Please Help! Rash! Frustrated!

[belchers1]

I need all the advice I can get!

Let me begin 3 weeks and 5 days ago. My DD was born. For the first two days, we used Bummis Prefolds w/ SWW's. They kept hitting her cord stump and it began to become "loose" and bleed a little. We then started using our BumGenius AIO's and 3.0 OS's. Still, there were cord stump issues, so at 5 days old, I sent DH to the store to get a package of 'sposies to use until cord stump was healed. We used those for about 5-6 days and then went back to cloth. Besides the issues with the cord, everything was great! We had NO rash issues.

Then, about a day in after going back to cloth, DD developed a rash all over her lower belly, labia, and bottom. We were using the Bummis Prefolds w/ SWW's again. I thought that I may not be changing her as frequently as I should. She went to the ped for a 2 week check-up and the ped recommended neosporin. I did use the neosporin w/ the CD's : After using that and changing her more frequently, after a few days the rash improved around her belly, but not anywhere else. I then came to MDC to find a diaper rash cream safe for CD's. I headed to Target and bought a tube of California Baby (for $9.99 and used that for 2-3 days. Nothing. The rash stayed : I couldn't take it anymore. I once again sent DH out to get 'sposies. I figured I'd use them with Desitin until I figured out why this was happening. Rash cleared.

I came back to MDC and decided to strip EVERYTHING (even dipes she hadn't worn yet!)

We went back to cloth Friday before bedtime. I put her in a FuzziBunz for bed. (She's already sleeping 4-6 hours ) Then prefolds all day yesterday. We were rash-free when I put her to bed last night. I put her to bed last night in a BumGenius AIO. She had pooped at some point and sat in it for longer than she probably should have. I didn't notice a rash at that change, but the one after (after wearing a prefold) Nothing really bad, just on her bottom around the crack. I've been using the California Baby and prefolds all day. It doesn't really seem like it's improving.

BTW, here is my wash routine (which I've only done three times!):

Hot wash with 1/3 recommended amount of Purex F&C. Cold rinse. Hot wash with nothing. Cold rinse. I dry all inserts and prefolds on high heat in the dryer. I hang dry all wraps, pockets, and AIO's (in a cold basement).

Here's what I did when I stripped everything. Regular wash routine (above). Hot wash with a squirt of Dawn. Cold rinse. Then, another hot wash and cold rinse with nothing. Same drying routine as above.

What's the deal?! CD's not getting clean? Detergent build-up (still!?)? infrequent changes? (I change her every 2-3 hours during the day). Or, is it just her skin? Maybe something in my diet? Ahhh!



TIA

[belchers1]

Wipes Routine

I thought it may help to add what I do for wipes.

Up until yesterday afternoon, we used cloth wipes with plain warm water.

Yesterday, I made a wipes solution containing the following:

2 cups boiling water
2 teabags chamomile tea
1 tsp honey
1 tsp olive oil
1 tsp Johnson's baby wash

I poured this over the dry wipes in a tupperware container.

[sagemomma]

it sounds to me like she is very sensitive to wetness, prefolds stay wet against the skin. the BG's and FB's pull the wetness away and keep babys' skin dry as do sposies *shudder*.
i would try a fleece liner (you can cut up a fleece blanket , or get a little from a fabric store) and put it between her and the prefold and see if that helps.
good luck to you .

[belchers1]

Originally Posted by sagemomma

it sounds to me like she is very sensitive to wetness, prefolds stay wet against the skin. the BG's and FB's pull the wetness away and keep babys' skin dry as do sposies *shudder*.
i would try a fleece liner (you can cut up a fleece blanket , or get a little from a fabric store) and put it between her and the prefold and see if that helps.
good luck to you .

I will try that! Thank you!

[Ifluffedthree]

I would change your detergent.

and loose the wipe solution and just use a little natural/real soap and water.

see if that helps.

the rest of your routines sound really good and you are in tune with what your trying which is good. hope a change in detergent is a help.

Good luck.

[Ruth]

You are going to think I am crazy, but I used to change my daughter's cloth diaper the minute she had pee or poop in her diaper. Sometimes, that meant changing her every 5 minutes. I don't remember ever waiting 2 or 3 hours.

Also, in the rare instances where keeping her dry and clean didn't work, I found this brand of diaper care called Weleda Diaper Care. It is found only in health food stores in my neck of the woods, but it worked so well on diaper rash, that I started using it on every kind of skin irritation, cut, etc. and it works wonders. My kid is all grown up now, but we still use it for other stuff. No, we don't own stock in it or know the owners.

[Ruth]

Also, I used to rinse the poop off her bottom with running warm water, instead of using wipes.

Ruth

[mommyhopeful3]

I would change one thing about the way you wash...do a cold rinse first. A hot wash can lock in stink and nasties

Strip the diapers and see if that helps. Also use a micro fleece liner with your PFs. This will help to wick away moisture. If there is no change take a look at what materials in the diapers seem to make it worse. BG...FB...or PFs. They all have something different against the skin. If there is no difference...take a look at your diet if you are BF.

Also try to give some no diaper time or PF only time. Get some air to the area to see if that helps.

KUP

[belchers1]

Originally Posted by Ruth

You are going to think I am crazy, but I used to change my daughter's cloth diaper the minute she had pee or poop in her diaper. Sometimes, that meant changing her every 5 minutes. I don't remember ever waiting 2 or 3 hours.

In an ideal world this is what I would want to do, but it seems very unrealistic for my life! I do change her as soon as I know that she has pooped, or is more than just a tad wet. I have two other children to care for and they're involved in activities and attend kindergarten and preschool so we're in and out of the house (yes, already ) Plus, I need to sleep! How on earth do you know if your LO pees while you're both sleeping?

Originally Posted by Ruth

Also, in the rare instances where keeping her dry and clean didn't work, I found this brand of diaper care called Weleda Diaper Care. It is found only in health food stores in my neck of the woods, but it worked so well on diaper rash, that I started using it on every kind of skin irritation, cut, etc. and it works wonders. My kid is all grown up now, but we still use it for other stuff. No, we don't own stock in it or know the owners.

I think I'll head out and check out what other kind of creams there are that are safe for CD's. If I could find a decently priced one, I would go ahead and use it as a barrier every change. Would this be okay?

[belchers1]

Originally Posted by Ruth

Also, I used to rinse the poop off her bottom with running warm water, instead of using wipes.

Ruth

Again, not possible when you're not home. But, this would be ideal!

[belchers1]

Originally Posted by mommyhopeful3

I would change one thing about the way you wash...do a cold rinse first. A hot wash can lock in stink and nasties

Strip the diapers and see if that helps. Also use a micro fleece liner with your PFs. This will help to wick away moisture. If there is no change take a look at what materials in the diapers seem to make it worse. BG...FB...or PFs. They all have something different against the skin. If there is no difference...take a look at your diet if you are BF.

Also try to give some no diaper time or PF only time. Get some air to the area to see if that helps.

KUP

I do notice a lot of people's wash routines include a cold rinse first. I think I'll start doing that! That could be a solution!

[mommyhopeful3]

I hope for your sake that it is that easy! You never know though

[luckygreen713]

you've gotten a lot of good advice, but i just thought i'd add that you can use pure lanolin on dd's bum with your pf's. the same stuff you might put on sore, nursing nipples is great for sore bums too and it washes off in hot water. i only know that it's safe for cotton dipes, i'm not sure about the fleece ones. it works as a barrier against the skin, so if it's wetness your dd is sensitive to, it might work for her. i also agree that you should do a cold rinse first. good luck!!

[Ifluffedthree]

I second the lanolin use.

we used bag balm which is a mix of lanolin in two other components. it is our heal all suave.

[Ruth]

[QUOTE=belchers1;13198333]In an ideal world this is what I would want to do, but it seems very unrealistic for my life! I do change her as soon as I know that she has pooped, or is more than just a tad wet. I have two other children to care for and they're involved in activities and attend kindergarten and preschool so we're in and out of the house (yes, already ) Plus, I need to sleep! How on earth do you know if your LO pees while you're both sleeping?

It does take alot of commitment and alot of time and alot of diapers. I only had one baby and I had alot of help (mostly from husband, but also some from on-site day care staff, and some from my mom) so I don't know how easy this would be with your lifestyle.

I did know if my LO peed while sleeping because she slept with me and because I changed her so often so fast in the day, she wanted to be changed at night so she would cry when she would wet the bed. Yes, I am sorry to say, that caused alot of waking up at night to change her, but I was also nursing, so I had to wake up to do that too. What I would say out loud to keep my sanity when I was very very tired (I worked full time!), was "That is what mommies do, they get up in the middle of the night and change their babies and nurse their babies and love them very much." By the time I finished that sentence the anger and the tiredness was disappeared. Sometimes not, so I would say it again, until I believed it!

Also, I learned about this thing that I now know is called Elimination Communication (EC). You and your baby learn to communicate way before words or sign language so that she actually "tells" you she needs to pee or poop, even in the middle of the night. I didn't learn that with my biological daughter (so I changed alot of diapers often), but I have done this with foster babies. I had a three-month old who would sleep with me and would squirm and squirm until I woke up and took her to the bathroom.

Good luck!

[RGsMom]

Coming to this late, but seems like a lot of great stuff. I also agree w/ using the Lanolin right on your babys bum. We often also use Organic unrefined pure coconut oil which has worked great for our DD's rashes. Another cream we really like which is organic/natural is Mother Loves Diaper Rash or even the Nipple Cream.

I really hope this gets better for you soon, diaper rash can really be a pain sometimes

[belchers1]

Update!

So I changed two things (actually three) and DD has a clear bottom!

I started doing a cold rinse before washes. I have only been using pockets and AIO's - no prefolds. I bought a tube of Weleda, that helped get rid of the rash.

I still want to make some fleece liners so that I can begin using prefolds again. Question, fleece is 100% polyester, right