Mothers can identify their infants by their smell alone within hours of giving birth. It’s an amazing ability that never goes away.
Not all mothers are aware of this fact since some of them unknowingly mask the scent of their babies. My writer friend of my mother’s generation used to bathe her sons at least once per day if not more often, such as when a particularly explosive poop arrived. She reported that her kids smelled like baby soap and powder.
But ask my mother-in-law to identify each of her four adult sons by smell and not only can she do it, she elaborates on where, exactly, they smell the strongest. She says it’s from washing their clothes for so many years, but chances are she knew it the minute she held them for the first time.
As a newborn, my daughter hated baths. My husband and I would do everything in our power to hasten the process for her to no avail. She would scream so hysterically that it occurred to me on more than one occasion that she could give herself an infant sized aneurism.
The thought of causing her such trauma in the first weeks of her life would send me into tears during bath time. My husband and I quickly decided to just abandon the project by putting it off as long as possible. Before anyone gets the wrong idea, explosive poop did factor in when deciding whether to give a daily washcloth wipe down or a full out into the bathtub, screaming, tiny fists waving, feet kicking, frantic infant bath.
Prolonging bath day did have its advantages. Mia’s smell was beyond heavenly. She was born in August in Florida, and as any Floridian knows, even with air conditioning August means sweat. Mia’s sweat was sweet – a mix between my husband’s and my smells. I would have paid a million dollars to bottle it.
The summer baby sweat made for fantastic neck cheese – “cheese” that grows in the folds of a chubby baby. It’s disgusting and gross for some moms. Not me. It smelled just like my husband does after a run – strong but compelling. Cheesy neck wafted off of Mia every time she moved, and I loved it. I would delay her bath even longer just for a few more whiffs.
The only time a bath was imminent was after a heavily perfumed, blue-haired elderly woman happened to get her hands on Mia. This would happen inadvertently and without warning while grocery shopping. My daughter would be hovered over and prodded. A cloud of expensive old-lady perfume would settle on her. I would dart home and give her the long awaited, apocalypsal bath so she would once again smell like herself.
Mia’s scent began to change half way between her second and third birthdays. One day in the high heat of summer she came running at me on the playground, her body odor preceding her. Who was this small, stinky child, and where did my sweet smelling baby go?
I went home and reported to my husband that our daughter had inherited his very male stinky gene. It didn’t bode well for adolescence. By now, Mia was getting a bath almost daily, but this new odor sealed her fate. The days of skipping baths were finally over.
I now love the scent of freshly bathed small child. Fruity shampoos and foamy soaps now waft off of Mia. But I admit that on the way into the bathtub, I sometimes give her a nuzzle on the side of her neck. She laughs, tilting her head to one side and tucking her chin to her chest, tickled, and I take a good long whiff.
References
Hormones and Behavior. 2004 Sep;46(3):284-302.
Olfactory regulation of maternal behavior in mammals.
Levy F, Keller M, Poindron P.
Equipe Comportement, Station PRC, UMR 6175 INRA/CNRS/Universite de
Tours/Haras Nationaux, 37380, Nouzilly, France.
Genetica. 1998-99;104(3):259-63 Olfaction and human kin recognition.
Porter RH.
Physiol Behav. 1983 Jan;30(1):151-4
Maternal recognition of neonates through olfactory cues.
Porter RH, Cernoch JM, McLaughlin FJ.
PMID: 6836038 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
Acta Paediatr. 1998 Jan;87(1):6-10.
Olfaction and human neonatal behaviour: clinical implications.
Winberg J, Porter RH.
Department of Woman and Child Health, Karolinska Hospital, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden.
PMID: 9510439 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
Top Tip #5
Wipeys - Carry with you at all times. In the beginning, they go in the diaper bag. Once your kids are out of diapers, keep a pack in the car. They clean hands before eating, clean stuff they pick up somehow off the ground and want to keep, and even clean up spills in the car. They’re indespensible!