When Audrey and Antonino were around 3 months old, I noticed an unusually funky scent while dressing them. So I sniffed around as most moms are wont to do and discovered that the rotten smell was coming from their necks! Now, I've heard stories about baby poo smelling so bad you'd need a face mask just to get through the nappy change, but for me, this was worse! It was like stinky cheese! So I tipped their heads back and there it was - stinky white stuff in their neck folds. It was a combination of milk and drool that slid from Audrey and Antonino's chins to the folds of their necks and stayed there to age until they developed an intense cheesy smell. Joey and I both agreed it smelled like blue cheese.
I couldn't believe what I just saw (and smelled)! The twins were bathed everyday and used bibs while feeding. They never had this problem when they were in the hospital for three weeks and at home with us for over a month. What was so different then? The answer: their necks or lack thereof. When they were newborns up to 2 months old, they were so thin and tiny with pronounced necks. But at 3 months, they started to fill up and become chubbier. Slowly, their heads began to sit on their shoulders, hiding their necks and neck folds from plain sight! Add to this our country's warm weather and tada... you get a baby neck cheese factory! It was a good thing that our only problem was stink. Since baby skin is super delicate, most babies end up getting red spots in between their neck folds because of milk deposits. We're lucky the twins were spared from this.
Based on our experience, there really isn't anything that can be done to prevent the formation of baby neck cheese if your baby is a messy bottle drinker who spits and drools frequently. But the good news is, we discovered the best way to clean it through trial and error.
After the stinky cheese discovery, we paid extra attention to the twins' necks. We quickly found out that it's kind of tough cleaning their necks right after they drink milk because they're usually asleep by then and no matter how careful we are at tilting their heads, they still wake up and end up getting cranky. Not a good thing at all. We also tried cleaning their necks during nappy change time while they lay on their backs. Of course they would squirm and even tuck their chins down to their chests which made it impossible to get to their neck folds! Luckily, we discovered the best technique by accident. We usually let the twins lie belly down on our tummies while we talk or sing to them. Naturally, they would try to hold their heads up and stretch their necks so they could also interact with us. When they do this, we quickly wipe their necks with a cotton ball dipped in water followed by a dry wash cloth. When the smell is so bad, we use cotton balls dipped in diluted baby soap first then follow the usual wet cotton ball and dry washcloth procedure. We found that Mustela works best and makes them smell so clean and fresh. We would always have the wet cotton balls and a washcloth by our side before doing tummy time so we can quickly clean them up. You can say it's like cleanup disguised as play time but it's really effective.
So if you have a baby with neck cheese, don't despair! You're not alone. I guess it's just one of those things we have to go through as new parents. Maybe you can give our sneaky cleanup method a go. I hope it works for you and your little ones too. And if you have any other baby neck cheese cures, share them in the comments below!
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