Let's talk baby "products"

[LZP]

For those of you who do use products for baby - baby wash/shampoo, lotion/cream, diaper ointment or cream... what do you like the best in the natural spectrum? The products like Burts Bees, California Baby, Weleda--- they all smell so good, and dont have scary looking ingredients with 34872578 letters in the name. But, they come at a price.

Which are totally worth it, and which can I skip for something I can make at home?

I have Dr. Bronners, lots of organic EOs, organic coconut oil, almond oil, apricot, and jojoba... and probably lots of other things that I could use in my cupboards and pantry.... could that really be enough, or is it worth it to go with some of the ready made stuff just for convenience?

I know I could just go with water, but... well... I'm a product 'ho.

[Sweet.Bee]

I'm not a product expert, but one I really like is the calendula cream from Weleda. It's good for all those dry spots, like behind my son's ears or diaper area redness. The midwife who gave us the birth preparation class recommended it.

It's not from the "baby" line. Here it is.

My husband likes the Weleda bath oils. When he takes a bath with our son, he usually uses the rose cream bath.

[terra-pip]

I've always used Burts Bees, Weleda, or Nature's Gate.

http://www.atlantisherbs.com/ingr/ingr250692.cfm

This is the baby wash and lotion I've used and I love it!!

The natural stuff is more pricey...BBs being the better deal. But I absolutely love the smell of Natures Gate. I have even used the lotion on my big kids!!

Sometimes because of price restrictions if I just needed something I use Huggies natural care (the white bottle is free of dyes and perfumes).
And bronners for babies is good...be careful about getting it in their eyes.

With little babies just a warm rinse is good...they don't really need soap or lotion everyday. And I don't put it in the water, just a dot on my hand and then a rinse with the washcloth. I would put the lotion on their legs...it's a nice way to baby massage after a bath and makes them feel good. But I think baby lotion is really for parents. lol. Just the smell good of it!

I like just plain Desitin Clear for the diaper area. Or a calendula cream. Or A&D. I like to put something on most diaper changes to help prevent...I've never had any problems with serious rashes. If they do get a little one Triple Paste clears it up almost immediately. Of course I will be cloth diaper-ing this time and I think I'll have to find something more natural to protect the diapers or put the baby in sposies until any rash clears up.

[St. Margaret]

We used some California Baby stuff (before they made it hard to find their stuff, they stopped selling at most places around here!), some Burt's Bees, and some other stuff... at 3yo DD still just takes a fun tub soak with BB bubble bath and that gets her clean. She'll rinse a soaking washcloth over her hair a bit. I REALLY want to avoid getting her hair "addicted" to too-frequent washings (like mine! gotta detox this summer when I'm not teaching).

We joined a Frontier co-op our AP group has, so some products are much cheaper that way, but mostly we just watch sales and know that it's SO worth it to avoid the toxic poison that's in most conventional products.

For a little baby, I'd mostly just use water. I might use a tiny bit of Dr B's (what we WOULD use b/c the big bottles are cheap, but DD loves the bubble now, and they help her agree to get out of the bath, when they are mostly gone ). We mixed up our own wipe solution/spray and it was easy, and bathing is so rare/you need so little (even if you bath a lot to calm baby down). But it just depends on you.

Oh, we liked Weleda a lot, too. Just be sure to use liners if you use any diaper cream. Desitin has fish oil or something that can REALLY wreck cloth dipes, then you gotta strip them.

[finnegansmom]

I tend to use the burt's bees soap for bathtime. I use cloth wipes with just warm water for changes (we use cloth diapers). Although I do keep a box of the huggies sensitive disposable wipes in the house for trips out or for the car.

Oh hyenacart, there is a store called Naturally Luxe. They make amazing products.
they have this Healing Balm that I used on my second son's horrible excema. It's all natural and contained lanolin. Works great and you just need a little bit. She also makes some really nice soaps that I love as well. If you go to farmer's markets you might be able to find some handmade soaps, etc.

[fruitfulmomma]

We use California Baby because they are allergen-free and work well for my girls with skin issues. Dh and I use Dr. Bronner's soap and dh uses their lotion. I have major chemical intolerances and can not use anything "cheap". I also can not tolerate most EOs.

Burt's Bees is currently owned by Clorox and I will not use them anymore. When they were sold by the original owners the ingredients began changing and not for the better imo.

[lilmiss'mama]

I loved Hyland's homeopathic diaper cream with the girls! It was great for so many things besides rashes. We even used it to take the itch out of bug bites.

I like California Baby also & Weleda.

[MamaFern]

Originally Posted by Sweet.Bee

I'm not a product expert, but one I really like is the calendula cream from Weleda. It's good for all those dry spots, like behind my son's ears or diaper area redness. The midwife who gave us the birth preparation class recommended it.

It's not from the "baby" line. Here it is.

My husband likes the Weleda bath oils. When he takes a bath with our son, he usually uses the rose cream bath.

i used the calendula baby cream with all my LO's and love it..but then i love almost everything i have tried by Weleda..

[RedOakMomma]

These are the ony products we've really used with our babies:

Diaper Cream: Triple Paste. That stuff WORKS. Totally worth the price. (We use 'sposies, though)
Baby wash/shampoo: Baby Burt's Bees Shampoo
Lotion: Kiss My Face (adult stuff) or Weleda calendula. We also used a Weleda calendula oil for body massage/moisture in the winter, I believe.

That's it. With a baby-sized body, one bottle each of these three things could last you a year or more.

[emilyash]

Originally Posted by fruitfulmomma

Burt's Bees is currently owned by Clorox and I will not use them anymore. When they were sold by the original owners the ingredients began changing and not for the better imo.

How disappointing! Guess I'll be switching to California Baby for bath products once I need to replenish. We currently use CB for sunblock.

I love love love the Moon Valley Baby Bum Bar with St. John's Wort oil. It 's fantastic.

DS (17 mos) only gets a bath once every week or two. Other than that he gets his face wiped and hands cleaned after meals. Now that it's warm he loves the sprinkler and baby pool, so I think he'll be getting even fewer baths! We use Earth's Best Baby Wipes with our cloth dipes.

We've only used 1/2 a bottle of Burt's Bees Baby Wash since DS was born!

[nia82]

I like the weleda diaper rash cream the best, ca baby is fine too. We use ca baby bath amd lotion products with great success.
Too bad for burts bees... that they r changing the ingredients stinks!
When DS was a newborn and he had rashes (sposies!!!) the ped gave us triple paste and I found it to be horrible, as well as AD paste. Weleda cured him in no time, and we are mostly rash free with cloth.

I made it a habit to check all products at the cosmetic database skin deep. Natures Gate still has lots of crappy stuff. Dr Bronner or Avalon Organics or shea wash from Wholefoods are safe.

[CherryBomb]

I usually use Burt's Bees. I know they suck now that chlorox owns them, but it's the most affordable and accessible for me, and I figure it's still better than the regular crap full of parabens and sulfates and junk.

[MissMorgan]

As far as making your own stuff goes I found this the other day.. I don't any experience USING IT but I plan to. Its super simple natural ingredients which I love!
homemade natural diaper cream and lotion

[splath]

We like California Baby bath products, and use Burt's Bees diaper cream. The Weleda diaper cream broke dd out really badly.

[MamaMonica]

Moved to Natural Body Care

[LZP]

Originally Posted by MissMorgan

As far as making your own stuff goes I found this the other day.. I don't any experience USING IT but I plan to. Its super simple natural ingredients which I love!
homemade natural diaper cream and lotion

thanks fellow August DDC-er!! I can't WAIT to try this. i have the coconut oil, and have to just hunt down some raw shea... awesome!!! (I might add the lavendar like she suggests, I always love a good experiment.)

(and sorry mods, that I posted in the wrong place )

[IndigoKoi]

We usually just use warm water, maybe soap once a week. We used to use Weleda Baby as well, but have since switched to using the Castile & Calendula soap bar from www.chagrinvalleysoapandcraft.com, and as for cream, I use a cream I made for my son (originally for his eczema) that has calendula in it as well.

[Chamomile Girl]

I've got a real love for Weleda diaper cream. I also use a calendula salve that I made. I use the Badger sunscreen because the ingredents are sublime. I can't stand the way Burt's Bees smells (it's fragrance...not EO's) but Weleda smells really good.

We've used Peter Rabbit Organics bodywash for his skin and hair since he was born. In the last month or so its not cutting it as DS loves to mash is food into his hair and all over his face. So I think some Bronner's is in the future...not for his hair though. To harsh.

Any time I need to do a massage I have the Calendula Lotion from Weleda, or coconut oil. I also make his diaper spray from scratch from Dr. Bronners and Lavender Hydrosol.