But aren’t you worried about her getting skin damage?”

We were outside visiting in the yard, thanks to aforementioned tiny house.

I wasn’t worried then, and I continue to trust my ability to intuit how much sun my babies can handle.

The more I learn, the more I am sur…