AIBU for buying reusable nappies for my 18 month ol?

[MrsLully]

Hello 🙂

My DD is 18 months, and she has been suffering with nappy rashes for a while now. They have never been too bad (never blisters and blood) but they are stubborn and the older she gets the more aware she is and tries to scratch and whatnot. We have mainly used Water Wipes and Pampers Premium protection on her, but we have tried different brands of both nappies and wipes to see if they would make a difference, but so far they haven't. We always change her very often, and dry before applying whatever cream we are using at the time - we have tried them ALL.

We have been to the GP many times and I feel like they can't put the finger on what's actually wrong. They have prescribed antifungal creams three times, and all of them have worked on due time. The thing is that they all had steroids on them, so they would have worked anyway even if the cause was different. Fungal creams on there own have never worked for us, even when the rash is on it's early stages.

She does have some eczema flare ups and very sensitive skin, so I think that maybe her skin just doesn't like disposable nappies. I have tried the eco chemical free nappies, but the few that we've tried are either massively expensive or quite rubbish quality.

WIBU to get a stash of reusables at this point? I just want her bum to look nice and redness free for once 😭

Another option could be just using the fleece or bamboo liners with the disposables if you don't feel able to invest in a full set of reusables. The liners are nicer against the skin, we swapped to cloth but still used disposables when staying away from home but used liners with them.

@SnuggyBuggy that's actually a really clever idea, thanks!

@fretnot I'm sorry you had to go through this
Did you find the early potty training very challenging? It's impressive, well done you!
How verbal was you DD1? Mine only uses a few words (my husband and I speak different languages and I think she's a bit delayed language wise because of this). I've heard horror stories about training this early and I wouldn't want her to associate going to the toilet with anything negative.

I don’t know whether you would be happy to try waving a hairdryer over the nappy rash at each nappy change? I do with my daughter when she has a rash and it clears it quicker. After you have cleaned her - before cream - use the warm (not hot setting) and blow it over her, it dries it out supposedly. If you do make sure you are not just holding it on her more like you would use it when drying hair.

I swapped to reusable partly due to nappy rash, at 6 months. Reusable nappies are great. Check with your local council to see if you are entitled to a voucher, and with your local nappy library to see if you can borrow a hire kit. Reusable wipes are definitely worth the initial investment and will save you so much money in the long run, we have some coloured ones for faces and hands and white ones for bums. The coloured ones just get chucked in the washing machine straight after use.

@Generalblah we do dry her with cotton pads at every nappy change. I've heard of that before but it's a mission to dry her hair after we wash it as she is not a fan of the dryer, so I presume doing it 6-8 times a day would be a bit hellish for us. Thanks for the suggestion though!
@TheLette I've got a friend who is going to let me try reusables for a few days, but I'll definitely find out if I'm entitled to vouchers. Did your baby's nappy rash got better after switching to reusables? I have heard great things about wipes, I presume if anything they'll be much more effective!

I have some little and blooms from Amazon. They're cheap, so not brilliant, but I only started putting mine in cloth at 11 months, and he is our last baby so I didn't want to splash out.
Once you get to know your kids wee pattern (mine is wetter pre-midday, so I use boosters until after his lunchtime nap) then it's easier. Definitely try L&B with the bamboo inserts.

Have you tried reuseable wipes? Cheeky Wipes are brilliant. My LO never had nappy rash again after we switched to them

@catsjammies I have my eye on a few bundles of Amazon, all of them around the same price (cheap) and they all look fairly similar. One of those are the ones you are using. It's clever that you've worked out how to customise the nappy to fit your baby's needs. Have you noticed any difference nappy rash wise since switching?
@ohwerehalfwaythere to be fair I hadn't thought that maybe just changing the wipes would be enough. I feel like have used sooo many brands of disposables (including the absurdly expensive) and they don't seem to make a difference. It might be a good call, thanks!

Yes, hardly any rash after switching. Occasionally used the yellow metanium cream but nothing requiring medical assistance! (On another note not sure if you said anything about this but some people swear by having regular nappy free time. We never tried this but could help you?)

Reusable wipes are an infinitely better product. 1 or 2 reusable wipes will do the job that several disposable ones do. I hate dispsable ones with a passion and even if we go on holiday and take disposable nappies we still take the reusable wipes - I have 40 which lasts several days, and if need be I'll wash them all in the bath (I avoid using them for poo if I plan on washing them in the bath though!). I think the reusable wipes must have saved us so much money too.

There are lots of cloth nappy groups on Facebook if you want more specific advice

We just buy the curash powder at the supermarket in the baby section. It is 100 times better than plain baby powder.

This is an Australian link to the product so you can see what it is, hopefully you can get it where you are. curash.com.au/curash-anti-rash-baby-powder/ Its really wonderful.

I just saw that you don't want to use any talc? Is there a reason for that? I have never heard of a reason not to? Thanks.

The curash does have some talc as an ingredient, it is 25% zinc oxide I think which is the 'nappy rash preventer' in it I believe. It is honestly so much better than plain powder.

Stoppinby, any fine powder applied to one's body, but particularly babies (because they are so small in size) can float in the air and be inhaled, which can lead to lung problems. Talcum powder itself may cause cancer or other problems to little girls internal sex organs, and I wouldn't be surprised if any powder could do that (and to adult women as well if they still use it). I believe that some companies have been sued and lost in the States because of illnesses caused by talcum powder. Ideally no fine powders, dust, smoke etc should get into our internal organs, they just weren't made to cope with them. I was taught at antenatal classes in the 1980's not to use talc, so it has amazed me that it has still been possible (until very recently - I think it may have stopped now, but I haven't been in the baby isle for a couple of years) to buy talc in the baby isles in shops.

MrsLully, I presume that you have been told to let your baby go nappy free as much as possible - if you have a garden, or lino on any of your floors, that would obviously help with cleaning up any "spillages", and can also be a good time to have the potty ready to catch the begining of any pees or poos. I really don't think that there is much point in changing to cloth nappies now (and they have to be sterilised in some way, which to make any difference would need to be a boil wash, not a chemical one), and any soap powder you use to get stains out could also potentially cause a problem, and with a baby with sensitive skin it would be even more likely. You talked about maybe using bamboo liners with cloth nappies, but have you thought of using them or other sorts of nappy liners in conjunction with disposable nappies - it might be worth ago.
My only other thought is that when Iwas going through the peri menopause My skin suddenly started to get very irritated by both tampons and pads (and I had a terrible time with heavy, and clotting blood loss). I was given short term steroid cream for my genital area but did not want to use it too often. The only thing my Dr could advise was that at every pad change I washed that area with an unbleached flannel and plain water. She said that even the wet wipes that said they were mostly water still had chemicals in them. She also suggested that I bathed daily instead of showering (unfortunately without any nice bath oils etc), so I now have a bath, followed by a shower to rinse off the bath water! So maybe when out with your little one you could take a couple of double wrapped wet flannels - not ideal I know.
I really hope something helps your poor little one, but at least they obviously have a very loving and caring mummy

Boots own brand nappy rash spray/cream! The only thing that worked for both my children, could be worth a try?

@TheLette we have lots of nappy free time, the problem is that when she goes back to the nappy the rash comes back. Not to mention that she freaks out every time she has an accident...
@StoppinBy I have seen that powder here, and can't find it on Amazon. Talc is one of those ingredients that some studies show that could be bad long term, but of course as with everything else baby wise it's a parent's decision and if works well for you then that's that. I could link some information for you here if you are interested?

@Bl3ss3dm0m thank you for the information about talcum powder, I read it somewhere as well and that's why I haven't used it on my little one. There seems to be all sorts of studies on the matter and some of the are contradictory, so I wouldn't want to make anybody feel bad if what they have chosen to use for their little ones is working for them. Information is power though, and all of it is welcome.
About the nappy free time, she has as much as I can give her, it just doesn't seem to make a big difference overall. Thank you very much for you comment about my wee one having a caring mum, I'm trying my best, but sometimes I feel like it's not enough

@colibean28 I've tried the castor oil + zinc one, is that the one you are talking about? It didn't do anything for us sadly. I haven't tried the spray though, does it have different ingredients?

I have some little and blooms from Amazon. They're cheap, so not brilliant,

What do you find so bad about them?

I have L&B nappies and find them far better than the Juicy Bumble ones I had bought when DS was tiny (and which put me off cloth right up until a lockdown shortage forced me to go back to cloth and I bought L&B)

I think it's a great idea.

My 3yo is nowhere near dry and I recently put him in cloth nappies for the first time, I wish I'd done it sooner :-)

@MrsLully this one and the spray is cooling on their skin also

My youngest two have had terrible eczema, which has been really hard to get under control. But they were in washable nappies from birth and the one place we never had problems with rashes and soreness was their bottoms! There’s loads of choices out there, plenty that use organic and natural fabrics. You’re not supposed to use barrier creams with reusable nappies - and we never needed to. Which is amazing given I’m always having to slather their limbs in something.

So from my experience, it’s worth a try. They did both however potty train at bang on two (their initiative, not mine for both of them) so you might not get that long. That said, if it eliminates soreness you may find it’s worth it. And you may not like the idea of buying second hand, but there is a thriving second hand market for when you’re done with them!

I’d also recommend trying reusable wipes - way more effective, kinder to the skin because no harsh chemicals and way cheaper in the long run. I used to make up a batch in a tub soaked in chamomile and honey tea - which sounds mad, but the chamomile is soothing for the skin and the honey has antibacterial properties. I also reckon the wipes having had boiling water on them couldn’t do any harm in terms of cleanliness! Obviously wait a short while for them to cool before using - although they always seemed to appreciate a warm wipe on the bum!

@Covert20 thank you very much for sharing your experience! I'm definitely going to give them a go. My friend is going to let me borrow a few to try that she bought second hand and never got around to use, so I can't get a feel for them myself and see if they make any difference. The wipes definitely sound like good idea regardless, as I'll be able to use them well beyond the nappy stage. As per not being able to use the reusable nappies for long, I'm actually TTC at the moment, so if I'm successful they won't go to waste!
About the spray from boots, I was actually there today and didn't see it! I will try to order online and pick up next time I have to go.

We use reusables for DS. I hope it works out for you. We've found that cheap shells / covers are fine, but the cheap inserts aren't as good. Maybe something to consider if you find they work for you.