Help!! Homeade Wipes Fiasco!

[brainysinglemom]

Oh mamas! The homemade wipes thing is *not* going well. I'm giving my baby (8-months-old) her first ever consistent diaper rash with my terrible wipes!!

I can't believe my all-natural beautiful wipes are a zillion times worse than the Target Sensitive Skin brand. Argh!

So, first I used the Isme Visme, or whatever it's called, cloths with a solution of distilled water, a little aloe, a little olive oil, a few drops of Dr. Bronner's baby soap and a couple drops of orange oil RASH!

Then I changed to those cloths, plus a cut up super soft flannel receiving blanket with:
Distilled water
A few drips of GSE (grapefruit seed extract)
3/4 tsp olive oil

I keep the wipes in the baby wipes container covered with water. I squeeze extra out before use.

Rash!!

Also, I wash the wipes with the CD's at the same time, same soap (country save, although just changed to rocking green - post rash change).

I just went out and bought some store-bought wipes.

I'd like to try again in a few weeks after her rash clears and she's good again. But should I even try again? What am I doing wrong? Is there any hope for using my own wipes?

Thanks so much!
Julie

[cyncyn]

Try keeping your wipes dry until ready to use, then wet down with plain water. If you have a particularly messy situation, add a couple drops of baby shampoo/soap to the water. My dd was sensitive to any EO I tried for wipes. Also, always dry your baby off after wiping.

[Juliacat]

Distilled water.

[KristyDi]

I agree w/ pp. Plain water works best and let her little bum dry before putting the dipe back on. Some naked time will help heal the rash faster too.

[IndigoKoi]

It could be the citrus oils. Sometimes they can irritate skin, and babies in particular can be sensitive to citrus foods as well until they are a bit older.

[Perdita_in_Ontario]

We just use water too.

[mountainfeather]

I keep a mug of water near the diaper area. Dip wipe in water, and that's it.

[ledzepplon]

Originally Posted by IndigoKoi

It could be the citrus oils. Sometimes they can irritate skin, and babies in particular can be sensitive to citrus foods as well until they are a bit older.

That was my first thought, too. I would stick with plain water.

[Nicole730]

Same as PP, we just put plain water on ours, right before we use them.

[brainysinglemom]

Hi all! Thanks for the plain water suggestion.

Do y'all use distilled water? That's what I've been using.

Also, do you use water for pee and poop, or just poop? And, how wet do you get your cloth? Thanks so much! Julie

[feminist~mama]

we use plain ol' tap water, get them pretty wet, then put them in the wipes warmer.

that's it! it's been working well so far!

[HeatherB]

I've used plain water straight from the tap for most of my diapering days. That should definitely NOT cause an irritation. If you want to add a few drops of something, try one item at a time. Maybe some baby soap to start with, oil after that, and any EOs after that. The EOs are most likely to be causing the problem.

[SilverFish]

we use plain old tap water too. never had a situation so bad that water didn't clean it up. we keep our wipes dry, and i head to the bathroom sink to dampen them (it's only a few steps away, not really inconvenient).

[blizzard_babe]

Yup, all for the plain water here. We'd put a tiny bit of aloe in when we were feeling all fancy-schmancy.

[smpayne]

Plain old tap water here, no matter how big the mess was. I even caught dh telling other people about our wipe, he loved them. I did put the water in the wipe warmer, but always kept the wipes dry until needed. I found that when I kept the wipes wet, they started to stink and get scummy.

[chel]

plain tap water here as well. i change dd in my/our bedroom, so i just run by the sink. ikeep wipes - cheap washcloths, in a drawer by the sink.

i use disposie wipes when out as i often change dd in the car.

[olien]

If you really want to try EOs, try lavender. And I would only use therapeutic grade like young living. Lav oil is used to treat diap rash.

[emnic77]

Agreed, I would guess the citrus is what's burning her.
I have a huggies wipe box (bought them for meconium). I empty that, put two or three drops of plain castille soap, a few drops of witch hazel, maybe a cup of water? I don't measure....and toss the wipes in and flip them once to soak. I pour out any leftover water, and give each wipe a quick squeeze before I use it.
Never had a bit of diaper rash here with that method.

[lunita1]

Originally Posted by brainysinglemom

Oh mamas! The homemade wipes thing is *not* going well. I'm giving my baby (8-months-old) her first ever consistent diaper rash with my terrible wipes!!

I can't believe my all-natural beautiful wipes are a zillion times worse than the Target Sensitive Skin brand. Argh!

So, first I used the Isme Visme, or whatever it's called, cloths with a solution of distilled water, a little aloe, a little olive oil, a few drops of Dr. Bronner's baby soap and a couple drops of orange oil RASH!

Then I changed to those cloths, plus a cut up super soft flannel receiving blanket with:
Distilled water
A few drips of GSE (grapefruit seed extract)
3/4 tsp olive oil

I keep the wipes in the baby wipes container covered with water. I squeeze extra out before use.

Rash!!

Also, I wash the wipes with the CD's at the same time, same soap (country save, although just changed to rocking green - post rash change).

I just went out and bought some store-bought wipes.

I'd like to try again in a few weeks after her rash clears and she's good again. But should I even try again? What am I doing wrong? Is there any hope for using my own wipes?

Thanks so much!
Julie

I agree with what others have said about the GSE. It is AMAZIng stuff (I've used it for treating strep,mastitis, yeast, etc.), but very potent and potentially very irritating.. I wouldn't use it at a dilution of more than about a drop or two per gallon of water for a baby.

I usually take my wipes to the sink and wet it before changing a diaper, rather than keeping them in any kind of solution.

[Carma]

You might have yeast from the wipes standing in water. I keep my flannel wipes dry until I need them. Then I wet 3 wipes with plain water and I dry her off with a dry one. I wash the wipes with our regular laundry (Tide) and with the diaper laundry (7th Gen.). No rashes yet.

Carma