newborn diaper rash

[nukuspot]

I have a quick question about diaper rash. My newborn is 4 weeks, and we have been battling a come and go rash for 3 of them. We used sposies for the first week until the meconium was gone, and the diaper rash started shortly after. We used Kissaluvs size 0 with dappi covers for week 2 until her cord stump was healed, she has a little tiny rash but not that bad. Then we went to prefolds with thirsties covers for the next 2 weeks, and the rash gets alternately terrible and OK during that time. We used fleece liners in the prefolds as well, once the rash got frustrating enough. We just started rotating in our BG 3.0 and HH pockets recently now that she is big enough, and it hasn't done anything positive about the rash, which I was hoping for. We use the fleece liners or hemp babies liners with the pockets so they don't get ruined by the cream. We also now have been using 7th generation sposies at night, but it also hasn't gotten rid of it. We change her every 1-2 hours through the day, or even more frequently and every 3 hours at night, even waking her up for a change when she has a rare longer sleep period.

We have tried Grandma ELs rash cream, Earth Angel rash cream, and now are trying Weleda calendula rash cream. We use cloth wipes with plain water on them to wipe almost exculsively, but we also tried 7th Generation disposable wipes and HH diaper spray as well.

What would you recommend we do? We went to the pediatrician, but it was a day that the rash was not so bad. She looked at it and in her mouth and said it didn't look thrush/yeast related. The rash is right where her butt cheeks go together, spreading a little outwards onto the cheeks and is bright red and sometimes looks swollen and irritated, and seems very uncomfortable. It's not just around her anus, so I don't think its food allergy related, but I cut out dairy, wheat, soy, and citrus anyway from my diet, along with cruciferous veggies (because of her unrelated gas pain problem.)

I try to give her butt a little air time, but its really hard because she pees and poos multiple times when exposed to air. Maybe I do like 10 minutes a day...I know more would be better for the rash but its really hard right now when she goes to the bathroom so frequently.

This is our first baby so our first time dealing with CDs and rashes. We would love some advice. I feel terrible that 3/4 of her little life has been spent with a diaper rash.

[Galatea]

What detergent are you using? Are you rinsing it out completely?

[RGsMom]

I'm so sorry you are dealing with this rash. It can still take more time for the foods to be out of your system if it is a food related reaction. My son had gas issues and it was an overmilk supply issue. However this also did cause a slight rash (more just redness), but we remedied it quickly and he hasn't had anything since. I don't know if this could be an option also?

Have you tried coconut oil? We find that helps a lot! And it's completely natural (we get organic unrefined coconut oil)!!!

I hope it does remedy soon for you, it isn't fun to deal with a rash because you do feel so bad for their poor little bums!

[Ifluffedthree]

Change the detergents and choose the diapers you have that are only made of REAL fibers, not synthetics like the micro. I would try this for a week and see if it helps.

My son had big time issues with fleece or any synthetic.

[nukuspot]

Thanks for those who responded so far. I am using Planet detergent, it seems so basic and unscented, I couldn't imagine it was causing a rash? But I suppose it is possible. However, wouldn't the rash be all over the diaper area if it was from contact of detergent to baby? I put my washing machine on the 2nd rinse cycle, so I *think* it is all coming out as much as possible.

The coconut oil is a good suggestion. I didn't think of that. I use it for eating and my skin, but didn't think of it for baby. Do you think it would work better than the natural diaper rash creams I am using? Would it be safe for my diapers--Since I know that I have gotten it on my own clothes and it is hard to get off, leaves an oily residue/smell.

As far as the natural vs synthetic fiber suggestion, I have seen this suggested on other posts in this forum. I don't doubt that for some babies this is the key. But I don't know if it is for us. The reason is, is that the worst the rash has been has been with natural fibers. The cotton prefolds and the hemp doublers seem to make the rash a little worse than the fleece inserts or the pocket diapers. The owner of the local cloth diaper store told us to do the opposite advice...She was the one that recommended we get away from the natural fibers and get the fleece inserts and use the pockets more than the prefolds, she said the synthetics keep the baby drier, and so should reduce the irritation. I am open to trying anything, but I also don't have the $$$ to replace all my synthetic diapers at this point, unless I was sure it would be the answer.

RE: Food allergies causing it...How long would I have to take things out from my diet to see if they were causing any problems? For most of the things I am no longer eating it has been 2-3 weeks now without eating them.

I really appreciate all the replies so far. Thank you all who responded and plan to respond in the future!

[chely7425]

I would open the washer during the rinse cycle and check for bubbles/suds... if you can, I am guessing with FL washers you can't do that. Also, if you have hard water you might try using Calgon, that was key for us. Our DS got a rash that sounds a lot like what you are describing when we weren't using Calgon, and when he eats too much citrus... but he is 13 months so he is eating solids I really hope you can find an answer!! Rashes are so frustrating...

[inky leeuhhh]

we have had the rash issue here as well. i just load her up with cream and make sure i change as soon as i notice she goes. i know for her it isnt the cloth dipes because ive gotten too lazy to do diapers a few times and kept her in the sposies a day or so, and it didn't make an ounce of difference. it's just that she's such a poop machine. now that i make sure to change asap , the rash is nothing but a bit of a red bum (it was red, open raw spots ). that said it doesn't hurt to check for bubbles in the wash and stuff to be sure there's no build up. good luck figuring it out!

[nukuspot]

So we took her to the pediatrician to see the rash since it was not going away. She recommended triple paste with every diaper change, and clotrimazole 1% cream twice a day (she thought it might have a little yeast component in one area, but was certainly not caused by yeast) until it is gone, then I can switch back to my natural diaper rash creams. I don't like using pharmecutical products, and am not that pleased on the triple paste/clotrimazole combo, but I just want this rash to go away and we can start over from the beginning with all natural and organic products (I want to try coconut oil)...or maybe eventually we won't need anything at all?

We are using fleece liners with the diapers still, so I really hope this all will not leak through and ruin the pocket diapers. We are washing the liners and wipes seperately. We even are now using 7th generation sposies at night (for ease sake) temporarily.

One more question: For wipes, we use cloth wipes with plain tap water. Do you think we should be using something else with them? A squirt of Dr Bronners soap? A drop of oil?

[Michigan Mama]

We use a wipes solution (bought or homeade) and I feel like it cleans better. When I make it, I use a little bit of baby wash (or Dr. Bronner's) and olive oil mixed with water. Myabe less drying? Honestly not sure if it would make a difference or not. I know how dry and chapped my hands get when I wash them frequently, so I feel like the oil added into the mix helps prevent that somewhat...

I know how frustrating the rash is. For my ds, turned out to be soy, and he has a variety of other allergies - hopefully that's not it for you! Good luck. I hope it clears up!

[abigail_b]

I can't give much advice-- my son battled rash constantly as an infant (was in sposies) and triple paste is what solved it for us. I am going to be CDing my new one due in the fall and I hope not to be in your shoes in a few months! Sometimes I think that for some babies their skin is just so sensitive in the first few months that it is difficult for them to be in any diaper without some protection (in the form of some kind of cream-).
Anwyay, I wanted to add that I definitley think it will help you to add something to your wipes solution. I have used cloth wipes for while now, and what I found works the best is Carter's All Natural Olive Oil Foaming Face and Body cleanser (ingredients are saponified olive oil and potassium-- I add a few pumps to the water for a big batch of wipes) and I also add a litte joboba oil. I think if you just start with the joboba oil that will help a lot. It will get the area much cleaner, plus help the skin layers to maintain their natural barrier. I would stay away from any wipes solution with essential oils in them such as lavender, tea tree etc since these can be very irritating. But definitley the plain water leaves behind traces of poop and pee and the oil will take care of this.

Good luck!!!

[satchie]

I know this thread is 2 years old, but I'm resurrecting it because it is EXACTLY the same thing I am going through right now. I also have a 4 week old and have been battling recurrent diaper rash since she was a week old when we began using cloth diapers. I am using the same diapers as the OP (first prefolds and fitteds with Thirsties covers, now HH and BG pockets) and even the same detergent (liquid Planet). I have tried everything from fleece and hemp liners to wool covers at night, and 4 different kinds of diaper cream, but it never fully goes away. Even putting her in sposies for a few days with Triple Paste hasn't cleared it up.

I private messaged the OP, but I'm replying to the thread in case anyone else has experience with this. My DD poops A LOT, about 20 times a day. I am going through a full load of diaper laundry every 1 to 2 days. I often go through 3 diapers in one diaper change! Could it just be a combination of her being a super-pooper plus having sensitive skin? Should I contact her pediatrician? Change detergents? Change my diet?

Thanks!!!

[Petite Bottoms]

Her pooping this much is exactly why she has a constant rash. Can you are her bottom out and make sure that her skin is really dry before you put a diaper back on her?  I love the CJ's BUTTer for rash cream, works great.

I have also recommended to customers of mine that have super poopers to use the GroVia biosoakers to keep them very dry if they didn't want to use disposables.

[satchie]

Thanks for the reply. That's kind of what I figured. Hopefully as her digestive system matures we can make it longer than 20 minutes without her needing a diaper change.  Until then I guess I'll keep up with the frequent changes, butt cream, and airing out her bottom.

[pdiannet]

I am so in the same boat as you gals.  I have had four kiddos in cloth diapers over the last almost 7 years and all of them have had this same problem.  With my first ds he was a super pooper and there was nothing I could do to get rid of his rashes.  We eventually went to disposables- but flipped back and forth still trying- always failing.  With my second ds I did ec successfully for 10 months and then went to cloth and disposables- due to lack of water- whole house relied on rain water.  Then, my third dd I mostly did cloth, but not very successfully for the same above reasons.  And with my fourth I switched to bamboo fitteds and loved them for the first year- however, my dd hardly ever pooped that first year.  After weaning she made up for time lost and, there we are, back to square one with diaper rashes again.

I use soap nuts with all my clothes and strip my diapers regularly- now that we have endless water- and really hot water at that.  So, I don't know if I am just have super pooper kids that just need a different diaper or if my diapers truly get worn out that quickly.  I am doing disposables at the moment, but I am thinking of stripping, stripping, stripping, and trying again, then maybe just investing in a different diaper.  However, I can tell you already, I know my diapers are somewhat worn out due to the fact that there are holes in many of them.  We'll see.

[satchie]

Yeah, I haven't seen much improvement here two weeks later. Right now we are trying GroVia biosoakers with Desitin and fleece pockets with CJ's BUTTer. The rash is still there, it gets better sometimes but never completely goes away. I admittedly haven't been airing her tush because we've been on the go a lot lately.

It doesn't help that she never cries when she needs a change. She could be sitting in a poopy diaper for as long as I let her, so I constantly have to check. But at night we've been co-sleeping lately and while I wake up just enough to roll over and nurse her, I have to force myself to physically get up and change her, which doesn't always happen.

pdiannet, did the rash ever go away with disposables for you? My husband has already gently hinted maybe we should give up cloth temporarily (he knows how stubborn I am) but at this point I'll try anything to save my daughter's poor bum.

[pdiannet]

Originally Posted by satchie 

pdiannet, did the rash ever go away with disposables for you? My husband has already gently hinted maybe we should give up cloth temporarily (he knows how stubborn I am) but at this point I'll try anything to save my daughter's poor bum.

Yes, it always goes away immediately when I switch to disposables.  I did do the stripping for my cloth diapers and will be following up on how they work now.  I think I will continue to use disposables at night- considering I think that is where the problem starts- usually a poop diaper worn all night- then it continues as it doesn't have a break all day.  So, I think we will do a combination of both disposables and cloth considering this perpetual problem. 

Oh, also, I wanted to mention- if I put the baby in a bath upon waking up or at first sign of a rash- it almost goes away instantly too- atleast shortens its duration by leaps. 

[satchie]

I just wanted to follow up on this thread for posterity, in case anyone goes searching like I did. My LO is now almost 3 months old and finally, finally rash-free. Yay! For all of my meddling, I honestly think it just went away on its own now that she stopped pooping so dang much! 

Now she has about 2 or 3 big poopy diapers a day and as long as I change her pretty quickly she doesn't get rashy. Luckily, she poops more or less the same times every day so I know when one is coming.

So for anyone suffering from the 24-hour-poop and rash cycle, hang in there! We saw major improvement around 10 weeks!