Mumsnet Talk

You can get nice bamboo and velour double sided washable wipes on weenotions website, or etsy.

Oh, and now I use re-usable wipes, flannel squares soaked in water. No nasty chemicals.

I never used cotton wool and water. What a faff. (also never seen my mother use them on any of her 7 children). Used wipes from the get go, although was given some cotton wool (4 balls :/) after I gave birth.

It helps rash if you let their bum actually dry before you put the next nappy on. I've found LO only gets a rash if his bum doesn't have time to dry in between changes, you can dry with a flannel (earmarked for bum use only) or let it air dry for a few minutes.

i was planning to use water and cotton wool on my newborn, but when she finally arrived, she was covered in poo (what is that newborn poo called again) so the midwife opened a pack of wipes and cleaned her up. so i thought, well if its good enough for the midwife, its good enough for me. so when i had time on my hands i did the water and cotton wool thing, when i didn't, it was wipes!
just do the best you can, but cut corners when you need to ;-)

At first i used cotton wool squares (ones meant for babies) with a kind of oil mixture which is standard in France. Then when we moved flats and put the changing table in the bathroom we use cotton squares with water from the tap.

Only use wipes when not at home. Much cheaper this way

That study was sponsored by a baby wipe company. J&J I think. I laughed when I read it, I remember that much.

You do not need to use cooled boiled water on bums. Just eyes if the need cleaning.

Hth!

I used baby wipes in the hospital with both of mine. I used Boots ones that said they were suitable for newborn skin

Get a Tupperware and fill everyday with cool boiled water and cotton balls that's what I did. I ended up using the cotton discs in the end as a little cotton ball wasn't enough sometimes.

I'm not sure if it makes a difference if you live in a hard water area (I do) but I suffer from rosacea on my face, if I use just water my skin goes incredibly dry and blotchy within half an hour but if I use Simple wipes I have no problems at all.
Unless you boil water it'll be full of chemicals too plus contaminants from going through miles of pipes.

Like someone else says it'll vary from baby to baby whether they get sensitive skin or not so do what's most convenient for you and if the skin looks like it's getting sore then try something else.

I use washable wipes and water. I always carry a waterbottle so I always have water with me. They can also be used for faces and hands for older children (and me). I just have a plastic bag to bring them home and bung them in the machine. They clean better and are gentler, so you don't need to use much if any nappy cream. We use ordinary baby wipes for cleaning the bikes and for us when camping.

I used cotton wool pads (not balls) with ds for about the first couple of months until I used wipes out and about once and thought what the hell am doing faffing around. And why do you have to use boiled water, You don't use it in the bath so what's the difference, I just used tap water. In hospital the midwives actually offered me baby wipes but I stuck to my guns and used time consuming cotton wool and water!

Anyway I certainly wouldn't bother again, it'll be wipes all the way for me in future! x

I used non perfumed baby wipes from the word go with no ill effects at all.
I dislike cotton wool...it disgusts me, so I just went for wet cloths and wipes.
Was fine.

DS1 had bad eczema and his dermatologist recommended water wipes. They are great and I've used them on DS2 from birth. I use pampers sensitive on my two year old and would never ever use Johnson's.

oh dear, bad mummy alert! Baby wipes from birth with both of mine. I use Aldi sensitive wipes

As a cautious 1st time mum I religiously used cotton wool & water on my first for a few weeks,then such a relief switching to wipes,but used sensitive baby wipes for my second from the minute he was born!But neither had sensitive skin so depends on the baby.I could tell pretty quickly with the second that his skin would be fine.My next one will be getting wipes too!

Not sure how to link to it but there has been a study done by Lavender et al (2012) that showed no negative affect on new born babies skin from the use of sensitive baby wipes (I think they used Johnsons). In fact if I recall correctly the baby wipe group faired slightly better than the water and cotton wool group in terms of nappy rash and other skin conditions.

Never used cotton wool on dd1 didn't even realise we were supposed to tbh. Only ever had nappy rash when she has had bouts of diahroea (sp sorry) . She has eczema so also has sensitive skin and not been a problem for her.

We have found we can use any brand of wipes on her. Though only started trying anything since she was about 12months before that we used Huggies/Pampers sensitive.

I'm going to be on DC2. I used cotton balls and boiled water last time but it is such a faff and you have to use loads of them to remove poo. Not the most fun when bleary eyed at 3am. I reckon I'll try some unfragranced/sensitive wipes and see if her bot copes.

I'm using cotton wool and water still at 12 weeks. If my baby didn't have sensitive skin, I might not. But the wipes seem to make him look instantly sore plus they took wet gloss paint off my carpets!!.

I use the big packs of folded cotton wool so you can just rip how much you want off. I also only clean for poo nappies, he gets at least 3 washes of the bum a day anyway, and he has 5-10 mins of nappy free time per change so I don't bother wiping for just a wet nappy when frequent wiping just irritates. Have found this the best way for us. Every baby is different. You will find your own way.

I've used wipes from the minute ds2 was born. He's been fine. Even though he has some sensitivity to washing powder, wipes don't affect him. I did have a sample pack of water wipes which were as good as other wipes (slightly more sturdy if anything) but as he is fine with others it's not worth the extra money.

I've never had my face sting from using a baby wipe to remove make up either and my dcs appear to have similar skin to myself. I think it is something that varies hugely from person to person.

I read the 'ingredients' on baby wipes and decided no way. so used a bowl of water.and either cotton wool or washable wipes. I just took cotton wool out and wet it under tap in baby change rooms. no bother.

I have never been able to use even sensitive wipes on my two as they get horrible nappy rash and eczema break outs.

I use Asda little angels large cotton pads (100 pack) they are always on 2 for £2.50, much cheaper than boots and other supermarkets and good quality. Cotton wool balls just smear it around. You can wet a pile of them and squeeze out the excess water then leave the pile wrapped inside travel changing mat and they won't dry out overnight. Much less chance of knocking over containers of water when half asleep that way. Wish I had figured that out for dd1.

Have you removed make up from your skin with baby wipes? I did and was shocked as my face stung afterwards so would never use them in a newborns skin tbh. Johnsons, I wouldn't use on my dog!

I never used anything other than wipes on my two. They didn't have any kind of sensitivity to them. I haven't the patience to be dealing with cotton wool and water, I'm so clumsy that I'd have knocked the water over every time, and I found I had enough washing to deal with without adding pooey wipes to the pile.

I used cotton wool for first few days followed by baby wipes for older two and then baby wipes from the get go for younger three.