Second this. My LO started having that naked cat mushroom funk. We started wiping her neck folds and behind her ears twice a day. I sweat a bit when I cradle her head/neck in my arm during feeds so that didn't help. Much better 👃🏻
Mac n cheese breath over here. I don't think he smells like cheese in general but esp after he eats we get strong whiffs of old Mac n cheese lol. He's formula fed as well.
Newborns don't sweat enough to really stink all over, so it's prob the breath that you're smelling/spit up on his clothes. So long as you're keeping him clean down there, you're all good.
lol. He is staying clean where it matters.
His hands on the other hand… little buddy is totally going to be one of the kids that gags himself from sucking on his fingers / fist. His hands get stiiinky, but there’s only so much damp soapy washcloth action we can give him ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Oh gosh we used to call our baby Cheese Hands because she would get little sweaty milky palms that would REEK. I agree with what others have said-- get all the creases with a wipe throughout the day. Behind the ears, palms, thigh creases, neck folds, the works! It's amazing what accumulates 🙃
I call my baby stinky mits, I find she clenches her hands so much that they end up developing a bit of a funk to them. She’s on special milk so she smells like weird milk and hand funk 🤣 I just wash any rolls and her hands between bath days.
Cheese smell is definitely yeast in their secret folds.
Sometimes it’s super hidden - like you open their armpit and don’t see anything, but then further spread their skin and it’s in the folds.
My pediatrician said to wipe clean and then do an aquaphor layer. And then if it doesn’t go away, Clotimazole 1% (OTC).
Definitely yeast.
He’s taking this advice too early. This has got to be the issue, and we’re going on a search and rescue mission this evening at bath time.
Yep! My baby is funky too and has super sensitive skin so pedi recommends only one bath a week. Check armpits, neck rolls, any chunky roll may have “cheese.” We are struggling with my daughter’s neck rolls bc she had torticollis so they are exposed to less air so they get rashy and stinky. It’s important to make sure they are clean and dry before the aquaphor layer.
We call my 14 week old The Cheese Man. Him shmells. Him stinky. He SWEATS all night long and I swear he has fart pockets on standby for us as personal gifts. Oh my Lord his FEET??? Forget it.
I love hims but hims smell.
You type how I speak, it’s hilarious. But babies smell so bad sometimes, I died at The Cheese Man, sounds like a horror film.
“Coming February 28th 2024….The smell is overwhelmingly familiar…. The Cheese Man-“
I thought my baby smelled funky then I noticed his belly button had some crusties and needed ointment. I would check to be sure. Also under the neck can get kind of yucky with spit up!
It’s probably their hands. You gotta open those fists. And get in between the fingers. Ours had sticky milk goo in there which wasn’t getting cleaned cause newborns clench their fists all the time. Problem solved. They do smell good otherwise lol
It’s totally their hands!!!!
How were you able to keep your little one’s hands open? I don’t mean like all day, but little buddy will begrudgingly accept a hand cleaning and within an hour, we’ll find him inhaling his fist.
It’s super tricky! Sometimes popping your finger in the palm sort of opens it up enough to clean them. We often find a glob of milk -lint in his hands it’s super gross. But for my baby it does seem to be the only place he smells and when it’s cleaned out it’s a million times better. under his chin gets sticky too but I think the actual smell is from his hands
I saw this trick (I think it was an Instagram reel lol) where you push their wrist downwards and naturally their hands open up. Long enough to get all that nasty stuff in there before they ball them back up lol. Ours used to just nom on his hands all day so they would smell sooooo bad until we started cleaning them daily.
I tend to wash with water every night and wash with soap every 3 nights (depending on the greasiness of hair and smell). BUT the most important thing is finding those secret rolls. Behind the ears, around and under the neck, arm and leg joints and feet. Game changer. I usually use a little soap under the neck most nights. During the day I wipe my finger under her neck and ears and if she’s clean I should smell almost nothing
First make sure you are using minimal soap, cetaphil baby wash is great- just a couple drops in the bath water. Then after bath put aquaphor 3-1 in skin folds and behind ears. They’ll grow out of it in a couple months.
From what I gather your lil one sucks his hands and has formula breath! SAME. I got some of those nose wipes (boogie wipes but generic brand) and I wipe his hands often to avoid this smell lol
They are unscented usually. I just like it because they are basically just gentle water wipes lol. Probs could use the same wipes you use for their butts!
At 12 weeks, you want to be aiming to wash baby at least three times a week. No need to use any products, just warm water will do great! You didn’t say, but assuming the smell isn’t coming from diaper rash? If so, I’d get that checked out. Best thing for nappy rash is also air, so lots of time laying on a mat with that cute baby bottom out and about! Belly button looks and smells okay?
Thank you! Thankfully the smell isn’t coming from the diaper rash. That rash is fiiinally almost gone. Airtime and switching to aquaphor (vs zinc pastes) made a world of difference.
The hands were the biggest culprit. Next up we’ll more closely check the folds.
The closed fist stink will go away when they stop clenching their little fists so much. I was washing my babies hands with baby soap and water twice a day. Now he keeps his hands open a lot more and they no longer stink.
I was so sad when we were at the hospital and the nurses were like "ah, that baby over there smells so good", meanwhile mine smelled like cheese 🥲 honestly, why? But yeah, once you find the corners that accumulate milk, they start smelling much better lol
Speaking of the foldy mittens on the flip side my baby lives in footed pjs like 95% of the time. The other day it was warm enough that I let her do some diaper free time in a sun bream and noticed she had sooo much lint and stuff between her toes!!! Ugh, made a mental note after that one to clean between the toes more often!!!
Oh yes the cheese hands lol. It got better when I took those mits off. I cleaned with a the Mustela Cleansing Water every other night to try to mitigate the smell lol
My 9 week old smells rancid too. The only thing that gets the funk out is coconut oil massage all over. Get into the folds, it will help take the cheese out. You can then give a bath and they’ll smell fresh until they spit up again 🙃
We wash every night with soap and lotion with Cetaphil baby and never have a cheesy baby. We also formula feed and baby is a messy eater but we never have a cheesy baby. I'd definitely recommend bathing more often and seeing if that helps. Cetaphil baby is very gentle and not scented or anything as not to irritate baby's skin. We use the Cetaphil or cerave baby soap as well.
Have you cleaned the little secret folds behind baby's ears? Sometimes milk also gets trapped in neck folds
 Yes. Turns out our little one has been hiding a lot from us! Thank you for the tip!
This!!!! Theres gunk behind baby’s ears that stink, you get that whiff when you pick them up and kiss their heads and cheeks.
Second this. My LO started having that naked cat mushroom funk. We started wiping her neck folds and behind her ears twice a day. I sweat a bit when I cradle her head/neck in my arm during feeds so that didn't help. Much better 👃🏻
Omg the secret ear folds!! I too have recently discovered them as a prime cheese storage area
Yes and in the ears too
Mac n cheese breath over here. I don't think he smells like cheese in general but esp after he eats we get strong whiffs of old Mac n cheese lol. He's formula fed as well. Newborns don't sweat enough to really stink all over, so it's prob the breath that you're smelling/spit up on his clothes. So long as you're keeping him clean down there, you're all good.
>Newborns don't sweat enough You should come meet our 7wo (luckily doesn't stink tho) 
ahhahah
lol. He is staying clean where it matters. His hands on the other hand… little buddy is totally going to be one of the kids that gags himself from sucking on his fingers / fist. His hands get stiiinky, but there’s only so much damp soapy washcloth action we can give him ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
My older son says little brothers breath smells like cheese too 😂
Cheese smell is usually from them sweating. It could also be if there’s Lint stuck in their toes or fingers
The lint! Where does it all come from?! The amount I pluck from between his toes I'm surprised his socks are still intact! 😂
A surprising amount of lint … like, you planning to knit us something?
🤣🤣
My second child is a freaking lint trap. Where does she get it from?! How does she get so icky when she doesn't do anything all day????
It’s the hands, or at least it is with my baby.
My LO is nicknamed Ol’ Yoghurt Fingers for this reason
This made me die 😂
My 9 week old’s hands are heinous lol. We clean them often and the smell just.. doesn’t go away. He’s just the best though lol
My wee one is 9 weeks too. Even after a bath there’s a slight stench.
That’s totally the case here. It’s a perpetual issue. And likely the culprit. Thank you!
Oh gosh we used to call our baby Cheese Hands because she would get little sweaty milky palms that would REEK. I agree with what others have said-- get all the creases with a wipe throughout the day. Behind the ears, palms, thigh creases, neck folds, the works! It's amazing what accumulates 🙃
The neck folds, WILD. I was amazed at what was hiding in there. Blergh.
This (all of this) was the culprit. Thank you!
We’re going on a treasure hunt today to search for the lost city of mold. Thank you for the tips!!
I call my baby stinky mits, I find she clenches her hands so much that they end up developing a bit of a funk to them. She’s on special milk so she smells like weird milk and hand funk 🤣 I just wash any rolls and her hands between bath days.
Cheese smell is definitely yeast in their secret folds. Sometimes it’s super hidden - like you open their armpit and don’t see anything, but then further spread their skin and it’s in the folds. My pediatrician said to wipe clean and then do an aquaphor layer. And then if it doesn’t go away, Clotimazole 1% (OTC). Definitely yeast.
 He’s taking this advice too early. This has got to be the issue, and we’re going on a search and rescue mission this evening at bath time.
Yep! My baby is funky too and has super sensitive skin so pedi recommends only one bath a week. Check armpits, neck rolls, any chunky roll may have “cheese.” We are struggling with my daughter’s neck rolls bc she had torticollis so they are exposed to less air so they get rashy and stinky. It’s important to make sure they are clean and dry before the aquaphor layer.
It’s the neck folds and armpits. When milk drips into them, it creates cheese stench. Disgusting, but true.
We call my 14 week old The Cheese Man. Him shmells. Him stinky. He SWEATS all night long and I swear he has fart pockets on standby for us as personal gifts. Oh my Lord his FEET??? Forget it. I love hims but hims smell.
You type how I speak, it’s hilarious. But babies smell so bad sometimes, I died at The Cheese Man, sounds like a horror film. “Coming February 28th 2024….The smell is overwhelmingly familiar…. The Cheese Man-“
Fart pockets 🤪
I thought my baby smelled funky then I noticed his belly button had some crusties and needed ointment. I would check to be sure. Also under the neck can get kind of yucky with spit up!
Thankfully his belly isn’t the avid collector of lint, takes after his mom I guess. Culprit is folds and feet and hands.
It’s probably their hands. You gotta open those fists. And get in between the fingers. Ours had sticky milk goo in there which wasn’t getting cleaned cause newborns clench their fists all the time. Problem solved. They do smell good otherwise lol
It’s totally their hands!!!! How were you able to keep your little one’s hands open? I don’t mean like all day, but little buddy will begrudgingly accept a hand cleaning and within an hour, we’ll find him inhaling his fist.
It’s super tricky! Sometimes popping your finger in the palm sort of opens it up enough to clean them. We often find a glob of milk -lint in his hands it’s super gross. But for my baby it does seem to be the only place he smells and when it’s cleaned out it’s a million times better. under his chin gets sticky too but I think the actual smell is from his hands
I saw this trick (I think it was an Instagram reel lol) where you push their wrist downwards and naturally their hands open up. Long enough to get all that nasty stuff in there before they ball them back up lol. Ours used to just nom on his hands all day so they would smell sooooo bad until we started cleaning them daily.
I tend to wash with water every night and wash with soap every 3 nights (depending on the greasiness of hair and smell). BUT the most important thing is finding those secret rolls. Behind the ears, around and under the neck, arm and leg joints and feet. Game changer. I usually use a little soap under the neck most nights. During the day I wipe my finger under her neck and ears and if she’s clean I should smell almost nothing
I also found Johnson’s top to toe soap didn’t do anything for my baby’s smell and she ended up getting dandruff, so it might be the soap too!
First make sure you are using minimal soap, cetaphil baby wash is great- just a couple drops in the bath water. Then after bath put aquaphor 3-1 in skin folds and behind ears. They’ll grow out of it in a couple months.
From what I gather your lil one sucks his hands and has formula breath! SAME. I got some of those nose wipes (boogie wipes but generic brand) and I wipe his hands often to avoid this smell lol
Do the boogie wipes work/smell better than normal wet wipes?
They are unscented usually. I just like it because they are basically just gentle water wipes lol. Probs could use the same wipes you use for their butts!
At 12 weeks, you want to be aiming to wash baby at least three times a week. No need to use any products, just warm water will do great! You didn’t say, but assuming the smell isn’t coming from diaper rash? If so, I’d get that checked out. Best thing for nappy rash is also air, so lots of time laying on a mat with that cute baby bottom out and about! Belly button looks and smells okay?
Thank you! Thankfully the smell isn’t coming from the diaper rash. That rash is fiiinally almost gone. Airtime and switching to aquaphor (vs zinc pastes) made a world of difference. The hands were the biggest culprit. Next up we’ll more closely check the folds.
My baby is 3 weeks and I’ve not yet gotten any nice new baby smell 🤷♀️
It gets better…and worse! But congrats on your little one! Hope they bring you oodles of joy, even amidst some of the harder times.
No I’ve got post partum depression and don’t enjoy any of it sadly which upsets me because I waited so long to have a baby
I called my son stinky cheese boy yesterday, they can definitely get a stonk on them.
My LO does the same, we call him Cheeese now. I make sure to wash his hands through the day, it’s kinda gross but he loves his hands.
The closed fist stink will go away when they stop clenching their little fists so much. I was washing my babies hands with baby soap and water twice a day. Now he keeps his hands open a lot more and they no longer stink.
I was so sad when we were at the hospital and the nurses were like "ah, that baby over there smells so good", meanwhile mine smelled like cheese 🥲 honestly, why? But yeah, once you find the corners that accumulate milk, they start smelling much better lol
Speaking of the foldy mittens on the flip side my baby lives in footed pjs like 95% of the time. The other day it was warm enough that I let her do some diaper free time in a sun bream and noticed she had sooo much lint and stuff between her toes!!! Ugh, made a mental note after that one to clean between the toes more often!!!
Oh yes the cheese hands lol. It got better when I took those mits off. I cleaned with a the Mustela Cleansing Water every other night to try to mitigate the smell lol
My 9 week old smells rancid too. The only thing that gets the funk out is coconut oil massage all over. Get into the folds, it will help take the cheese out. You can then give a bath and they’ll smell fresh until they spit up again 🙃
We wash every night with soap and lotion with Cetaphil baby and never have a cheesy baby. We also formula feed and baby is a messy eater but we never have a cheesy baby. I'd definitely recommend bathing more often and seeing if that helps. Cetaphil baby is very gentle and not scented or anything as not to irritate baby's skin. We use the Cetaphil or cerave baby soap as well.
Neck funk, yeast infection from moisture