It cracks me up how you want a professional nanny for cheap. But keep fussing how you can get a fantastic person for 16-18/hr.

The rest of us know you get what you pay for.

I had to deal with some one with a similar attitude once - she wore so much perfume that it rubbed off on my baby and by the end of the day, my baby was effectively wearing perfume too. I tried to politely bring it up - that the doctor advised me the baby shouldn't be surrounded by perfume, and this woman went off as if I had violated her most sacred of human rights to smell however she felt she should smell.

Well, that was a Friday and I had some one new by Monday and now I say upfront in interviews that we have a zero perfume policy & I put it in the contract. I really feel like this shouldn't even have to be brought up - anyone professionally working with babies should know it's not healthy to be covered in perfume.

OMG, why are you used perfumed products while professionally working with babies? Clearly your charge is allergic to it, and even if she wasn't, don't you care about the health of her young lungs? If you take Babycare 101, they will tell you no perfume around newborns. If you want to wear that on the weekends, that's your business, but while you're at work, you should not be perfumed -whether it's from a spray or a scented lotion. It means you've showed up not ready for work.

Unscented lotions come in inexpensive brands - there's no reason for you need to need a special kind. But if providing you with unscented lotion was the way to ensure you used the right thing, I'd provide it.

Honestly though, your attitude of needing to have a scent to feel good would really bother me and make me think that working with babies is just not the right fit for you.

Anonymous wrote:If it is lotion the family uses, why can't you use the lotion they have at the house?

(it rubs the lotion on its skin or else it gets the hose again)

This cracked me up.

If it is lotion the family uses, why can't you use the lotion they have at the house?

(it rubs the lotion on its skin or else it gets the hose again)

Bath and Body works lotions smell horrible- full of chemicals and cheap crap. I can smell them across a crowded train, when a person walks by, across a room. When I take an elevator with someone wearing it, I have to hold my breath or else I literally gag.

Seriously, why do so many women wear this crap? Do you have no sense of smell?

Do not wear that lotion around children, especially babies.
If you must wear lotion, get some cheap fragrance free Vaseline Intensive care.

Go to the drug store and get something hypo allergenic. If you have really dry skin, I don't know how you could use the Bath and Body Works stuff, anyway.

As a PP mentioned there's Eucerin, or Aveeno. They should be better on your skin than your Bath and Body Works stuff, too.

If they want you to use their specific lotion they should provide.

If they just don't want you using what you are using, but you can use any unscented lotion, then no.

Anonymous wrote:I did stop using the lotion right away! (As noted above) all I'm saying is I'm being asked to use the lotion that everyone uses in the house which costs $22 for a small bottle. Next time I get a chance I'm going to ask if I can use an off brand because I don't want to spend that on a little bottle. I don't make much and don't want to budget 22 or or more on lotion a month....I hardly have much left after monthly bills.

I think you're being very reasonable, OP. If they don't want you to use any lotion, then you should stop. If you want to use lotion of your own choice that is safe for the baby, then you should pay. But if they expect you to use their preferred lotion, they should provide it for you.

Anonymous wrote:I am going to try coconut oil and see how that works. I expressed that I didn't want to pay $22 for a small bottle of lotion. They agreed I can try something else to see if it works! Thanks for the advice

If it works, look at Sam's Club or another store with the huge jars. I just got 54 oz of coconut oil at Sam's for about $10.

Yes, by all means.

If the mother is mandating you wear this new lotion, then it is entirely up to her to provide it for you free of charge.

If she expects you to pay the added cost of it, she is a nutjob.

Buy a bottle of generic unscented sensitive skin lotion. Odds are your charge would not react. Problem solved.


And wearing scented products to work has strongly fallen out of favor. In addition to asthma, the strong scents are a migraine trigger for many people. Wearing perfume is just unprofessional these days.

I am going to try coconut oil and see how that works. I expressed that I didn't want to pay $22 for a small bottle of lotion. They agreed I can try something else to see if it works! Thanks for the advice

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Special lotion? The mom seems to think whenever I hold the baby she breaks out in a rash? She thinks it's the lotion I use? She gave me one bottle to try out, the baby stopped breaking out. This lotion has no smell to it and I am not a fan! I do not want the little girl to break out in a rash but, should the family supply me the lotion since they want me to use it? It's a lot more money then my bath and body works lotion and I don't care to spend the extra money on something I don't even like ?

Let the mom take decisions,your are not the mother.

The issue is the increased expense of mom's preferred product.

Anonymous wrote:Special lotion? The mom seems to think whenever I hold the baby she breaks out in a rash? She thinks it's the lotion I use? She gave me one bottle to try out, the baby stopped breaking out. This lotion has no smell to it and I am not a fan! I do not want the little girl to break out in a rash but, should the family supply me the lotion since they want me to use it? It's a lot more money then my bath and body works lotion and I don't care to spend the extra money on something I don't even like ?

Let the mom take decisions,your are not the mother.