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April 2019 Moms
lyse01
member
Product Spotlight: Baby Hygeine & Medical Supplies (Bathtubs, Thermometers, & More!)
lyse01
member
Because kids are dirty and constantly hardening their immune system. Yes, that’s what we’ll call it.
Bathtubs: Give us the pros and cons of what you have, or ask about what you want. Does it fit into a sink? Does it make the bathtub smaller? Does it stand alone on a countertop? How much storage space does it take up? Is there other relevant info?
Baby wash/shampoo: are there differences?
Baby washclothes/towels: mostly cute form, or do they have a valid function?
Additional bath supplies: what do you have and was it worth it?
Clearing snot: what do you use? Pros/cons?
Thermometers: forehead/ear/standard?
Toothbrushes: what do you use?
Hairbrushes: any recs?
Other medical/hygeine products: what am I missing that you found useful or necessary? What did you get that wasn’t needed or used?
FTMs: when you look at all this, what questions do you have? Ask away!
Want to discuss something else? Recommend it here, or second some recs by loving someone’s post (I’ll try to prioritize): https://forums.thebump.com/discussion/12734953/product-spotlights-upcoming-or-requests
All product spotlights can be resurrected at any time for further discussion - type “Product Spotlight” into the search bar at the bottom of the page to find previous threads.
Bathtubs: Give us the pros and cons of what you have, or ask about what you want. Does it fit into a sink? Does it make the bathtub smaller? Does it stand alone on a countertop? How much storage space does it take up? Is there other relevant info?
Baby wash/shampoo: are there differences?
Baby washclothes/towels: mostly cute form, or do they have a valid function?
Additional bath supplies: what do you have and was it worth it?
Clearing snot: what do you use? Pros/cons?
Thermometers: forehead/ear/standard?
Toothbrushes: what do you use?
Hairbrushes: any recs?
Other medical/hygeine products: what am I missing that you found useful or necessary? What did you get that wasn’t needed or used?
FTMs: when you look at all this, what questions do you have? Ask away!
Want to discuss something else? Recommend it here, or second some recs by loving someone’s post (I’ll try to prioritize): https://forums.thebump.com/discussion/12734953/product-spotlights-upcoming-or-requests
All product spotlights can be resurrected at any time for further discussion - type “Product Spotlight” into the search bar at the bottom of the page to find previous threads.
Re: Product Spotlight: Baby Hygeine & Medical Supplies (Bathtubs, Thermometers, & More!)
Baby wash/shampoo: are there differences? Starting out we used Johnson and Johnson. Now we’ve switched to Dove. I think it depends on your kids skin sensitivity, if there are any.
Baby washclothes/towels: mostly cute form, or do they have a valid function? Baby washcloths are good for the first year, now we’ve switched to a loofah. Get 5-10. Don’t go crazy.
Additional bath supplies: what do you have and was it worth it? Hooded, fluffy towels are so worth it. Babies get PISSED when you take them out of a warm bathtub.
Clearing snot: what do you use? Pros/cons? GET THE NOSE FRIDA. BEST PURCHASE EVER.
Thermometers: forehead/ear/standard? The forehead one is worth investing in for an infant. I would also get an ear one for older babies.
Toothbrushes: what do you use? Meh. The banana one was fine - you don’t really do much the first year to 18 months.
Hairbrushes: any recs? Use the one the hospital gives you or comes in the first aid kit. You don’t need anything fancy until their hair gets tangles.
Other medical/hygeine products: what am I missing that you found useful or necessary? What did you get that wasn’t needed or used? Get some Desitin and Aquaphor. You’ll need it.
Baby wash/shampoo: We're a fan of the yellow Johnson & Johnson stuff. Gentle enough on her skin and makes her smell like a baby. Never tried anything else.
Baby washcloths/towels: Get a bunch of washcloths and a few good, fluffy hooded towels. No muss or fuss needed beyond that.
Additional bath supplies: We really like Johnson and Johnson's Vapor Bubble Bath. It smells kind of like Vicks but is safe for babies and helps clear congestion when N has a cold. After bath, we use lotion (Johnson & Johnson's yellow one, shockingly). When N was a newborn, her delicate neck skin would break and she actually bled a few times. We started using the Honest all-purpose balm in the folds of her neck after each bath, and it helped tremendously.
Clearing snot: She only just started having snot issues recently (thanks, day care!) so we used the bulb thing, since that's what we had on hand. But I want a Nose Frida!
Thermometers: We have a forehead and an ear one. They tend to give different readings - I trust the ear more than the forehead, but that seems completely arbitrary. Honestly, I'm a kiss-her-on-the-head temperature taker at the end of the day.
Toothbrushes: We ordered a mega pack of baby toothbrushes on Amazon. Figured they'll be good so she can hold one while we brush, or so we'll have replacements when she ultimately starts chewing them up. No complaints.
Hairbrushes: I like a comb (not that she really gets tangles) and then a bristle brush. Again, nothing special.
Other: Get a good pair of baby nail clippers. People say to file at first, but I found that to be a HUGE waste of time. Also, just keep saline spray and baby Tylenol on hand. I've also come to like Vicks Baby Rub (I'm sure it does more in my mind than it really does for her) and Burt's Bees Kissable Cheeks balm - helps with the red face N was getting as the weather turned cold.
Baby wash/shampoo: Target’s up&up brand is cheaper than Johnson& Johnson so we usually use that. We got a lot of fancy samples and didn’t really notice enough of a difference.
Baby washclothes/towels: baby washcloths were kind of a waste of space for us; the hooded towels are cute but we had like eight and needed 1-2.
Clearing snot: +100000000 to Nose Freida.
Thermometers: I’m pretty sure the standard thermometer is the most accurate (at least according to the baseline 98.6°F that we all know), but the ear thermometer is awesome for wiggly babies that won’t wait the extra 15 seconds for the standard thermometer. We haven’t needed it often enough to want to invest in the ear/forehead, but Grandma bought the ear one and it’s fun to use.
Toothbrushes: whatever came in the baby box - it’s a small child-size toothbrush.
Hairbrushes: ditto.
we have the folding boon bathtub. It was good on the floor or
counter as well as in the bathtub. Especially when she could sit and we didn’t want to fill the whole tub for her. We didn’t use it too often once she was 10m she was walking so I think around 8m she was climbing out of it.
We we had a mesh sling style infant thing to put in it and I hated it. It didn’t keep her warm and she slipped out of it a bunch. I sold that and bought a blooming bath flower pillow thing for $5 off a for sale by mom site. That can go in the sink or our folding bathtub.
The folding bath is about 5 inches tall
when folded and can hang on the back of our bathroom door or in the shower even. It is otherwise as bulky as other baths
Baby wash/shampoo: we use Johnson & Johnson. Works for us. Once her hair grew in (age 1.5-now) we got a shampoo with conditioner because her hair seemed to need it.
Baby washclothes/towels: thin wash clothes are nice for little ones and towels, I liked the hood in the corner towels. But bigger than the tiny ones. Those were the most useful for keeping warm while drying.
Additional bath supplies: what do you have and was it worth it? The green toys submarine is the best hair rinsing tool/toy. Floating things with no way for water to get in were fun like balls and such.
Clearing snot: what do you use? Pros/cons? Nose frida. All day.
Thermometers: forehead/ear/standard? We do both. Forehead tends to be one degree below actual or more so if it’s a high fever on that (100’) we check with the other.
Toothbrushes: what do you use? Whatever suction cups to the sink.
Hairbrushes: once she had
enough hair I got a weird shaped one that doesn’t pull or break her hair. I love it. No pull detangler I think. When she was tiny she didn’t have hair.
Other medical/hygeine products: tiny nail clippers are so much easier than the big bulky handled ones the like to put in the baby care kits. Itty bitty ones.
Also we used a lot of the green tube of bordouex butt paste for diaper rash and it was great. Cloth diaper friendly.
I used baby NorWex clothes for both wipes and cleaning baby things when out and about. If nothing else it cleaned surfaces well with no chemicals which is great when baby’s favorite toy is dropped on the mall floor or something.
Bathtubs:
we had the euro tub. It’s huge and takes up a lot of space but you can use it forever. It was a little difficult when she was first born cause she was so tiny but that wasn’t a problem very long.
Baby wash/shampoo:
We used several different, Johnson and Johnson, Aveeno, Burt’s bees, cetaphil baby. I never reallly found one I loved.
Baby washclothes/towels:
The hooded towels are nice to wrap them up and keep them warm. We ended up with so many washcloths, too many really.
Additional bath supplies: a bath cup, the big ones made to help rinse hair
Clearing snot:
The green bulb we got from the hospital was the best. Probably try a nose Frieda this time.
Thermometers: forehead/ear/standard?
We had a standard, she really never got sick so we didn’t need it much.
Toothbrushes: what do you use? That banana one. Worked fine till she actually needed a more real toothbrush.
Hairbrushes: any recs?
DD has a ton of hair when she was born so we had a comb and a brush that came with one of the sets you can buy full of health stuff.
Other medical/hygeine products: nothing I can think of off the top of my head.
prevously helloblueeyes
Me:32 DH:33 Married:04/2012 DD:07/2014
BFP 8/14/2018 #2 due 4/18/2019
once they can sit I would imagine it would but not for a newborn. Most have the baby laying reclined so they head is supported and out of the water while still allowing you to have them in the water and be able to rinse easily.
prevously helloblueeyes
Me:32 DH:33 Married:04/2012 DD:07/2014
BFP 8/14/2018 #2 due 4/18/2019
@kbirchtree I second anything that doubles as a toy and a cup to rinse with. Ours look like stylized boats.
We had a fancy one but the cheaper sling one worked better IMO. Once they could sit up I’d put them in the Bumbo seat in the tub or shower (it’s honestly the only thing we used our bumbo for lol)
Baby wash/shampoo: are there differences?
I’m an AVEENO baby girl. My kids have super sensitive skin and I’m sensitivite to smells(JohnsonBaby wash is too smelly for me) Also their aveeno baby eczema line is the best
Baby washclothes/towels: mostly cute form, or do they have a valid function?
I still like to use the baby wash cloths for my kids. Get thicker or homemade hooded towels. Alot in the big box stores are super thin and cheap
Additional bath supplies: what do you have and was it worth it?
Clearing snot: what do you use? Pros/cons?
NOSE FRIEDA (Incase someone doesn’t believe it’s the best lol) Yes it seems gross at first but works 1000x better than the bulb syringe
Thermometers: forehead/ear/standard?
We have an ear one that I love. I always want a forehead one but then I read reviews and I’m not sold
Toothbrushes: what do you use?
Whatever baby sized one is the cheapest
Hairbrushes: any recs?
Other medical/hygeine products: what am I missing that you found useful or necessary? What did you get that wasn’t needed or used?
Vaseline; I tried 20 different diaper rash creams on DS and this is what cleared him. Also good for chapped cheeks
Coconut oil works great for cradle cap
We use aveeno baby bath and lotion and then dove shampoo because it’s gentle and helps with cradle cap.
We only had a couple of baby towels and switched to using regular towels pretty quick. Just made sure to wash my towels with dreft. We used bamboo washcloths.
Nose clearing: 100% nose frida.
For thermometer, we have a temporal thermometer, and I used the one from my summer infant baby care kit as a rectal thermometer once to double check temp.
Toothbrush: when she was old enough, we used the simple one from oral b. Before that just the baby banana.
Rash cream: we typically use Boudreaux’s. Sometimes aquaphor.
Everything else just came in the above mentioned summer infant baby care kit.
The nose frida was amazing and I’ll definitly buy another one for this baby.
As for thermometers we use one that connects to our phone and tracks the temperature and and medication we give. I think it’s called a Kinsa. I find the forehead ones to be extremely unreliable.
BFP: 8/11/18 Due: 4/26/18
Baby wash/shampoo: Our go to brands are California Baby and Honest. I wanted something more gentle and natural since I have very sensitive skin. We start out with unscented California Baby wash and then switch to the scented Honest shampoo/conditioner (sweet orange vanilla is the best!) when they have enough hair that they need it.
Baby washclothes/towels: I found that the really thin/soft washcloths are nice for the newborn stage. They are so little and delicate that a standard washcloth just seems to bulky/rough. We LOVE hooded towels. It really helps keep them warm and minimize the dry off terror period.
Additional bath supplies: Find toys that either are completely sealed or drain completely. No one wants mildew-y toys.
Clearing snot: I've never tried it but Nose Frieda GROSSES ME OUT! We just used the bulb sucker and it was predictably terrible.
Thermometers: I'm pretty sure the recommended method when they are super small is using a rectal thermometer (most accurate). Try to find one that works quickly. No one involved wants a rectal thermometer in there for longer than absolutely necessary. After about a year we switched over to a forehead scanner.
Toothbrushes: They don't really need toothbrushes for quite some time. A quick swab over the gums and teeth with a washcloth is fine until they get bigger.
Hairbrushes: Same as toothbrushes, a simple comb is fine until they grow more hair. Honestly I don't think I ever combed/brushed either of my kids hair until well after their first birthday and they were both born with a full head of hair.
Other medical/hygeine products: Things to have on hand when you bring baby home: infant tylenol, gas drops, aquafor, nipple butter/lanolin (if nursing), gripe water, baby vaporub. A humidifier is nice and helps them when they are stuffy.
Gripe water can be more hit and miss. Works for some fussy babies with tummy problems. But also based on more homeopathic philosophy. You'll have to decide if it is something you are interested in trying. Some people swear by it. I'm in the camp of willing to give it a try if nothing else works.