So we discovered that The Baby is allergic to catnip.

And it wasn’t the first thing we suspected. Socs (our 12-year-old cat) got some new toys a few weeks ago…and they had (shocker) catnip in them.

Now, these toys are super cute-they’re little animals, and they look cuddly and soft. Because they are.

SO.

My sneaky preschooler squirred them into bed one night (that’s funny because one of the animals is a squirrel, by the way).

The next morning, he woke up completely covered in red angry hives from the top of his head to his legs. It was scary, so of course, I took him to the pediatrician. Thankfully there was no swelling in his throat, and he was diagnosed with atopic dermatitis.

The doctor suggested that it may be something outside, which made sense since we’re spending every waking hour outdoors because, as Ned Stark said, “Winter is coming.”

So we bathed him, assuming whatever was setting things off would go down the drain.

But it didn’t the next morning, he looked worse. In hindsight, I should have stripped his bed the first night, but y’all, this mama was holding things together by a thread.

So into the bath, he went, and while he was soaking, I stripped his bed…and found not one, but ALL 6 of the little cat toys.

They immediately went into the trash (cue the tears and accusations of being a horrible person), and We vacuumed the whole house, applied some anti-itch ointment, and waited.

The next morning, the hives were better, but not gone. And the poor kid kept saying he was “SO SO ITCHY, MAMA!”

My mom used to give me oatmeal baths when I had an allergic reaction to things (I’m allergic to all kinds of fun stuff like grass, pollen, trees…you know, life.), so I thought I’d try my hand at making him an oatmeal bath bomb to help sooth the itching (and make him very, very happy).

And it worked! These homemade oatmeal bath bombs are awesome-they fizz up and create a nice, soothing bath.

DIY Homemade Oatmeal Bath Bomb Recipe

Ingredients for Homemade Oatmeal Bath Bombs

1/2 cup almond flour
1/2 cup oatmeal
1 cup baking soda
1/2 cup citric acid (It’s better to buy in bulk on Amazon)
1/2 cup Sodium Laurel Sulfoacetate (Find it on Amazon)
1/4 cup cream of tartar
2 tablespoons coconut oil or castor oil
2 tablespoons rubbing alcohol
10-20 drops of geranium essential oil
10-20 drops of lavender essential oil
10-20 drops of myrrh essential oil
10-20 drops of tea tree essential oil
Spray bottle of rubbing alcohol
1 large mixing bowl
Bath bomb molds (I got mine on Amazon)

Directions For Homemade Oatmeal Bath Bombs

Add the almond flour and oatmeal to your food processor and pulse until it becomes a fine powder.

Then, in a large mixing bowl, add the baking soda, citric acid, sodium lauryl sulfoacetate, cream of tartar, and the powdered oatmeal-almond powder.

Mix everything together with a whisk (you can also use your hands) until it’s fully incorporated.

If you’re using coconut oil, you’ll want it to be liquid, so you will need to place it in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave it for 25-30 seconds, or use a double boiler to melt the oil.

Add the rubbing alcohol to the bowl with the oil, as well as the essential oils.

Break up any clumps in the dry mixture, then slowly add in the liquid ingredients. Add in the liquid mixture 1 tablespoon at a time, stirring to fully incorporate it before adding another tablespoon.

Don’t rush this step, as you may not need the all of the liquid.

You will know when the mixture is perfect when it feels like wet sand and you can press the mixture together in your hands and it stays together.

Add a generous amount of your mixture to the bath bomb molds and press down gently.

Press the mold halves together tightly. If you’re having trouble getting them together, try a slight twisting motion.

As you work, you may notice that your mixture is drying out, if that happens, use your spray bottle full of rubbing alcohol to spritz your mixture until you get the wet sand texture again.

Once you’ve pressed the mold, you’ll need to release the bath bomb by gently tapping on one side of the mold, and then the other.

Being careful, place your bath bomb on a piece of parchment paper and allow it to dry overnight.

Your bath bomb should be fully dry and ready to use the next day. If you’re not using the bath bombs right away, store them in an airtight container until you need them.