Sanitary?

[Tdogs-mom]

ok ladies, so if you use a BBLP or some sort of portable potty I've got some questions for you! Also anyone going bare bummed please chime in

If baby goes pee/poop in the portable potty and you dump the contents out into the toilet then how do you proceed to clean it? Rinse and dump? Clorox wipe? Nothing at all? what's best?

If your letting baby go naked and he/she has wet farts and you have the cloth under there bottom do you feel like your hands are unclean to be touching things? Or even if they don't do anything and your just handling their potentially dirty parts and then touching other things.... I don't know; am I doing this all wrong? Cuz both T and I are sick and I'm wondering if its from unsanitary conditions with the potty/bum situation? what you gals think?

[hrsmom]

I just rinse out the little potty with water. Sometimes I give it a good wipe with a cloth, but I don't think I've ever used soap or anything other than water. I almost always just wash my hands with water, sometimes with soap but not all the time. No major sickness here! I don't think doing EC invites sickness in that way. I hope you're feeling better soon!

[emmaegbert]

I rinse with water if its just pee, and dump, wipe out, spray with vinegar and wipe dry if its poo.

I wash my hands with soap, but don't go crazy about it. I wipe baby as needed w/ toilet paper or a prefold.

I read that ebf baby poo isn't even particularly unsanitary (not that I'd want to leave it around).

IME, full-time diapering involves just as much contact (if not more) with poo.

[Limabean1975]

I dump in the toilet, then rinse & dump the rinsewater in the toilet once or twice. Usually with a squirt of handsoap = not that I think that really cleans it - mostly for the smell if I've let pee sit a while before dumping.

DS (3.5) and I both had diarrhea for a week a few weeks ago, and I have had mild-moderate intestinal cramps since then, and I have to admit I've wondered if it had to do with the few time DD pooped in the sink (when I was expecting only a pee) and perhaps I did not clean it well enough. I've since mainly used the potty (or the big toilet) and not the sink, and used some bleach if she does poop in the sink.

[tifpaul]

I think the OP's methods are fine.

I also think hand-washing with soap before eating or touching the baby's face or hands is the key to preventing infections and illness.

We follow similar practices and are rarely sick. Knock on wood!

[sgmom]

Same as above. Dump. Rinse. Dry with potty cloth (it's not used for ANYTHING else).

I'll wash it (with vinegar or soap) when I think about it, but not daily. I've caught her playing with it (even in her mouth a few times... YUCK!), and she's never been sick.

Imagine what's in the dirt they eat (or other various outdoor items). A rinsed and dried unwashed potty seems sanitary in comparison. lol

[Tdogs-mom]

ok so me just rinsing out the potty sounds normal. What about caring them around the house touchen their butts and then touching other items...food, baby, etc. ? You ladies think there's any problem with that? I wash my hands a million times a day (to the point they are cracking and bleeding in spots) so I may skip washing when I'm letting him go w/o a diaper on even if I touch his bare butt Am I being a little paranoid? I know if it were MY butt I was touching I'd for sure wash my hands but... I don't know.

[emmaegbert]

baby butts are fine by me. I mean, if you're digging around in there with your fingers or something... anyway, there is all this new research that being too clean leads to increases in allergies and auto-immune problems later... check this out- NY times article about how intestinal worms are good for you (no thanks to the worms, but it sure makes me feel better about my dirty kids)
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/27/he...?_r=2&emc=eta1

[laurelg]

As for the bblp, we just dump, rinse with water, and air-dry - unless there is something stubborn stuck in it, in which case we use some TP to wipe it out.

I'm with emma. Butts are just skin, I don't see how it's different than arms or legs - heck, they're probably cleaner than hands and feet. Obviously you should wash up after wiping, but... just handling a nakey baby? It never even crossed my mind that her bare butt would be "dirty."

[BirthKathy]

Hi Tdogs-mom,

When we use the BBLP at home, we just dump in the potty, and then rinse and wipe out with wipes if necessary.

When we've used it in the car a few times, we used a bag and just tied that up. that way, the potty was clean for next time. he doesn't seem to mind peeing (or pooping) in a bag.

We use the potty seat reducer most of the time, and he puts his hands all over the toilet. So we always wipe off the toilet after visitors use it before putting his seat back on. And then we try to keep his hands off the toilet, but when we can't we wash his hands after potty trips. So he's learning about hand washing. It's a little awkward to hold him up to the faucet. i do each hand one at a time, and then dry on a towel. His hands have gotten a little dry, so I only use soap about every other time, and then just a tiny bit.

We definitely touch less poop doing EC, I think!

Yesterday, I went to the grocery and hubby stayed home with the baby. Before I left, I told him that he hadn't pooped much yet that day. He said, "oh, I'm sure he's saving it for me." Sure enough, I got to the store and I had an e-mail on my phone. I opened it up, and it was a picture of a diaper chock full of green diarrhea. Glad I was out. ;-)

We think he's teething, so he's having some sneaky diarrhea-style poop the last couple of days.

[Tdogs-mom]

thanks for all the insight. I agree that skin is skin and I'm positive my sons butt gets washed more than most peoples hands but he "leaks" all day (except when sleeping) and so I thought that handling him with diarrhea might be a bad idea? But sounds like maybe we just caught a tenacious bug of some kind unrelated to the e-coli and staff in poop? I work in surgery and being sterile all the time has probably just gone to my head...leave work at work eh! we'll keep with it then.

[RubyOrganique]

I can understand your concern. I have had to relax a bit with things in this department since my babe came along. Ours loves to lift the toilet lid and wave to the contents as its flushed, so I regularly spray the seat with vinegar and water, if only for my own peace of mind. I've also made hand washing fun and interesting for her so as to promote good and reasonable hygiene. I agree that germs can be good sometimes. That said, I'm a bit neurotic on the subway and in other public places, but don't go so far as hand sanitizer (want to avoid chemicals and alcohol.)
As for play time, I like to use loose training pants or a loose cloth diaper with a snappy to keep her privates off of toys and blocks (especially those that can't be easily washed). It makes EC a little more challenging sometimes, but it's the compromise I had to make since I don't have a wash machine in my place.

[srs]

Originally Posted by Tdogs-mom

thanks for all the insight. I agree that skin is skin and I'm positive my sons butt gets washed more than most peoples hands but he "leaks" all day (except when sleeping) and so I thought that handling him with diarrhea might be a bad idea? But sounds like maybe we just caught a tenacious bug of some kind unrelated to the e-coli and staff in poop? I work in surgery and being sterile all the time has probably just gone to my head...leave work at work eh! we'll keep with it then.

How old is your baby? Because unless it's just from being sick, the "leaking" you're talking about would be more concerning to me than the hygiene. I didn't think most babies poop a little bit throughout the day unless they're very young.

As far as your original question, we rinse the BBLP and then put some hand soap in it and rinse that out. If it needs to be wiped (sometimes poop gets stuck in the potty), we use our diaper sprayer to rinse it out or a cloth wipe, and then do the soap thing. And I always wash my hands with soap after dumping the BBLP, and I would as well if my baby had poop on their bottom. However, if a nakey baby butt is generally clean, I don't worry about touching the outside.