No Win Diaper Situation

[Kim B Lynn]

My son is 7 months old, and we've been suffering with a rash for a few weeks. It's really pretty mild and comes and goes....BUT....since he's learned how to scratch himself down there, I can't keep his hands off, and I'm afraid it's keeping it from healing. He immediately reaches for his penis when I change his diaper, and throws a massive fit when I take his hands off and put the diaper back on. (I'm not morally opposed to him touching his private parts. I only keep him from it because I worry it's keeping the rash around and his nails scratch his skin until it bleeds.)

Usually I try to give him plenty of nakeybutt time if he has a rash so it can air out. But with his new scratching habit, if I let him even touch his scrotum, it scratches and bleeds. He's very VERY rough with it. Add that to my difficulty cutting his nails, and it's a recipe for a very tender little area.

I think I should try using a cream or something, but I'm not sure what. I'm also not sure what to do about my diapers, because I'm using cloth (bumGenius) and I've heard creams ruin the fabric's wicking properties (and I don't want him rubbing his hands all over in the cream either). I don't really want to use disposables in the mean time because I feel like using them is what got this rash going in the first place. We used them while we went out of town for the weekend, and that's when he started getting red.

Anyway, This morning I finally wrestled him down to take care of his nails. It was a terrible ordeal. I don't know why he hates it so much, but I try not to do it very much because I don't like to intentionally make him cry.

I also finally decided to let him do whatever he wanted when I took his diaper off since his nails were cut. (This because at 3 AM this morning I changed his diaper and he never really fell back asleep because he kept trying to scratch over his diaper.) It didn't make him feel better...surprise! But I'm tired of trying to get creative and manage 4 flailing appendages at once while securing a diaper on a screaming baby who is also arching his back.

I feel very VERY un-AP right now. Like a horrible mean mom for
*cutting his nails while he wailed and cried
*letting this rash hang around for so long
*letting him scratch himself and cut up the skin
*not letting him scratch himself and being angry about it

I'm feeling really really frustrated and sleep deprived over this stupid rash. I really need him to get better and I'm not sure how.

[cristeen]

My little guy's had a rash off and on the last 2 weeks, in part due to dietary changes, I think. But what I'm doing is keeping his nails short, short, short (luckily he lets me). Once I've cleaned up he's allowed to play with himself for a minute before I treat the rash. I alternate virgin CO and a tapioca starch based powder. I've also started changing after every pee and using stay-dry liners when I'm not going to be able to. He still fights me putting the diaper back on, but

As for creams and CDs - it's the zinc oxide in the creams that you need to avoid. So find one that doesn't have that.

[tzs]

don;t feel bad. i'd venture to say if he has to scream to get his nails cut then it might have to be that way. you are taking care of your babe. i mean, would you feel bad if he screamed while you strapped him into his carseat? some things just have to be done, yk?

that said, do you think some cotton baby gloves would help so he could run around nekid or would he rip them off? or maybe some nekid time while you played together so he was otherwise occupied?

[slimkins]

That is exactly where my son's eczema (dairy and soy allergy/sensitivity) appeared, and didn't go away until I eliminated them from my diet. Do you know what kind of rash he has? Does it go beyond his diaper? My son had it on his tummy and thighs, too.
As for the nails, I always weigh the risk/benefit thing when it comes to making my son cry. IMO, nails have to be cut, especially when they can hurt themselves (my son does the same kind of abuse to his "manly bits" and the surrounding area!). I would still cut his nails, even if he is screaming, but do it really fast. I also cut while my son is nursing (fantastic distraction). If he keeps cutting himself that could possibly lead to an infection and that would really stink, so the benefit really outweighs the risk.
There are a lot of creams you can use with cloth. None of the California Baby ones have been a problem for us, nor lanolin. I'm not sure what are ok, but you can easily google it. Also, when my son has been REALLY REALLY itchy, I have used a tiny bit of cortisone cream (I know not idea but I don't know what else to use to comfort him) and he would stop scratching. If someone has a suggestion for a more natural anti-itch let me know. Calendula cream never helped with itching, if that matters.

Don't feel bad for making your baby cry if you are trying to help him. To me, AP means meeting their needs- even if they don't know it and it upsets them a little.

[dislocator3972]

Will he stand up if he's holding on to something? Try getting one of those 18 gallon Rubbermaid buckets and letting him cruise around on the inside. Holding on to the sides will (hopefully) keep his hands occupied, and messes are really easy to clean up in those.

Also, pure cornstarch can really help a rash and won't affect your cloth. If you do need a zinc oxide cream, just do your best with liners. I used zinc oxide at every diaper change for a few weeks and haven't noticed any difference in my diapers. My DD always, always gets changed after every pee though. Maybe if your DC sits in it longer you might see a difference, IDK.

[sarahdavida]

[QUOTE=Kim B Lynn;15352406]Anyway, This morning I finally wrestled him down to take care of his nails. It was a terrible ordeal. I don't know why he hates it so much, but I try not to do it very much because I don't like to intentionally make him cry. QUOTE]

From very early on, I could never cut DS´ nails while he was awake, I always waited until he was very much asleep and would cut them then...takes a little care to not wake him up, but it was virtually impossible otherwise. He is now 3 yrs old and I still do it that way. I also keep a gentle file around to smooth edges and corners.

Have you tried oatmeal baths? They are good for irritated skin, but with DS´ rashes (general skin/heat, not diaper so much) I actually found that bathing him LESS was better, so we dropped down to baths every 2 -3 nights instead of evey night.

Also, there might be a non-alcoholic aloe gel that is gentle but will ease the itchiness. I found one here (in Peru, so don´t think they have it there - it´s called Aloe Grisi) and I was shocked at how effective it was for relieving itchiness.

Finally, I would put him in extra-large diapers for a while sometimes, so he was still protected when I needed him to be, but the material wasn´t so close to his skin and it could breathe a little more...

[hildare]

so sorry!!!
if it makes you feel any better, we've bathed our six month old a total of 6 times EVER in her life because it makes her scream.
we had trouble with the nails too, i ended up doing it best by having dh hold her and intensely distract her while i bite them off. if i try while she's asleep she wakes up.
she too likes the diaper off touchy time, so i have a horrible noisy electronic keyring toy (her only battery powered toy) that i hand her while i change her (if there's poo, otherwise i'm ok with touchy time). do not underestimate the power of distractability.
we've used rash cream with BG's on several occasions. you are right that it is bad for diaps so you can use a diaper liner (BG actually make some among other companies. we do use disposable but earth friendly ones but some folks use a layer of flannel) to keep that from happening or try to strip them when the rash is gone.
no tips about the rash, though. that's a tough one.

[texmati]

My son has started "exploring' during diaper changes as well. I think at this point it's just something fun to grab.

Instead of nakey time, why don't you put him in 'just' a onsie? He'd still be able to grab himself, but maybe not do so much damage with his nails.

[DevaMajka]

I was going to suggest thin cotton diapers, or even just undies (I think you can find teeny ones online). But the onsies are a good idea, and you likely already have them!

[candelaria80]

Originally Posted by hildare

we had trouble with the nails too, i ended up doing it best by having dh hold her and intensely distract her while i bite them off. if i try while she's asleep she wakes up.
.

I do the biting thing as well, except I do it when she nursing. She finds is assuming and it's the only time she will let me do it. Before I had a baby I thought the idea was gross, but after making her bleed 2 times I came around. I find it works way better than clippers because there are no sharp corners on the nails after and you can get them way shorter.

[PoppyMama]

With synthetics any cream can be pretty bad but for other diapers it's the petrolatum and fish oils that are the worst not the zinc. I wonder if you little one has some fungus growing in there somewhere and that is increasing his itching. My best rash treatment for an awful, symptomatic rash is a thin layer of hydrocortisone cream with a thin layer of monistat. Not crunchy I know but it works really well and makes them comfortable fast.

[leam811]

We've had good luck with Melissa's Magick Baby Balm, http://www.sweetmelissasherbals.com/

It's kinda expensive but a little goes a long way. And I second the cornstarch recommendation - we are dealing with diaper rash right now and it has helped A LOT.

And for nail clipping - we have baby nail scissors. Not as tidy as clippers but not as scary either. After I cut DD's thumb twice (!) with clippers, I chucked it and have stuck with the scissors ever since.

Take care.

[PrincessAnika]

is it possibly a yeast infection causing the rash? also on creams - my mom used diprotex (dyprotex? sp...) with cloth diapers - it was the only thing that ever worked on my sister - if you can find it it might be worth a try....

[mkksmom]

My LO is 7 mo old, and I still file her nails. It seems easier with her. I know I was trimming them with my older dd by now for sure, but this LO's nails get sharp before there's even enough to trim.

[zamia7]

you can get disposable liners for the cloth diapers, then use whatever ou need to for the rash, and a quick tip for nail cutting--turn on the tv. it takes a very long time for me if i try to just cut them, but if i turn on the tv, i can usually do it in about 2 minutes.

[marinak1977]

I second trimming LO's nails while he's asleep or nursing (that's how we get ours done). I use tiny cuticle scissors. Yes, they have sharp ends, but I take care not to stick my DS and I never have to worry about cutting skin because the tips are so thin and it's easy to position them between the nail and the finger.

[texmati]

I just also wanted to second the idea to make sure that it's not a yeast rash. google pics of yeast diaper rash and compare-- my poor son suffered needlessly for weeks! Once we started treating for yeast it was gone in days and never came back.

[colsxjack]

You could put on a cloth diaper without a cover so it will be breathable but keep messes under control and keep him from scratching himself.