Cloth Diaper Wipe question

[Lauren31]

OK, I am so confused -- I am doing cloth diapering but can't figure out the wipe stuff. My husband thinks its HORRIBLY disgusting to wipe a babies but with anything but an "antibacterial" disposable wipe. I thought I could just use a dry wipe, wet it in some water and wipe the baby. Does it need more then that? Soap? How do people do this??? I just find it will be inconvenent to have disposable diaper wipes and then have to remember not to throw them in with the CD that I put in the wet bag.

[Pepper44]

Some people make up a wipe solution to use, maybe that would make your DH feel better?

I have always just wet the wipes with water and it's never been a problem at all!

[Lauren31]

He told me that when the baby has UTIs, fungus, and rashes bc I didn't use a soap to wipe the poop off then it would be my fault. UGH. He is ridiculous.

[karika]

you can buy cute reusable cloth wipes too. I do EC but had these for when baby was so small poo happened all the time. Poo from exclusively breastfed babies is not gross at all, nor staining. It is pure and I don't even think it has germs in it (I wish I could find the link I used to have at kellymom.com about the purity of breastfed baby poop). Antibacterial anything is dangerous! especially for a baby's skin... it could lead to many health problems to use anything that has triclosan as an ingredient anywhere in the house.... I have always just used water. warm water. it irritates me so to see moms wiping babies with a baby wipe straight from the pack. it is so cold! they should try wiping themselves with one as if they don't even know it is coming, how it is for the baby.... anyway I have to be honest, I am an environmentalist but I would use a bit of toilet paper first, then the warm cloth wipe wet with water. just put it in with the cloth diapers to wash....as soon as my children are sitting up and such I also always do a bath after a poo. we just use water in our baths, but this way I make sure they are clean. also if you need wipes to go, the seventh generation brand are made of cloth it says on pack, so I would wash them and reuse them. They would stand up to 3 uses usually.... I still have my reusable cloth wipes and use them whenever someone needs an extra cleanse.... they never stained or anything.... sorry for typo... needy 14 mo here

[Pepper44]

Originally Posted by Lauren31

He told me that when the baby has UTIs, fungus, and rashes bc I didn't use a soap to wipe the poop off then it would be my fault. UGH. He is ridiculous.

What does he wipe his own butt with? Special antibacterial toilet paper? Clorox wipes?

Also, are regular disposable wipes even made to be antibacterial?

[karika]

Originally Posted by Lauren31

He told me that when the baby has UTIs, fungus, and rashes bc I didn't use a soap to wipe the poop off then it would be my fault. UGH. He is ridiculous.

o my yes this is ridiculous. soap would be more prone to cause these things than prevent them..... also any type of butt stuff i ever encountered was due to me ingesting milk or cheese... it would give the child a red ring around the anus every time... try to get the child over a potty for poo events for sure... i started as soon as the meconium was gone.. it is much easier... see the ec board for suggestions... gg

[tri31]

Even the hospital where I had ds does not use commercial wipes. They use plain disposable wipes which you dampen with warm water. We also will be practicing ec (again) with our new arrival this spring. I agree with pp, chemicals are not neccessary.

[chattyprincess]

My dh did not realize with our first that baby wipes were NOT antibactial. I had to show him on the package that they were in a solution of water, soap and random other things.
For surfaces that may come in contact with food, a potable water rinse is required. Not for cleaning or sanitizing skin. Do not use as diaper wipe or for personal cleansing.http://www.clorox.com/products/usage.php?prod_id=cdw

ingredients and danger ratings of baby wipes.
http://www.cosmeticsdatabase.com/bro...wmore=products

I have a little girl too and kept having to remind dh that utis are mainly caused by the soap in bath water and wiping the wrong way (we even discussed this with our doc and our dd's ped.) rashes for our daughter had NOTHING to do with not cleaning enough/properly, but was just from being sensitve to the dairy in breast milk and from certain soaps in wipes. (again confirmed with her ped). I am not sure about fungus but that occurs in any warm and damp area so really diapers ARE the perfect breeding ground (again another thing our ped confirmed). Are you guys having a meet and greet with a ped before dd is born? we did and our doc actually reccomened a soft paper towel sprayed with water to wipe baby with (totally mainstream doc!) he said he sees a lot of babies allergic to fragrances/ingredients in wipes. he explained that if we are supposed to use fragrance free soap for cleaning baby items why would we apply the same thing directly to such sensitve skin?

[Lauren31]

thanks so much! I am telling all of this to my DH. Appearantly he thought that baby wipes were antibacterial. He knows we have NO antibacterial crap in the house bc I am against it so why would I wipe the babies butt with it? haha He said, "i guess my mom is a horrible person bc she uses baby wipes" ARGH, it always comes back to how my family is a bunch of hippies and his family is "evil" in my mind for not doing things like CDing, making homemade baby food, not using paper towels, etc. Although he loves the fact that we don't use disposable napkins. That is how I talked him into CDing, the cost savings. LOL.

So would the best solution be to just have dry cloth wipes and use those? Or should I wet them first with plain water? Should I have a "solution" in a spray bottle? Should I buy a diaper cloth warmer and put the wipes in there with the solution?

[mosesface]

the diapering forum has lots and lots of recipes for wipe solution and ideas for buying or making your own cloth wipes.

we have always used cloth wipes with plain water. dd is 2 next month and has never, ever had any sort of "butt issue".

[Chamomile Girl]

Water works fine, but I like to have a wipes solution next to the changing table (and in the diaper bag) because its easier than trying to juggle a baby while going to the sink.

Here is my solution:

Lavender hydrosol
a bit of aloe vera
a bit of Dr. Bronners
distilled water (never use water straight from the tap in homemade bodycare products because it leads to mold etc).

I mix a gallon at a time, put some in a spray bottle and then spray his bootie at every change. Its cold but he doesn't seem to mind it much. Unfortunately our house is old and it takes about 1.5 minutes of running the water to get warm, so environmentally I wouldn't want to use warm water every time anyways. So this works for me!

[HappiLeigh]

Water works fine. I bought a wipes warmer for convenience, because I changed my DD in her bedroom and thought that for the money ($20) it would be nice to not have to either a) wait for the water in the sink to warm in the upstairs bathroom while my unhappy child was waiting for a diaper change or b) squirt totally cold water on her bum or a wipe. But it was a luxury, not a necessity, for sure. I would wet a big stack of cloth wipes and then keep them in the warmer, all ready to go. If it was a *really* messy poo, on occasion I took her into the sink afterward and gave her a quick sponge bath with soap and water. I plan on using the same method for this new baby.

For what it's worth, if your DH prefers to use sposie wipes during his changes, you can buy really thick ones that are marketed for toddlers (the Target brand I know makes one, although I don't know about your access to these since you're in Germany) that actually come through the wash intact if you just throw them in the washer with your dipes. I use those when I'm out, because there isn't always a place to get my cloth wipes wet if I'm diaper-changing out of the house. I have a couple friends who then re-use these cleaned "disposable" wipes as diaper liners. No reason you can't use separate wipes if it makes DH feel better. But I can't imagine chosing the sposies if cloth are available--cloth wipes up poo much easier!

[chattyprincess]

Originally Posted by Lauren31

thanks so much! I am telling all of this to my DH. Appearantly he thought that baby wipes were antibacterial. He knows we have NO antibacterial crap in the house bc I am against it so why would I wipe the babies butt with it? haha He said, "i guess my mom is a horrible person bc she uses baby wipes" ARGH, it always comes back to how my family is a bunch of hippies and his family is "evil" in my mind for not doing things like CDing, making homemade baby food, not using paper towels, etc. Although he loves the fact that we don't use disposable napkins. That is how I talked him into CDing, the cost savings. LOL.

So would the best solution be to just have dry cloth wipes and use those? Or should I wet them first with plain water? Should I have a "solution" in a spray bottle? Should I buy a diaper cloth warmer and put the wipes in there with the solution?

Meh every family is different and every family makes the decision that seems best at the time. If he is more comfortable with baby wipes thats fine! We find that the huggies unscented works great but hey thats what works for us. For the next baby we will probably use a combo of wipes and cloth wipes anyways...Have you asked him what his opinion of the wipes are? Is there a reason he feels so strongly about not using cloth?

I know my bil doesn't want to because he thinks only poor people cannot afford disposables and he doesn't want to appear to be anything but affluent. My mother would use disposables again in a heart beat if she had another kid (she won't!) b/c disposables were not widely availble until my 3rd bro was born and then she used them and couldn't believe, well the convinece!

Has he actually asked his mom about cloth diapers? most people who are older then 22/23 were cloth diapered because thats what was availble, disposables were not widely common until the 90's. Just something for him to think about. His mother probably did do alot of what you are planning to do because she wouldn't have had the choice. My mom made our baby food because store bought was really $$ and she couldn't convince my dad it was "better" then smashing up the same food at home. irony.

[npl]

I've often washed the disposable baby wipes with my diapers, and they come out totally fine - no shredding or anything, and could definitely be used again.
I also use cloth wipes (actually, mostly cheap baby washcloths) wet with plain water. I sometimes prepare these wet and keep in a travel wipes container from disposables, but I wasn't good about remembering to empty it when we got home, so it wasn't so hygeinic. I usually use the disposable wipes in the diaper bag, and either threw them out or kept them in the folded diaper and put them in the wash. And sometimes, at home, I'd use disposable wipes for convenience.
But, I do think the baby washcloths work the best for cleaning big messes, and I only used plain water with them, either from the sink or with a spritz bottle.

[Jenica]

My mom never used wipes with my brother or me. I don't think they were available then. She would just wash our butts in between diaper changes. I plan on doing the same for at home and bringing some cloth wipes and solution for when we are out.

[Lauren31]

Originally Posted by chattyprincess

Has he actually asked his mom about cloth diapers? most people who are older then 22/23 were cloth diapered because thats what was availble, disposables were not widely common until the 90's. Just something for him to think about. His mother probably did do alot of what you are planning to do because she wouldn't have had the choice. My mom made our baby food because store bought was really $$ and she couldn't convince my dad it was "better" then smashing up the same food at home. irony.

His mom actually just had a baby who is now 2 years old! She is definitely not doing CDing, not making baby food, not baby wearing, etc., not doing anything that I would do as a mom. A lot of the stuff I want to do, ie the wraps and slings and such my DH thinks is odd bc his mom never did that. He is 26 years older then his youngest sibling. He is the oldest. I think it almost offends him how different I am in my mothering style.

[chattyprincess]

Originally Posted by Lauren31

His mom actually just had a baby who is now 2 years old! She is definitely not doing CDing, not making baby food, not baby wearing, etc., not doing anything that I would do as a mom. A lot of the stuff I want to do, ie the wraps and slings and such my DH thinks is odd bc his mom never did that. He is 26 years older then his youngest sibling. He is the oldest. I think it almost offends him how different I am in my mothering style.

Oh I was more referring to when he was a child I will be turning 25 (tomorrow ) and was cloth diapered as was my 22 year old brother and then my bro who is 19 was in disposables because they finally became widely avaible, worked well and were affordable.

[MsVyky]

we make our 'wipe juice' with mostly water, with a tiny squirt of baby dr.bronner's soap, and if there is any rash/yeasty issues, the tiiiiniest drop of tea tree oil 9anti-fungal) hth


we also use a warmer.

nak

[Gingercat]

I've been using these wonderful Baby Bits in a spray bottle for nearly 2.5 years now and never had a problem with diaper rash etc.
Highly recommended for those who are lazy enough to make their own wipe solution , or for those who want something more than just plain water (which by the way I believe it works just fine!).

[crazyrunningmama]

Originally Posted by Lauren31

He told me that when the baby has UTIs, fungus, and rashes bc I didn't use a soap to wipe the poop off then it would be my fault. UGH. He is ridiculous.

What made the biggest difference for dd was air time (having a naked butt for a few minutes a couple of times per day). She hardly ever had rashes. Commercial diaper wipes have a lot of junk in them that I wouldn't want on my tender bits, so why would I use them on my dd (many times per day?). Someone told me that commercial diaper wipes are great for getting stains off your clothes (harsh!). We used specially designated baby wash clothes and threw them right into the diaper pail.