Homemade Diaper Spray

I’ve written before about my daughter’s diaper rashes. Her skin is sensitive, and she breaks out very easily, depending on the type of diapers and wipes we use. This rash isn’t simply a little redness or some bumps. It’s a full-blown, red, inflamed, scabby, awful rash.

We had a system that was working well for us. We had her diaper rash under control. That all changed when she started teething. I’m not sure why teething affects diaper rashes, but I know that it caused hers to return. I again found myself trying and testing new methods to see what would work for her.

I did a little research, asked around, and tweaked our system a bit. I’m happy to report that so far, so good. We continue to use bumGenius 3.0 One Size diapers and Pampers Sensitive Wipes. The new addition?: A spray bottle of homemade wipe solution.

A friend of ours uses this solution on her cloth wipes. She puts two cups of water, one tablespoon of olive oil, two tablespoons of baby shampoo, and two drops of tea tree oil in a spray bottle. Each time she changes her baby’s diaper, she sprays her wipes with the solution.

Since we had a bad experience with flannel wipes, I decided to try this with our Pampers Sensitive Wipes. I made a trip to the local drugstore, stocked up on supplies, and headed home to make the spray. Each time I changed our daughter’s diaper, I’d give the wipe a few sprays of the solution, or I’d spray a little right on her butt before I wiped.

Her rash went away within two days, and it hasn’t come back. As always, I’m not sure if what we are doing is what made the rash go away or if it would have gone away on its own. All I know is that she had a rash we couldn’t get rid of, and as soon as we started using the spray, it went away.

We LOVE BumGenius Diapers!

It took my husband and I quite awhile to decide which route we were going to take when it came to cloth diapers. After much research and deliberating, we decided on the bumGenius 3.0 One-Size Pocket Diapers.

It may have been the best decision we’ve ever made.

I can honestly say I don’t have a single complaint about these diapers. They are awesome.

First of all, they are adorable. Yes, they are bulkier than disposables, but they come in a vivid array of colors: yellow, orange, white, as well as different shades of green, pink, and blue. Our baby happens to be a girl, and when she wears dresses, we often skip the little matching underwear that comes with the dress and go with color-coordinating diapers.

Second, they expand according to your baby’s size. That means your baby can wear the same diaper from birth to potty-training.

Third, they fasten with Velcro and stretchy tabs. I’ve heard people say Velcro doesn’t last as long on a cloth diaper as snaps do. For that reason, we purchased a few Fuzzi Bunz, which fasten with snaps, just to see if we’d like them better. Don’t get me wrong, FuzziBunz are nice diapers, but the snaps are not our favorite by any means. What is the problem with snaps? Half of the time, our daughter is between sizes. That means we either have to have the diaper on her a little too tightly or a little too loosely. Too tight, and it hurts her. Too loose, and it leaks. With Velcro and stretchy tabs, you can get the perfect fit every time.

Fourth, they are easy to care for. Rinse the poop off, throw everything into a dry diaper pail, and wash every couple days. You have to use a detergent free of dyes, perfumes, and whitening agents, but it’s probably better for your baby’s skin anyways. You also have to do two wash cycles and an extra rinse at the end, but it’s really pretty simple.

Fifth, our daughter rarely gets diaper rashes when she wears them. When we put her in disposables, we have to coat her butt with diaper rash cream to avoid her getting a horrible rash, and she sometimes gets it anyways. But, with these, she almost always has a rash-free behind. Why? I give credit to the material the diaper is made from. The part that is against her skin wicks moisture away from her bottom and onto the inserts, keeping her nice and dry.

Last, and definitely not least, these diapers contain blowouts like nobody’s business. Our girl will sometimes have poop up to her armpits when she’s in her disposables (and we don’t use generic brands – we use Pampers all the way). In a bumGenius, though, she’ll have poop explosions that would make any veteran parent cringe, and when I go to change her, it’s all neatly contained in the diaper. (Maybe “neat” isn’t the best word to describe it, but it’s contained nonetheless!) There have only been a couple times when had poop has gotten onto her clothes when she’s in a bumGenius, and it has only been a small amount. I know every parent out there who has changed a nasty blowout would love the idea of never having to clean one up again).

In our experience, these diapers are simply the best. We’ve never regretted our decision to use them.

My Experience With Cloth Wipes

After deciding to use cloth diapers for various reasons, I decided we might as well use cloth wipes too.

I liked the idea of using only plain, warm water on my daughter’s behind most of the time, and using a gentle, non-irritating soap the rest of the time. The thought of not having to buy container after container of wipes also appealed to me.

In the last months of my pregnancy, when I was as big as a boat and unable to do much activity (yes, I gained 60+ pounds, despite the fact that I tried to eat mostly healthy foods and stay active), I spent many enjoyable hours making my own wipes. As I cut rectangles out of old, flannel receiving blankets, I dreamed about all the ways my baby would benefit from not having harsh soaps and alcohol put on her skin every diaper change. As I sewed the rectangles together, I marveled at how much money we’d be saving because we’d be able to use the cloth wipes over and over. As I stacked the adorable wipes in the top drawer of her changing table, I grew more and more excited for our baby to arrive.

Arrive she did, and we used disposable wipes for the first month or so while we were adjusting to life with a baby. We’d gotten many different kinds as shower gifts, and I was able to form opinions on which we liked the best. Some of the strongly-scented varieties gave her a horrible rash. Some felt too rough to be using on her skin. We very much liked the Pampers Sensitive Wipes, but I knew that my cloth wipes would be even better for her.

I finally decided I was ready to start using the cloth wipes exclusively, and could hardly wait to try them out. We used them all day, and I felt so good about the decision we had made for our daughter.

I felt good, that is, until she got the worst rash of her life.

This rash was awful. It started off as bright red. “Good thing we started using cloth,” I thought, “because this must be from the disposable wipes we were using. It’ll clear up in no time with these babies.”

It didn’t clear up. It got worse. It started looking scabby. It caused her to SCREAM anytime she had to sit in her carseat. When we took her in for a checkup, which happened to be right after we started using the cloth wipes, her pediatrician took one look at the rash and said, “If you can’t get that to clear up in a few days, I’ll need to prescribe a steroid cream. That rash is going into her skin.”

I can’t exactly recall why, but we used disposable wipes (Pampers Sensitive Wipes) shortly after, and what do you know? The rash disappeared. It totally went away. Boy, was I surprised!

I’m not sure what caused the rash. It could have been the flannel material or the type of water in our city. It could be something I’m not even thinking of. All I know is that when we use the cloth wipes, she breaks out, and when we use the Pampers Sensitive Wipes, her butt is great.

So, we gave cloth wipes a good try for a few days. It didn’t work for us. I thought about trying wipes made of other materials, using a different solution for the wipes, but finally, and happily, settled on buying Pampers Sensitive Wipes in bulk.