Cleaning a girl

[Lineymom]

This has to seem really stupid, but here it goes. I have two boys, worked in a daycare in college and kept my neice as an infant. Well, now I have a 3 wk old little girl and am having trouble getting her clean after a poopy diaper.

The other baby girls I ever changed have more solid, not breastmilk poop. My DD is now only pooping once a day and it is a huge mess. It fills her diaper from back to front completely. Needless to say there is poop inside the folds of her labia. I have such a hard time getting it out. I'm afraid of hurting her in such a sensitive area, but I can't leave it there. I am using cloth wipes (homemade from flannel pjs) with dr bronners and water. I worry if this could burn/irritate her there, but water doesn't seem to be enough to get her clean. I have even found poop still in there after a soak in the tub. Today I actually tried my peri bottle! Any suggestions????

[luckygreen713]

I was going to suggest a peri bottle, but you already tried that. Did you get her cleaner with it? If so I would continue with that. I have 2 girls and I had more trouble with one than the other at that age. I find that the wetter the wipe, the better. And I really like California Baby Diaper Area Wash. It's a spray that is gentle and non-burning. I spray directly on my dd and wipe/dab with a wet baby wash cloth. It works very well.

[mntnmom]

with my dd I sometimes had to move folds around to get her clean. i was always very careful of her vagina/urethra area though. That's usually when I put her in the tub. Don't worry, as long as you're not in any way forceful, it's hard to hurt her. I do second using a little gentler soap though.

[kawa kamuri]

I wouldn't wash my own vulva with Dr. B let alone the vulva of a newborn. I find it's more about the gentle wiping, spreading apart the labia with my fingers (thumb and pointer, usually) than soaps or detergents.

[Lineymom]

Originally Posted by kawa kamuri

I wouldn't wash my own vulva with Dr. B let alone the vulva of a newborn.

Yeah, the stuff is really stronger than I thought it would be. It burns your eyes worse than any other soap, I think.

I am only using one squirt of the stuff (already watered down for my other kids bath soap) in about a cup of water for a wipe warmer full of wipes. But still... I would like something better. Plus I am worrying about the wipes staying fresh, but thats a whole other subject.

[SeekingJoy]

I used a homemade babywipe solution of water + a cap of apricot oil + squirt of Burts Bees or Calif Baby babywash. It was plenty gentle for DD.

During this short phase before solids, I would just swish DD in the sink or tub if I didn't feel like she was getting clean enough.

[Mom2SammyJoe]

I made my wipes with two layers of flannel, and I think these are often too bulky to get DD clean. I think a cheap, thin Gerber washcloth gets in her folds easier.

[Mrsboyko]

Originally Posted by Mom2SammyJoe

I made my wipes with two layers of flannel, and I think these are often too bulky to get DD clean. I think a cheap, thin Gerber washcloth gets in her folds easier.

I love the gerber washcloths for wipes, they are perfect.

[Baby Makes 4]

I agree with the cheap thin washcloths. I have a locally made very mild foaming baby wash. I wipe away as much of the poop as I can with just a wet cloth, put one pump of foam on her, wipe it around to get the rest of the mess off and a last rinse with another wet cloth.

I do gently spread her labia and wipe away any stuff that's gotten in there. If it is really deep I wash her under the tap. Even at 10 month the whole area is so tiny that I am afraid of hurting her by wiping too hard or trying to clean to deeply.

[Lineymom]

Thanks everyone. She is now pooping like every other day, so I am just giving her a bath afterward. I guess I am lucky my boys at this age NEVER had a pee only diaper!!!

[boater]

I would run the tap of the bath tub, get it to a nice warm temp, drape her over your arm and use the other hand rinse the area. This is a bit more convenient than a full bath and the poop is rinsed away in the running water. You may even be able to pull it off with only undressing her from the waist down.

[hdeering]

You might even try EC with her if she's only doing it every other day or so. As long as you can tell before it's happening. Sometimes they're very stealthy!

I think we started it around 4 weeks, so it might be worth a try.

[mambera]

Originally Posted by boater

I would run the tap of the bath tub, get it to a nice warm temp, drape her over your arm and use the other hand rinse the area. This is a bit more convenient than a full bath and the poop is rinsed away in the running water. You may even be able to pull it off with only undressing her from the waist down.

We washed dd's bum in the bathroom sink after every poo until starting solids - still do it if she's had a messy poo. In the beginning it was a bit of a production with full undressing, but we got pretty good at it and after a while it was no big deal. Here's our method:

Strip from waist down and tuck up any hanging onesie ends. Palm baby's chest, grip with your fingers around her side/under her armpit, and lean her belly along your forearm. Run water in the sink to a comfortable temp and stick baby's butt under the tap. Use free hand to wash in all folds and crevices.

The peri bottle is also a great idea (esp if you don't have a sink convenient to the changing table) but I would stay away from any soap or wash solution. Water should be plenty as long as you can see what you are doing.