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Hello everyone! Wow my first post in the baby section :lol:
One midwife at the hospital told me NOT to use wipes as they contain chemicals, perfumes etc that can cause bad nappy rash. Her alternative are just cloths dipped in warm water.
Is this true? Is it going to harm my baby to use store bought wipes, or cause obscene nappy rash? I have Huggies wipes and Johnson's, are either worse than the other? Argh so confusing.
We used cloths with warm water in hospital (because I didn't have to wash them ;)) but have used Huggies Unscented Wipes on DD ever since being home. And guess what... not even a HINT of problems!
Of course, whether your baby has a reaction to the wipes is going to be dependent on them as an individual. Some babies react to certain wipes and others don't - it is just a case of finding what works for you and your bub.
I can't comment on the difference between Huggies and J&J because I've only ever used Huggies...
Hey Ahslee, congrats on the new addition to your family. I used johnsons scent free wipes in the hospital with no probs. But when we got home i started using just the regular johnsons wipes and she got a rash. I ended up not using any wipes and opted for just a packet of Homebrand 'coles or woollies' cotton rounds - soooo cheap(better than name brands as they tend to fall apart) and just a bottle of water next to the change table which i would just dampen the rounds with. I hope i don't sound nasty but i never even used warm water, buba never flinched when i used the cotton rounds with just room temp water on them so i took that as she didn't mind. I never had the need to use anything else on her as she is breastfeed (don't know what bottlefeed poos are like) and i always got every poey bit off her without any trouble. I still use the unscented wipes when we are out though as its easier.
In hospital they wouldnt allow me to use anything but warm water and cloths. But when i got home i was using Huggies unscented wipes and Chels got a bit red all the time.....so i switched to Huggies scented and not one problem now at all.
Id have thought it would have been the other way round, problems with scented...but not on my lil girl!
I suppose it's all just a bit of a trial and error, like all aspects of parenting hehe! I have J&J unscented, scented and Huggies unscented - I think I'll have a little go with all of them, and see how he reacts. He had no reaction for the first 3 days when I was using the J&J Pink pack, then the midwife made me stop using them.
Ive been using wipes, both the scented and unscented ones, and we jhavent had much nappy rash. Only a tiny spot of rash which took a day to clear up. I wasnt told not to use wipes so I never actually thought not to. i think its more a problem if their bum is wet for a while in the nappy.
Yep they were from the hospital along with some nappies and bathwash samples...it's a bit stupid if you ask me. Everyone has a different opinon I guess!
Angus got a nasty rash on his bottom from the wipes I got. They were the dove ones.
The midwife told me to change to the unscented ones or use a wet washcloth and the rash cleared up very quickly.
I use cloth ones on Caty. Sometimes warm water but sometimes cold when I don't want to wait for the warm! She doesn't get nappy rash (we use modern cloth nappies too).
Sounds like you just got a midwife who thinks all babies are the same?
I got j&j wipes from the hospital too, one of those travel packs. I've used wipes from the get go with both DS and DD and never had an issue.
Ellie
It's possible but it's certainly not a foregone conclusion that your bub will get nappy rash from wipes....
I used wipes (and the cheaper end ones at that) on both my babies from birth and neither of them ever got nappy rash as newborns.
Not sure about nappy rash etc but if you want to use wipes - why not try Seventh Generation ones. They are chlorine free and generally have less horrid chemicals in them. (A fellow BB member told me this after her industrial chemist uncle suggested that commercial wipes are not the best thing to be using on babies full stop). The 7th generation ones certainly have a much nicer list of ingredients than the Huggies do and the list on the Johnsons & Johnsons wipes is seriously scarey.
As for me - I find that small flannel squares (that I moisten with cold water a small squeezey drink bottle that I bought from Woolworths) works MUCH better than wipes on my DD. The wipes are too flimsy and I use 5-6 to clean up a big poo compared to one or two flannels. I just wash them with my nappies. (ETA: I spose that would be a pain if you are using sposies though?)
I use cotton wool balls and warm water... no washing and no chemicals! I have wipes in the nappy bag for when I can't change DS in a loo, but they're rarely used.
We use j&j wipes and Ds has never had nappy rash. We did use the huggies ones on Lily and she would a rash from those so we switched to j&j for her and she hasn't had it since.
I used wipes only for that first revolting meconium "nappy" (it was in her SOCKS) but after that just cotton wool rounds and water. Until she started solids, then i started using wipes as weaned baby poop is just like grown-up poop!
Hana
I know this is late, but wanted to add my 5cents! We use cloths on our little boy - there is a little bucket on the change table with an inch of water and a generous squirt of a pure baby lotion, and we just have a few cloths in there waiting. We got some really thin facewashers from Big Dub in a pack of 12 and they are perfect. I find this works better than wipes, as someone said earlier, you have to use 4 or 5 wipes to clean up a poo (esp now he's on solids) whereas two cloths cleans him up nicely.
We do use wipes when we're out and about, and there is a brand called "Nature Care" at Woolies that is gentle for bub and biodegradable.
Being a bit of a greenie, I'm trying to eliminate anything 'disposable' from my life (have you seen 'An Inconvenient Truth'?). And, I hope this doesn't sound judgemental, coz it's really not meant to, cotton is one of the most environmentally UNfriendly crops there is.
Enjoy your little one.