baby wipes bad for baby???

MadDogWoman_2

I'm remembering from 4 years ago so things may have changed.

If I remember rightly it's to do with the friendly bacteria populating babies skin, cotton wool and water doesn't remove too many of them.

I didn't use wipe for a few weeks on DD as all her skin flaked off when she was 2 weeks old. She was another one only to get nappy rash when she was teething - plenty of air and metainum helped her.

ETA: My DD had a bath on the day she was born due to a sticky eye, the HCA did it and she just advised us to carefully dry the cord area.

chanie

I was told to use water and cotton wool on my son (whose 10 months) at first as the wipes have a lot of chemicals in them. My sister was told the same (hers are 9 and 6). When he was first born, it took me about 3 months to get through 1 pack of wipes.

My preferred method is a damp muslin cloth. I get the muslins with my skincare regime, so they don't cost me anything. When DS has done a messy nappy, I fill up the basin and dunk him. I do use wipes occassionally, but it has saved me a fortune.

DS hasn't had much nappy rash and I'm convinced that it is because I don't use loads of wipes on him. When I do use them, I do notice that he is more prone to a bit of soreness.

Nicki

:eek:

zaksmum wrote: »

I will have to remember not to give advice unless it's asked for, too...!!

Oh, don't take offence zaksmum. Those of us who have had babies quite recently all just acknowledge how overly sensitive we were in the first few weeks and are warning you of this for your own protection not because you are wrong to want to help.

When I had my last one, about a year ago, he was a whopper and the midwives said he wasn't going to fit in the newborn clothes I had ready for him. I asked my MIL who was visiting me if she would mind picking me up a few sleep suits and vests in 0-3 months and asked my OH to wash them for the baby to wear (I had a CS so was in hospital for 4 days). I almost decapitated my MIL for offering the suggestion that I was being overprotective for washing new clothes for a baby before he wore them, even though now he is older they quite often go from packet to baby without sight of the washing machine. And this was my third baby so all preciousness should have been long since beaten out of me!

ALIBOBSY

Well I have 4 kids (12,7,3 and 7 months) I was told different advice with each baby on just about everything lol. To be honest the best thing I would tell any mum is there will be lots of advice given. Listen and then do what YOU feel is best for you both. I honestly believe a mothers instinct is worth more than any midwife/dr/study/friend/relatives advice.

With my second and last I used wipes in hospital and no one said anything. With my first and third they suggested only using water and cotton wool for the first few weeks. If they were ever sore I would wash them, but did use wipes with all of them right from the start.

My kids have very sensitive skin and I have to be very careful what washing powder I use and that stuff you put in the iron instead of water to make things smell nice made all 3 have large red "welts" all over. I always went for sensitive or unscented wipes.
Mine were never too bad with nappie rash, and I agree about teething being a flashpoint. Personnally I always put not having too many problems with sore bots as well as virtually no colic with any of them down to breastfeeding them all.

At the end of the day I would just support her and be there when she need you, best thing my mum and mil did (and sometimes still do when things are busy or like when the baby had just been born) was to take a basket of ironing to do, with 6 of us it soon adds up lol. Mind you I hate ironing .

Enjoy the little one they are gorgeous aren't they.

ali x

Janepig

I used wipes from day one with my two (who are now 5 and 7) but other than the horrible Johnsons ones I used in the hosp from the Bounty pack after having DD (and I've never been able to sniff a Johnsons wipe since without getting horrid flashbacks of being in the hosp!), I've always used the sensitive ones and I have to say that it is just like using a cloth soaked in water. I still keep plenty of wipes at home even though my two are older now, and I still buy sensitive ones.

Similar thing, when I had DD it was okay to make up the day's bottles in one go, whereas by the time I had DS that was apparently frowned on. But I did it anyway, so there!

Jxx

meritaten

zaksmum wrote: »

Baby can't have a bath yet till the cord's come off, so it is a bit difficult to make sure he's really clean using cotton wool when a hosepipe'd be more in order...!

Thanks for the hug, moggylover. I'll pass it on to the little fella!

and thats another 'new midwives tale'! not to bath until cords come off!
why not? isnt it better for the baby to get bathed? OH and what were they in before they came out? amniotic fluid yes? and what is that mostly made up of? nice warm water??????????? just avoid washing the cord area!
my kids had a bath within twelve hours of birth. my mum told me that after the baby had been born and was cleaned up and mum had fed the baby they were usually bathed! within an hour of birth in the fifties!
If you want to bath the little one - then do so! it seems to calm some babies down and that meconium they pass sticks like glue! will get rid of that.
I despair of the modern medical profession! they dont know their arese from their elbow about giving birth! women have done this for many thousands of years without mens (or scientists) intervention! mostly very successfully - the high mortality rates in the past were mainly due to the social conditions of the time - even then large families of seven or more kids were the norm! with no doctors or scientists intervention!

zaksmum

plumpmouse wrote: »

I've used wipes on both mine with no problems, found cotton wool a real faff. Used huggies with my son but have found pampers sensitive better for my daughter.

Just for my curiousity why can't he have a bath til the cord comes off? Both mine were bathed in hospital the day after their birth and at home before the cord had come off.

Don't know why, but I was there when the midwife said under no circumstances must he have a bath till the cord is completely off. I just assumed it's standard advice nowadays?

skintchick

meritaten wrote: »

It sounds like the latest 'fad' in new mother advice by the 'professionals'! I can remember having my first and laying her down in the cot on her back - only to have a young midwife swoop in and scoop her up and put her back down on her tummy and proceed to give me a right rollocking! asking me if I wanted my baby to choke to death! that was 33 years ago! my mum came to visit and found me in a right state! reassured me that ALL babies were put down to sleep on thier backs and she had never heard of babies choking on their own vomit!
I compromised - I put her down on her side! and the little so and so used to roll onto either her back or her tummy with bum in the air!
I get a bit fed up with this 'we know best as scientific research says..............' attitude! that only works until 'scientific research' discovers that the old wives knew best and that 'new' research was wrong!!!
I say to new mums - either listen to your grandmothers (who were raising babies BEFORE scientists decided how we had to raise babies) or to your OWN instincts!

I used wipes, so I'm not arguing on that front (although I can see why some mums prefer not to use them and that's fine too), but this statement isn;t really true. Maybe our grandmothers' grandmothers, but doctors have been interefering in birth and babies since the 1940s at least, so it;s been a good few generations since mums were truly left alone to trust thier instincts (and of course the collective knowledge we had before male doctors started interfering and medicalising birth and childcare).

And as for research, it would be foolish not to look at research and take it into account. We used to think smoking was fine and Guinness was good for our health, we know better now thanks to research.

zaksmum

Of course they are in warm water in the womb, but there's no sort of open wound area then, is there? When the cord is cut there's the risk of infection, presumably.

The little fella could certainly do with a bath with the yucky nappies he's producing!

plumpmouse

zaksmum wrote: »

Don't know why, but I was there when the midwife said under no circumstances must he have a bath till the cord is completely off. I just assumed it's standard advice nowadays?

Strange isn't it how advice differs so much from place to place, person to person.

My son is 7 so could understand if it was different to when I had him, but my daughter is just short of 6 months.

Anyhow back to original point I'm also a believer in doing what is right for you.