Baby wipes or water?

EleanorKr · May 2014

I don't know if this is a thing that people do or if this is really silly, but I was wondering:

Are baby wipes a must? Wouldn't it be better for a baby's sensitive skin to use cotton wool or a soft flannel cloth and water to clean them during nappy changes? I can't find a lot of information online, only people who make their own wipes solution. Hardly anyone uses just water to clean their baby's bum. Maybe that's my answer, maybe people don't do it because it makes no sense.

Any insight? Am I overlooking a really obvious reason why not to use only water?

SuperTinkerham · May 2014

Go ask on the cloth diapering board. I plan on CD & using cloth wipes. I'm probably just going to use water on the wipes. I may try homemade or store bought solution but worry abt skin sensitivities.

Myanswer true · May 2014

I watched a video about the nannies that are hired to take care of the British royal babies, and they are trained to use dampened cotton balls. I would assume if just water is good enough for a prince's bum, it'd be good enough for everybody else's?

EleanorKr · May 2014

I didn't even know there was a CD board, will definitely check that out. Thanks!

marsalisails · May 2014

We used those little thin wash cloths that you can get at BRU, and water, and were able to use them from when he was born until he was potty trained. I had a small stash of disposable for when we went out, but the cloth worked really well (we didn't go as far as cloth diapering last time).

We then kept a small bucket with some water and oxyclean next to the changing table to put them in. It stopped the smells and we did a small load of laundry a couple/few times per week.

Work for us.

bewilderingstar · May 2014

We plan on making our own wipes too. There are so many chemicals in the traditional wipes and will only use those while out of the house.

Shelleybell · May 2014

our hospital actually doesn't give you wipes to use (only warm water and cloth wash cloths). We actually continued this for diaper changes for the first month because dc's skin was so sensitive there. FWIW we were also told to just use warm water and no bath soaps etc for the first 3 months. Pedi just said it was unnecessary.

queenieM · May 2014

our midwife recommended damp cotton balls too. She said when you're out and about, to get a plastic baby wipe dispenser that you can keep in your diaper bag and put some pieces of dampened gauze in there. That's what I plan on doing!

runrinserepeat · May 2014

We CD so we use just washcloths and water. When we travel, we do use disposable wipes, but it's not that frequently. I couldn't tell you whether it's really made a difference for her sensitive skin, but it is cheaper.

runrinserepeat · May 2014

We have a warmer. We wet about 5 at a time and put them in there.

tourqeyes · May 2014

No, baby wipes are not a must. However they are much more convenient to pick up a pack while you are out than make your own.

Skeemer · May 2014

@laceydanielle

We use both cloth wipes & disposable. You can buy cute cloth wipes from places like Etsy but like @Matthew930 we found it much cheaper to use the 1,000 baby washcloths that we already had. We bought a little spray bottle from the Dollar Tree & just used water in it. We spray the washcloth a little, blow hot breath on it once or twice & then use it. We used cloth for tinkle diapers & disposable for poopy dipes. A lot of people use cloth for everything. DH said since we're already saving so much by using cloth diapers that he wanted the luxury of throwing away poopy wipes. Fine by me because he's been on board with every other decision I've made with CDing. But yeah, just using them part time saved us money too. Good luck!

TugboatSheila · May 2014

I guess it would depend on if you are going to use cloth diapers or disposables. Of course you can do whatever you want but if you are using CDs it makes sense to use cloth wipes because then you throw everything in the wash together. If you are using disposables, it's not that you CAN'T use cloth wipes it just seems like an extra step. Because you can just shove the dirty wipe in the disposable diaper and throw it all away.

I know a lot of people that just use water and washcloths for their wipes. That's how we are going to start out then I'm going to make my own solution, we are CDing too though.

Hop on over to the CD board for sure!

AKB090609 · May 2014

In the beginning we only used water on a disposable towel the hospital provided. When we CD we still use water on terry wipe (I love the gro-via ones). We do use regular disposable wipes when we use disposable diapers.

SuperTinkerham · May 2014

And if cloth isn't your thing, there are tutorials for you to make your own wet wipes out of paper towel rolls. Still cheaper. Whatever works best for you and your kiddo.

AutumnBonfire · May 2014

We cloth diaper and use flannel wipes for DS. At first, we bought Bumgenius Bottom Cleaner. Its in a spray bottle. It worked really well, but was expensive. After that ran out, we started refilling the bottle with water and a tiny squirt of baby wash. We wipe off as much as possible with a dry cloth and then spray his butt and wipe clean.

Travelling and daycare we use disposable wipes. His pediatrician said to buy the unscented kind. When he was born, the hospital had dry wipes that looked like dryer sheets that they told us to wet with water.

EleanorKr · May 2014

This is so helpful, everyone.

Where I live cloth diapering is not the norm and I get lots of funny/judgmental looks from people. I'm hesitant to ask for advice because I'm so sick of everyone telling me that I'll give up after a few weeks and switch to disposables.

So thank you all for your input, it's very much appreciated.

SuperTinkerham · May 2014

EleanorKr said:
This is so helpful, everyone.

Where I live cloth diapering is not the norm and I get lots of funny/judgmental looks from people. I'm hesitant to ask for advice because I'm so sick of everyone telling me that I'll give up after a few weeks and switch to disposables.

So thank you all for your input, it's very much appreciated.

I'm getting that from people too. I tell them "good thing you don't get a vote". One piece of advice I really liked was it doesn't have to be all or nothing. You can ease into it. You can CD part-time.

Skeemer · May 2014

EleanorKr said:

This is so helpful, everyone.

Where I live cloth diapering is not the norm and I get lots of funny/judgmental looks from people. I'm hesitant to ask for advice because I'm so sick of everyone telling me that I'll give up after a few weeks and switch to disposables.

So thank you all for your input, it's very much appreciated.

I didn't tell many people but a few I did tell told me how tired I'd get of cloth diapering. After 2 & 1/2 years of successfully CDing the very same people started telling me how much money we saved. The best part is with this LO we're pretty much going to CD for free bc we kept all of DS's dipes.

Like @supertinkham said, when people would scoff I'd say, "Why do you care what my son poops in?" That shut them up. Or see if they volunteer to buy disposable diapers for the next 2-3 years. If they don't pay my bills or live in my house then they don't get an opinion on ANYTHING unless I ask.

I told DH once that I was going to make cloth diapering work just to tick everyone off. DH can now fold a piece of flannel to diaper our kid like it's nobody's business! A CD daddy is a hottie! Lol

ETA: CDing does come with it's challenges. But as others said, ask the CD board or ask other moms here for their advice. It will help you not give up on CDing as easily to hear what other people have to say. Good luck!

SuperTinkerham · May 2014

I am more excited about CDing than just about anything. I really hope it works for this guy (I'm a FTM).

Skeemer · May 2014

SuperTinkerham said:

I am more excited about CDing than just about anything. I really hope it works for this guy (I'm a FTM).

When you reach a point of frustration just ask for help. It will work great for you & you'll make it work.

I got frustrated when DS got amonia burn (the CD boards told me to switch detergents & it worked perfect). I got frustrated when he leaked through the night (CD boards told me I was stuffing his dipe too much). The CD boards will be your best friend through the process. Good luck!

NugsMom · May 2014

I'm another FTM looking forward to CDing. I have lurked on the CD board and posted a few times. I've learned a lot there.

AutumnBonfire · May 2014

Skeemer said:

SuperTinkerham said:

I am more excited about CDing than just about anything. I really hope it works for this guy (I'm a FTM).

When you reach a point of frustration just ask for help. It will work great for you & you'll make it work.
I got frustrated when DS got amonia burn (the CD boards told me to switch detergents & it worked perfect). I got frustrated when he leaked through the night (CD boards told me I was stuffing his dipe too much). The CD boards will be your best friend through the process. Good luck!

Agreed. A lot of it is trial and error, but other people have gone through it already, so they can help.

[Deleted User] · May 2014

The user and all related content has been deleted.

jcartz · May 2014

I used unscented/no dyes baby wipes with DD1 & plan to with DD2 as well. My nephew had severe milk allergies that went undiagnosed for several weeks as an infant & caused horrendous diaper rash, basically open sores

My sister just ran his bum under the tub after every diaper, and either patted with a towel or air dried until it cleared up. As others said, it's totally up to you and no, wipes are not necessary.

loulou1212 · May 2014

Also, our pedi suggested not wiping after wet diapers because she had very sensitive skin. We used a spray bottle with a few drops of dr. Bronners and paper towels for dirty diapers for 4-5 months.

BBColt78 · May 2014

We used water for the first three weeks on DD.

After that, I use wipes that rate a 0 or a 1 (out of 10) on EWGs website. Then I have the convenience and not the chemicals.

Ecomom17 · May 2014

My only thought is that plain water isn't going to kill germs. Anyone have insight on this?

We LOVE Baby Kicks hemp/cotton wipes and I plan to get more for this LO b/c we used some of our original stash for food washcloths and they're just kind of gross now. Haha. We used this baby wipes solution and love it, too:

https://www.amazon.com/Lusa-Organics-Baby-Wipe-Juice/dp/B004GMGLN8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1400731746&sr=8-1&keywords=lusa+organics+baby+wipe+juice

DItto what everyone said, cloth saves TONS of money (I'm working on making unpaper towels for the kitchen out of old towels)!

MonkeyJD · May 2014

SuperTinkerham said:
I am more excited about CDing than just about anything. I really hope it works for this guy (I'm a FTM).

Me too! =; (I think this is a high five)

Skeemer · May 2014

Ecomom17 said:

My only thought is that plain water isn't going to kill germs. Anyone have insight on this?

Good question. Honestly, I'm not sure if any wipes or solution claims to kill germs without having alcohol in it.

I guess I don't consider it too much because adults typically only use toliet paper to clean up & that doesn't remove germs either. There again a baby is likely to have poop smooshed on their hiney. Maybe someone else can add more advice on this.

CandC13 · May 2014

I'll be using just water for the most part but have found a solution that includes tee tree oil and some coconut oil that I'll use on occasion as well. Have the non-scented disposable whipes in the diaper bag though :-)

nicole336 · May 2014

We are CD and plan to use cloth wipes. I will probably just put water in a peri bottle from the hospital to wet them.

reils500 · May 2014

When I worked with infants in the hospital, they often had major diaper rash issues. For those babies we used soft gauze pad with warm water.

Ecomom17 · May 2014

Skeemer said:

Ecomom17 said:

My only thought is that plain water isn't going to kill germs. Anyone have insight on this?

Good question. Honestly, I'm not sure if any wipes or solution claims to kill germs without having alcohol in it.
I guess I don't consider it too much because adults typically only use toliet paper to clean up & that doesn't remove germs either. There again a baby is likely to have poop smooshed on their hiney. Maybe someone else can add more advice on this.

True, but as you said we don't generally have poop all over our booties and cracks and generally shower every day or two. LOL I guess you're right, they probably don't claim to kill germs (and I certainly wouldn't want to be wiping my baby's butt with alcohol, way too drying)...hmm...

ETA: Also, for some reason the germs don't strike me as being so bad with breastmilk poo but once baby starts eating solids seems like more of a concern (this is probably based on the innocuous, even relatively pleasant smell of breastmilk poo rather than any scientific evidence that it's "cleaner").