Advice Regarding Nappy, Wipe & Toiletry Brands

[SianFirstTimeMum]

Good morning everyone,
My name is Sian and I am new to mumsnet. I have joined in the hopes of finding some advice regarding brands. I am 25 weeks pregnant with my first baby, who is also the first baby in our family since I was born and also the first baby in my circle of friends, so I have nobody to ask for advice!

I am wanting to start shopping for nappies, wipes and toiletries for my baby, but I don't know which brands to buy.

Could you advise me please on your preferred brand on nappies, wipes, shampoo, body wash etc for a newborn baby.

Many thanks

x Sian x

Hi, hope your pregnancy is going well and you're enjoying your bump! - Stocking up in advance is a good idea, but you might find your baby doesn't suit a certain brand and you're left with stuff you can't use. And a lot depends on your personal preferences - e.g. how eco friendly you want to be etc. My earth mother tendencies went into overdrive when pg with DS, I bought reusable nappies, wanted to save the planet etc. Then discovered said reusable would be too big for newborn, so got pampers newborn nappies, used them for a couple of months, then alternated with nature nappies in the day, pampers at night, as found pampers more absorbent. Sold the resuables on ebay! When DD came along, it was pampers all the way, as the lure of asda's special offers on them was too much with 2 DCs in nappies for a while, and the cost of nature nappies was too much. When pg with DD, I knew I'd use pampers, so was able to stock up over the months on the first few sizes whenever they had offers on. (I love pampers nappies, but other mums will say they prefer huggies, boots own, supermarket own etc.)

Both DCs ended up with baby excema, so despite generous SIL buying lots of burt's bees baby products, we couldn't use these at all on them. We now use a combination of oilatum off prescription, and when their skin is calmer, boots baby botanics suits them. - Again, though it's really down to what suits your baby. We also used another organic range for a while, it's on sale in boots, but I can't remember the name. - At the beginning, you don't really need to use toiletries on them, a really mild baby or vegetable soap should do the trick. Check out the ranges in boots, see what you like the smell of, if less chemicals is important to you see which ones have less ingredients etc. We did use the burt's bees diaper cream, as found this worked like magic. It's expensive (from memory around £8 a small tube I think), but we only ever used it if they had sore bottom, so it lasted ages as it cleared any rash up straight away. - I never used any nappy barrier cream and neither DC ever really got true nappy rash, when they started nursery the girls there thought me a bit odd for not smearing the DC's bottoms with barrier cream after every nappy change, but I never saw the point, they didn't need it. Just personal preference though.

With DS nappy changes, we used the top and tail bowl and water with cotton wool pads, religiously following recommendations, but by the time DD came along, she went straight to baby wipes for nappy time. - We use Simple baby wipes, I've tried a couple of the other brands sensitive ranges, but they don't suit their skin at all, and TBH, I don't think they feel as nice either. Supermarkets tend to have offers on wipes on a cyclical basis, so you can generally stock up in bulk when you know which you prefer. Our local tesco and asda don't do simple wipes , but they're in home bargains, cheaper than most of the other brands.

sorry, no definitive answer, which is possibly why people haven't replied, as so much comes down to what's available where you live, what's your budget, whether you want to go chemical free, and what suits your baby etc. (and you might find it handy to get into online supermarket shopping for the first couple of months to give yourself a break, so it's handy to get stuff your supermarket stocks, or do orders from boots online!)

Congratulations! I am well past baby days, but if I could, I'd choose organic, and especially if there is any family history of eczema or any other skin problems or allergies. It isn't recommended to use anything but warm water on a newborn, for baths and nappy changing, but you will need some cottonwool pads to help you clean the nappy area, at least while in hospital and until the meconium has cleared. (Can be very sticky and hard to remove.) I used to put a thin film of petroleum jelly on DS bottom after each change, which made this easier. Waitrose do an own brand bottom butter which is organic and is based on olive oil, smells gorgeous and will do well for the same purpose.

They also do baby wash, wipes etc, not more expensive than other brands. There is also Earth Friendly Baby, and Green People Organic Babies, at the high price end (although much more concentrated so you use less) at Waitrose and John Lewis. If you want to do baby massage, olive oil is cheap and non-irritant. I would personally avoid Johnsons products as they are heavily perfumed, and any brand of baby powder as it can be harmful, dust breathed in, particles get stuck in the skin pores etc.

You can buy a large quantity of cheap washcloths and use them as wipes, just wash and re-use. A lot of mums who choose cloth nappies do this, as they all get washed together.

I can't comment much on nappies, but Nature Babycare are widely available and less full of chemicals and gel crystals for absorbency than some others. With a newborn,
absorbency isn't much of an issue, you could be changing 12+ nappies in each 24hrs for the first few days after birth. I used to use loo roll to clean DS up, and then use the damp cotton pad to wash his bottom, then you use less of the pads. Always took a loo roll in the change bag when out and was able to use less wet wipes! Nature Baby also do a range of wipes and toiletries. I can personally vouch for the baby shampoo, when I had an eye inflammation I was advised to wash the outside of my eyes and lashes with no tears shampoo and it was good. No perfume, but effective and cheap. Hope this helps.

I'm a bit of an earth mother so didn't use much branded or disposible stuff...

Washable nappies (Fuzzibunz and Weenees were our favourite)
Cotton wool and water and then cloths and water to wipe
No toiletries... have washed DS's hair about 3 times in his life...but we keep it short with clippers

I'm a big fan of keeping it cheep and natural - DS has a bath every night but no soaps/bubbles in it - just water... He doesn't get 'dirty' as such yet -he's only 2.5!

the only disposable nappies we used was at night - so one a day normally. then we used Boots own brand which I thought were the best...

I also breastfed and used washable breast pads - silk lined cotton don't you know -oooh. Much nicer than the disposable ones as they're less drying on your nips!

My DS has no exczma, had minimal cradle cap and only had nappy rash when I didn't realise he'd done a poo and left him sitting in it for an hour. Apparently it's caused by the combinaiton of poo and wee. As a result we still haven't finished our trial, sampler tub of nappy rash cream that we got in our Bounty packs!

I also think that he wasn't very succeptible to nappy rash as I didn't spend my time stripping his skin of it's natural protective oils with chemical-filled disposible wipes or soaps and bubble bath....

All the brands and magazines base their sales strategy on maternal guilt ... implying that you're not a good mother unless your child is in their product... Remember that is manipulative bollox and trust your instincts

Hi Sian, Congratulations.
I don't want to give you a horror story but i advise staying away from baby wipes for very young babies. I'm no eco warrior but my DS got horrendous nappy rash as a consequence of using a combination of crappy eco friendly disposable nappies and baby wipes. We used the Nature Babycare brand nappies that GirlyWhirly mentioned, but they are awful and non absorbent - and although GW is right that you change nappies a lot in tiny babies, we found that absorbency is still important even for a newborn if you don't want them to get nappyrash and thrush.
We switched to pampers and cotton wool and water and DS has never had nappy rash since. Would highly recommend pampers - they are really absorbant.
On the subject of nappy rash we used sudocrem as a barrier cream to protect against nappy rash - dry babies bum with dry cotton wool - or we used an eco hairdrier on a really low setting (ds loved it) then put really tiny amount of sudocrem on to protect bum. But if DC actually gets nappy rash bepanthen is fantastic. I'd stock up on both. The free Bounty packs usually give you a tiny pot of sudocrem which you can keep in your out and about changing bag.
If you want wipes for when you are out and about and to wipe snot and sick (although muslins are much better) we just used morrisons own brand fragrance free - they are great - get the ones with a plastic resealable lid rather than the sticky peel away opening because the sticky resealable ones don't reseal and then they dry out.
Having said that i discovered reusable wipes recently - cheeky wipes. My more environmentally friendly friend swears by them
www.amazon.co.uk/Cheeky-Baby-Wipes-Washable-Kit/dp/B002DKBLQM/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1306411734&sr=8-3
Not sure how portable they are for going out and about though.

You don't need soap or body wash for a newborn, just warm water. And when bathing don't use bubble bath for a new born - it really dries their skin out.
If baby is born with hair it can sometimes get a bit gross with sick and stuff. Lots of people don't use shampoo but we do as our DS has lots of hair. Johnsons no tears shampoo worked perfectly for our DS.
Buy lots of muslins, They are great for wiping and cleaning all bits of a baby at any time.
If you are breast feeding i recommend the plastic collection cups rather than breast pads. www.amazon.co.uk/Philips-AVENT-SCF157-02-Comfort/dp/B000MMQO60/ref=sr_1_fkmr3_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1306412193&sr=8-2-fkmr3
As Knitternottwitter says, the disposable ones can dry your nipples out (although lansinoh nipple cream is a god send). Only thing i'd say about the plastic nipple covers is don't use the ones with the breathing holes in the top cos the milk collects in the cup and when you bend over to pick up your baby the milk pours out the top and all over your top. Very embarrassing.
If you are breast feeding buy Lansinoh nipple cream and do not leave home without it
www.mothercare.com/Lansinoh-Nipple-Cream/dp/B000IVT03Y?extid=google_product_extensions

good luck for the birth.

Oh wow thank you for all of your wonderful advice. You have opened my eyes to many different things. Thank you again.

i find pampers sensitive wipes very good, they are not fragranced or irritating for the skin or anything. i did find johnsons wipes wasnt great when i used on newborn ds1 but pampers sensitive is very nice imo. i like pampers nappies best too but depends on the size and shape of the baby as different ones will suit them if they are for eg tall and skinny, or chubby or whatever else. so if you are not happy with the first ones you buy just try another til you see. it may be worth trying supermarket own brand aswel as some people find them great, ive heard a lot of good comments from tesco own brand

ASDA own brand nappies are absolutely fine, and we've just started using their Smartprice wipes which appear to be exactly the same as any other wipe we've used (except Huggies, strange papery creations)

I love Huggies wipes though, precisely because they are made of paper rather than horrid synthetic polyester type stuff like the others. So much softer and natural feeling. Just goes to show you need to try a few brands and find out what suits you and your baby. A for nappies, I tried reusables but didn't get on with them. Try Asda for really good value Jumbo packs of nappies (often there are special deals for buying 2 packs at once, and bought like this Pampers often come out cheaper than own brand). Pampers Simply Dry are good - seem just the same as their other types to me, just a bit cheaper. Not sure if they come in newborn sizes though. Oh, and good luck with the rest of your pregnancy!!

Yes, avoid wipes for as long as you can. We got a lot of cheap flannels from the poundshop plus a lidded bucket. It is sooooo much easier to clean up baby poo (surprisingly sticky) than cotton wool and water - and has no chemicals, unlike wipes.

Nappies, i used Nature for disposables (again because they have less chemicals than ordinary kinds). I did use re-usable nappies but it is quite hard work.

Shampoo, body wash etc - totally unnecessary. Newborns just need wiping with cotton-wool and warm water (face, hands, genitals, bottom) every day. I didn't bath mine for a month or so. DD2 did have terrible cradle cap though - and given the same situation again I would have put on olive oil at night and washed off in morning.

Agree that you need loads of muslins!

Congratulations Sian! I'm using the Derma H2O water wipes for my DS, they are 99.9% water and 0.1% fruit extract. Amazon sells them. They are a bit pricey , but very convenient, and there aren't any nasties in them. You can use just cotton wool and water at home, but this is so difficult when out and about.

I like Pampers, but some people don't, so I think it's just trial and error with nappies. They are very absorbent, I put DS to bed at 7.30pm and will only change his nappy again in the morning, unless he's done a poo (not that he sleeps through yet!), and his bottom is dry.

I don't use baby bath or shampoo yet (DS is 13 weeks, so still tiny, and has very sensitive skin), but when I start I'll try Weleda. Oh, and grapeseed oil is very good for baby massage.

I think a lot of it is experimenting to find what works with your child, what one likes another hates!

I have mainly used huggies wipes and nappies. I do like Asdas aswell though.

Wipes and toiletries of any kind are not advisable before 6 weeks, but even after that you may find your baby's skin is sensitive, so may prefer to use them only occasionally, if at all. Our LO seems to be sensitive to some wipes, so we just use water and cotton wool at home. We use reusable nappies (Bum Genius birth to potty nappies which are size-adjustable ) and Aldi own brand nappies for out and about and night time, and they seem a good fit/very absorbent and are the cheapest we've seen. We don't use any baby bath even at 8.5 months as our LO's skin is very sensitive although we do wash her hair with baby shampoo as now she's eating solids it tends to get sticky/full of food! The mildest one we've used was Johnson's Top to Toe wash, which was good even from 6 weeks old. Remember though that at first your baby will not get dirty as she/he won't be rolling about in the garden or smearing themselves in foodstuffs. The only reason we use toiletries at all on young babies is to get them used to the idea of the bath for when they're older - or if you're cynical, it's because the marketing tells us we need to!

Initially I just used cotton wool and water for nappy changes but find the best wipes are huggies, and Asda ones are pretty good too, and cheap.

I also love Asda nappies.

As for bath stuff you really don't need anything but water initially. I started using johnsons in DDs bath when she was a few weeks old and she got excema so now I just use olatium products for sensitive skin or just water in her bath and she is now 5months.

Cheeky wipes washable wipes are BRILLIANT. Can't recommend them enough. I use disposable nappies (no point buying in advance til you know what brand suits your baby - mine leaks in huggies but is fine in pampers - put some money in a nappy fund if you're worried about the cost and save til post-birth) but even with disposable nappies cheeky wipes are fab. I put them in a wash with towels so there's no extra washing.

Congratulations. Here comes my two penneth!

I planned to do everything natural - cotton wool and water etc then reality hit the baby products are there for a reason, they are convenient. So i turned into one of those awful mothers who cover their kids in chemicals!

I use pampers babydry, they are fab, so far not had a single leak with them, and no rashes. Huggies leaked and pampers active fit smell too chemical for me. Pampers simply dry worked fine but they felt really flimsy and always seemed very full and wet so i went back to babydry.

Pampers and huggies wipes are good (the huggies ones smell lovely) my favourite ones are the johnson and johnson pink packet, but i usually use the ones on offer. The only ones i didn't like were the asda baby range ones, they were very thin.

We use J&J bedtime wash in her bath and J&J chamomile baby shampoo then we use little me organic baby massage lotion (because it was a gift and it smells nice).

It's all personal preference really.

I've been using pampers nappies mainly because they were on offer in Asda (£8 for a massive box!) and I've got loads of £2 off vouchers for them too. I must admit that I'm not keen on them at all. My first DD has Tesco own brand and they were much better. I bought some Boots own brand nappies the other day and thought they were tiny! My 6 week old baby is quite big already and the size 2 were way too small for her.
We also got pampers sensitive wipes when they were on offer at Asda and still have 4 packs left. It's difficult to use water and cotton wool as I live in a town house and spend most of the time on the middle floor where there is no water, I have to go upstairs or down!

cotton nappies and washable cotton wipes. nature babies eco disposables are brilliant - better than some other branded nappies i've tried. method baby nappy cream is lasting us ages and i've heard waitrose bottom butter is really good. i didn't need anything till baby was a few months old and had plenty of testers to use if we needed it.
bath - olive oil and water for the first few weeks
baby products - as basic as possible. i use a bit of baby soap for cradle cap then rub in oil if it needs it. weleda do great baby products, really worth the money if baby starts getting dry patches. i use baby oil after a bath or every other night just for a massage.

you don't need much to start with, easier to wait and see what kind of baby you get - if it breaks out in a rash and the first sniff of body wash then it'll all be wasted.

I use cotton wool and water when at home, and also take some pre-soaked ones out with me, when they've run out I use the derma H2O water wipes. Nappies I use the nature babycare and have found them to be very good so far, a few escaped poops but she's breastfed and some of her poops are so explosive I doubt anything could contain them! Yet to use any toiletries on her but I do have some green people trial size wash and shampoo and also their sunscreen for when needed.

Water and cotton wool for first few weeks. Newborn babies have their own natural covering that protects their skin so don't need anything else. Also just bath in warm water...in fact they don't need to be bathed daily either..they aren't 'dirty'. Was told once/twice weekly for first 4 months.
When I started washing his hair, I used Simple baby.
Olive or grapeseed oil for moisturising skin if needed. Now hes 17 mths DS has unfortunately inherited my side of the familys dry skin and needs daily creaming so has E45.
Don't use baby/talc powder...only drys skin out
Nappies...tried both huggies and pampers for first 4 months...had stocked up during pregnany. Poo leaked from both. tried asda own and haven't looked back since. Same with their sensitive wipe...cheapest I've found as well, 4 packs for £3. They are a little thinner than say Johnsons but don't find I use more.
Wouldn't buy johnsons wash/body stuff...heard it's one of the worst for chemicals. I used boots at first, now just use Simple for bubbles and wash with E45 cream.
Used both Sudocrem and Bepanthen and work well and I bought asdas own nappy cream for when he's at nursery and it's never bothered him there either.

Just water and cotton wool will suffice for baby for ages and is so much cheaper. I used some wipes for me just after birth as so much softer than toilet tissue and helps clean /freshen the area up (sorry if TMI).

The only thing I would say is always change a nappy when baby has pooed as soon as you can. It is the combination of poo and wee that really aggravates the skin. Not that I recommend it but you can leave (IME) a wet nappy on but a wet and pooey one get off asap.

Just for the record I have cleaned the oven this week and managed to get the oven door immaculate just using a handful of baby wipes. Was quite horrified to see how clean it became using them. We also use them for cleaning the leather sofa they bring it up a treat.