Angry Red Butt on Newborn--Help!!

[clemrose]

My sweet, mellow son will be one week old tomorrow and already has an angry red bottom, poor guy! I'm not sure of the cause but have two guesses

I think the most likely is from having poop sit on his bum for too long. This boy poops constantly and in his sleep! My dd alway woke up to pee/poop and made such a fuss that we knew immediately to change her. This little guy went nearly six hours the other night without a change (he woke up to nurse once, nursed a teeny bit and fell back asleep--as did I, forgetting to change him!). When I did change him he had a soaking diaper with poop (the seedy part of breastmilk poo) that looked like it had been there a little bit.

My other thought is that we just got a prince lionheart warmies warmer for our cloth wipes and this rash happened at the same time. I'm suspicious of the warmer because of the "stay fresh pillow" at the bottom that smells funny (to me) and seems to make my entire load of diapers smell strange after being washed (just from the used wipes!?!). I'm not sure I trust the "anti-microbial power" of the pillow on my baby, ykwim? (I'm afraid to run it without the pillow...I read that can cause a fire??)

So, we have either been wrapping him in a blanket with a diaper under his bum or pinning a diaper on w/o a cover and changing him immediately either way when he pees. It seems to have gotten a little better. We used cornstarch on him last night and right now have been using Weleda Calendula cream.

Any suggestions?

[Michigan Mama]

i like Weleda, too - but it can cause build up on your dipes, so you might want to use a liner with it. it's not cloth safe.

Giving lots of air time is a good idea, as is changing as often as possible. If you can tell he is going to poop, hold him over a potty! Then he's not sitting in it at all!

I've heard breastmilk can do wonders, too - you could try expressing a little and rubbing it on his sore bum.

Breaks your heart to see, I know. I hope it clears up soon for you.

[Michigan Mama]

Oh - also check your washing routine. Some detergents can bother baby, as well as not rinsing your diapers well enough (hot water works best to get residue out). Just some more ideas to consider!

[hopefulfaith]

I came in from the main page - mine are a little older now, but my ds had his first rash when he was a nb, too -- I ditched the warmer, since I suspected that it was just a nice warm breeding ground for all kinds of microbes, no matter what the packaging said. I was also using cloth wipes in it. I continued using cloth wipes, and the rash persisted, so I switched to paper wipes. He was still sensitive, and I hate to say it...but the Pampers Sensitive wipes were what helped, eventually.
Good luck, mama!

[Ifluffedthree]

if your not using a natural fiber diapers I would use them until he clears up.

switch off to cloth wipes with natural soap and water only for a while.

[clemrose]

Thanks all! The angry butt is now only mildly displeased!

Originally Posted by Ifluffedthree

if your not using a natural fiber diapers I would use them until he clears up. switch off to cloth wipes with natural soap and water only for a while.

We use cotton prefolds w/ a wool soaker or no coverand cotton wipes with water, so we should be good there!

Originally Posted by hopefulfaith

I ditched the warmer, since I suspected that it was just a nice warm breeding ground for all kinds of microbes, no matter what the packaging said.

We stopped using the warmer after my original post...the funky smell and EPA approval of the pillow really turned me off of it.

Originally Posted by Michigan Mama

Oh - also check your washing routine. Some detergents can bother baby, as well as not rinsing your diapers well enough (hot water works best to get residue out). Just some more ideas to consider!

.

We have a brand new washer that only does cold rinses. I do a hot wash w/ an extra rinse. I use biokleen powder or liquid with borax. Could the borax be a problem? He only had redness on his butt so I thought it might be poop/wipe related...I would think detergent or washing routine problems would cause a more general irritation, maybe?

Originally Posted by Michigan Mama

i like Weleda, too - but it can cause build up on your dipes, so you might want to use a liner with it. it's not cloth safe.

Giving lots of air time is a good idea, as is changing as often as possible. If you can tell he is going to poop, hold him over a potty! Then he's not sitting in it at all!

I've heard breastmilk can do wonders, too - you could try expressing a little and rubbing it on his sore bum.

Breaks your heart to see, I know. I hope it clears up soon for you.

Is build up a problem on prefolds? I feel dumb asking, but never even considered it. I don't use pockets because they take too much care for me (we have hard water and they always seem to repel no matter what I did).

I think what cleared it up is airing it out...for 24 hrs we didn't actually diaper him just swaddled him with a prefold tucked inside...created lots of laundry but did the trick.

And this kid poops in his sleep. My DD was so different...peeing and pooping bothered her enough that we always knew. I've changed this little one's diaper while he was sleeping only to have him poop mid change (actually he seems to poop during 80 percent of his diaper changes). The shear volume might be the problem!


****

I'm not sure how best to deal with nighttime diaper changes. W/ my dd I always changed her when she woke up then nursed her back down. But she would wake up crying. This little guy *only* cries (so far) when he is both hungry and getting his diaper changed.

If I nurse him when he wakes up (he makes little snorting/rooting noises loud enough to wake me) then change him while he sleeps he doesn't cry and my dd doesn't wake up (she is a very light sleeper and wakes even though she's in a different room). The problem is I have fallen asleep nursing him, missing a diaper change. I guess I'll just have to change him first, at least as long as he's still pooping at night. When do babes quit that? How much we forget...

Thanks again!

[thefreckledmama]

Even though the redness is just on his bottom, it could be from detergent residue. The residue itself usually isn't the problem, it's the interaction with urine that generally causes the problems. You can try putting 1/4-1/2 cup of plain white vinegar in the rinse before the final rinse, that can go a long way to prevent residue.