Did you know that the majority of the clothing and creams that we stock originate from small companies around the world, all founded by people who either have eczema themselves, or who have a child with eczema? It’s thanks to this inspirational bunch of people that there are so many amazing products now available to help soothe sore and itchy skin. We would like to introduce you to the wonderful people behind these companies and let them tell you why they do what they do!
Today, Kelly from Bamboo Bubby in Australia, tells us how she came to design the first ever sleeping bag made specifically for babies and children with eczema.
Kelly Northey, Founder of Bamboo Bubby
The Bamboo Bubby Bag was born back in 2010, when I was a new mum to a 6 month old baby, who while was completely gorgeous, had suffered eczema since he was born. Due to the discomfort of this, he had barely slept longer then 30-40 minute stints day or night for that entire time. To call us sleep deprived was an understatement!
As all parents of eczema children do, we were in the midst of trying everything we could purchase from the pharmacy to try and find the solution to it, while also anxiously awaiting appointments with specialist skin clinics and allergy testing results. However, nothing with eczema is a quick fix and each day seemed a month long when nothing seemed to solve the ongoing battle we had with sleep every single day.
We found that some of our baby’s sleep time scratching was minimized while he was young enough to be wrapped or swaddled tightly (as long as he didn’t fight his way out of it, which was often too). But this all changed dramatically when at 6 months of age he learnt to roll, meaning an end to being able to be wrapped safety, as babies need access to their hands to be able to roll themselves back over.
I then started using baby sleeping bags with him and found that it was long-sleeved ones that worked best as I could use a larger size and try to fold over the ends of the sleeves so he couldn’t scratch as much. However all the long-sleeved ones were designed for cold weather and being an already hot, flaring eczema baby were too hot for him and yet all the lightweight summer type ones which he slept better in were sleeveless.
Integral scratch mitts that grow with your child.
So, I invented the Bamboo Bubby sleeping bag, with its unique Adjust-a-Sleeve design allowing it to grow with babies from ages 6 months to 2+ years (because having to continually upgrade these sleeping bags each couple of months was also annoying and expensive).
After much research into the best type of fabric to use, I sourced a bamboo-cotton blend fabric, which I chose not only for its superior softness compared to other cotton fabrics, but also for the many specific benefits that bamboo fabric has including low abrasion, natural breathability and exceptional wicking (drying) properties, which make it ideal for use against eczema skin.
The completely enclosed, adjustable sleeves allowed my baby’s hands to be covered to stop scratching damage. We found just doing this, prevented the countless wake-ups caused by scratching and finally gave his skin the chance it needed to begin to heal.
We found that using the Bamboo Bubby Bag in conjunction with layering of moisturisers as suggested by a dermatology nurse and working out his food triggers by means of elimination (turns out he had a cow milk protein intolerance), really was the turning point for us in the healing process. The Bubby Bag unexpectedly became our baby’s sleep queue, which in turned created the bedtime routine he needed making sleep a lot less stressful for us all. Even now at age nearly 4, if he’s ever feeling under the weather or having a flare-up he’ll still ask for his Bubby Bag because he associates it with comfort!
These photos were taken during such a flare up only recently:
Since initially launching the Bamboo Bubby Bag on a basic website and Facebook page with limited number of stock on hand, the business has grown rapidly with Bamboo Bubby Bags now helping thousands of eczema babies and their families worldwide. The Facebook page has also grown to an active and supportive online community of nearly 4000 likers, where quality eczema information to help families is shared regularly to help raise awareness of eczema and give parents support through what is a really distressing and isolating time that only other eczema parents going through the same can ever truly comprehend.
I really am pleased and proud that a small idea born during a desperate and sleep deprived time has grown so quickly and now helped so many other families too worldwide!
Kelly is always happy to talk more about eczema or Bamboo Bubby Bags on her Facebook page at www.facebook.com/bamboobubby
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