Baby bath / grooming products

I'm just finalising all my last minute shopping, waiting for my big arrival in about 3 weeks, and have a question on baby bath / grooming products...

There seem to be so many different products on the market, and I have no idea what they are used for, and what is actually necessary / useful. For example, can anyone tell me which of the following would be good to have.....?

Baby lotion (when do you use this?)
Baby oil (is this the same as baby massage oil?)
Baby bath cream / oil / lotion
Baby shampoo
Baby powder
Wipes

So far all I have are nappies, cotton wool, and baby cotton buds. What else do I need?? Obviously I want to have on hand what I need to, but I don't want to rush out and buy endless numbers of bottles which end up never getting used!!

Any advice gratefully received...

Cheers,
Bertie

Hi Bertie - not long to go now, how exciting!
Personally I'd just by a stack of baby wipes for messy nappy changes and maybe 1 thing of baby bath stuff and leave it at that. I got soooooooo much baby lotion/bath/oil stuff as gifts that I don't think I will need to buy anything for at least 5 years! And anyway in the hospital they suggested just bathing with water, they said no soap stuff is needed and that it is all pretty much a money making machine and that's it. I do use baby oil a bit though to rub on Lucie's skin if it's a bit on the dry side after she's had a bath.

Hi Bertie,

It depends on what you want to use also. I wouldnt buy too much yet though, except for baby wipes as already suggested.

Also the best thing that we use that Hendrix loves for massage oil is grapeseed oil (cooking oil is all the hosptials suggest these days as babies dont have allergies to them as they may do so to perfumed oils). This was suggeted by the midwife when he was a couple of days old.

I used sorbolene to massage with before the bath.
I didn't use any baby bath, just the sorbolene on baby, but used shampoo to make hair nice as sorbolene can make it look greasy.
Did you get the Bounty bag when you booked in at the hospital? Between that one and the one you get when bubs is born I didn't have to use the stuff I'd bought for a few weeks.
I didn't have any use for baby powder and still have the same lot I bought when I was PG with Mason.
Wipes are a hard one as Angus was allergic to the dove ones and at 2 days old had a shocking rash. I ended up trying the unscented huggies and his rash cleared up the next day, so maybe it was the perfume in them.

Baby lotion - never used it, sorry can't help you there.

Baby oil - I use it for massages after a bath, I only have a little bottle & there is hardly any gone cos you only need a tiny amount each time.

Baby bath cream / oil / lotion - I was using mostly Johnsons Bedtime bath cos it smells beautiful & is supposed to be calming. I also was using Curash soap free bath & that was nice as well. I had bought heaps but have only gone through 1 full bottle and the 2nd is almost empty & Zander is 7months old.

Baby shampoo - I use it every time and haven't gone through a full bottle yet! I think I use the size of a 5c piece each time cos Zander is pretty well a baldy ;) The one i have is the Curash shampoo & conditioner combo & it smells sooo nice!

Baby powder - I like to us powder after a bath to make sure everything is dry. There are lots of little grooves that you can miss when drying so it's good to splash some powder on those spots. I think I've used just over 2 bottles of powder, but I do use alot!

Wipes - HEAPS! Huggies are great, if you want to get the refill tubs I'd do so soon cos I heard they aren't making them anymore. Johnsons I found to be pretty thin, Curash are ok but they smell very alcohol-ish to me and one last thing, if you get them from the $2 shops be careful cos the ones I had were mouldy EEEEWWWWW! Ummm I've bought Little Wishes (from Big W) but I haven't used them yet.


As an aside, we can't use any of these sorts of products anymore because Zander has developed eczema so we are now using QV products. They don't smell as nice but are good for his skin.

I guess it depends on you too and how you feel about stuff. I went the organic natural way as friends of mine have had their newborns react to certain products.

I did use sorbolene lotion because Matilda was overcooked & had dry skin.

I used Raia natural baby bath and massage oil. Thats about all.

here is a link to a previous thread about baby products too that might help save some $$. I know there are a few threads out there on BB that have some great ideas on what to use :-k I'll go searching for more :)

Baby wipes are very useful/essential, unless of course you plan to make your own, or use damp washesr as some people do.
Huggies and Little Wishes wipes are the best IMO - and the Little Wishes ones are much cheaper I might add.

For Aidyns bath we use an all natural bath foam (made by the NEWays company), and we use that for his hair too.

For creams I also use an all natural moisturiser which is made out of seeds and nuts etc, also made by NEWays. I found it was the only thing that helped get rid of his cradle cap properly too.

I have heard many people caution against the Johnsons range, as it contains chemicals that can dry their skin out etc...

At our birth classes our midwife told us that baby powder isn't needed at all as it can cause chafing, and talcum powder, especially for girls is bad as it has been linked to cervical cancer. She said that if you want to use a powder to use the curash one as it doesn't have the same stuff in it as the baby talcum powder.

Ok here's the thread I was thinking of before :D

https://www.bellybelly.com.au/forums...pic.php?t=5971

We got given a lot of stuff that we didn't need, and we also bought things that we found we didn't use.

Things that we use:

~ We bought the Am-o-lin Shampoo, which we use on Jacob's hair. He is 14 months old and we haven't even used half the bottle yet LOL.

~ We use the QV products in the bath, specifically the Bath Oil as he is prone to a little bit of eczema and water is very drying. We also use the QV Kids Wash, which is a non-soap product. Basically, babies don't really need to be washed in any fancy products - water is definitely sufficient. So basically you needn't use anything in the bath if you don't want to - we do simply because of Jacob being prone to a bit of eczema, and the oil in the bath is a bit more moisturising. Now that he runs around and gets himself a bit grubby, using the non-soap QV wash is good too.

~ We also use sorbolene to hydrate Jacob's skin, and we apply this after every single bath and during any flare-ups of eczema, we apply it more frequently.

~ We have never used any form of baby powder/lotion/cream etc. We never felt it was necessary to apply powder, as this only makes dry skin worse, and any other lotions/oils etc we couldn't see the need for them.

~ Wipes - we have always used the Huggies ones. We buy the ones in the green bag, which are unscented.

So perhaps you could invest in some wipes, some shampoo and maybe one product that you would like to use in the bath if you want to - but you can certainly stick with just water. Baby's have sensitive skin so it's great to stick with natural products where possible I think.

Baby lotion (when do you use this?) This is used after bath,keeps them moisturised.

Baby oil (is this the same as baby massage oil?) Never used it, wouldn't bother personally.

Baby bath cream / oil / lotion In the bath or after lotion, same as moisturiser.

Baby shampoo Either this or that baby blue bath (Johnson's)

Baby powder Nice but not too much, make sure you get the one with cornstarch.


Wipes Essential, for clean bums!!!

HTH xx

I found that I was given far more products than I ever used, with all three children.

Steer clear of Johnson & Johnson products for babies, as they are very highly perfumed and can irritate delicate skin. I don't know why a company that supposedly specialises in babycare uses such harsh perfumes, my kids ended up with rashes from using their lotions, soaps or shampoos even though they could use other brands without any issues.

The best cleaning product for babies is a pack of small, soft washers - you really only need warm water for most clean-up jobs. I bathe Max every day, but only use a soap product about once a week, unless he is particularly dirty.

I was given a Curash baby pack and found it one of the best things I've used - particularly the moisturiser, which I only use when he has dry skin, not as a matter of course.

Kerrie

Wipes, wipes and more wipes, preferably the non-alcohol, unfragranced ones. You can also use nappy liners and warm water.

I am anti-powder for respiratory reasons, and I am also very anti-Johnsons...their bedtime bath that supposedly contains lavender and chamomile is just synthetic chemicals made to smell like that, nothing to do with the actual plants. I should admit though that I am an aromatherapist and make my own baby products, so I am biased 8-[ !

For baby massage, you can just use good old extra virgin olive oil. A lot of commercial oils contain petrochemicals and are more expensive anyway.

I guess I would say to just get some wipes and and a baby wash for bath/hair and then wait and see if you need moisturiser or if your baby likes massage.

Good luck!

I'm not even using wipes yet. We tried them on Louis but he got such red little bottom that we're sticking with cotton wool and warm water for now.

Also we're using a little baby bath and that's it. I'm using olive oil for massage/moisture after his bath as he has dry skin.

I bought powder but haven't used it yet.

Oh, I suppose the other thing that you may need is nappy rash cream maybe just in case??? I'm still using the samples that we got as he doesn't need it every nappy change. I just pop it on when I need too.

Beth-Interesting that you make your own baby products, I wanted to do this but couldn't find any recipes, if you're willing to share them I'd love it if you could e-mail me or something, maybe even ask one of the mods if you can post it somewhere incase others would like it too.

Thanks

I love the Gaia Baby products, they are organic and smell great. The starter pack is a great way of trying the products and the bottles are a great size for travel. I use all of the products on Maggie. They worked really well with cradle cap and the skin soothing lotion can be used with nappy changes and is good on the neck if you have a dribbly/chucky baby.

As for wipes we use Huggies unscented and thinking of trying the ultra sensitive ones next time. We tried the Johnson's & Johnson's ones, but were not that impressed.

Astrid

We used:

cornstarch powder (the 79 cent stuff you eat, by home brand lol) put it in a shaker container.
olive oil or sweet almond oil (we don't use baby oil as it can get in the lungs if swallowed and kill them)
Gaia baby shampoo. It's my favourite one, and I won't use anything else. We also use it as a wash lol. Or gaias' baby bath.
We also always had a really good bum ointment, I like zinc ones, generally, but for this bub I'm shopping around for 'the one' lol.
we also keep 'euky bear rub' (like vicks but more suited to young uns)
also the occassional baking soda for making a paste for cradle cap.

with wipes, we bought a heap of cheap face clothes and used them as wipes, for bums, little hands, faces, etc, we just washed them thoroughly each time like nappies, and saved a fortune!

Hi!

Hannah has really sensitive skin (eczema) so we've been really careful about what we put on it.

I always use sorbolene after a bath, as a preventative for eczema and to keep her moisturised.

In the bath I use QV every second day and on the alternate day nothing at all.

We use Huggies wipes - the nonfragranced ones 'cos the ones with fragrance can be irritating. In the first few weeks of Hannah's life, we used dampened chux wipes torn in half. That's what the hospital recommended, and you can just wash and reuse them. Commercial wipes are so convienient though!

We started using J&J and it cause all sorts of probs for Hannah's skin - I'd steer away from them for the first little while, just in case you have a sensitive bub!

I also forgot that pinetarsol was a godsend for us when bubs got a red itchy bum lol. We'd either bath her in it at those times, and/or put it in her clothes wipes.