Newborn & nappies, advice needed!

[MrsSET]

I would have usually posted in pregnancy but figured this is probably the best place seeing as all of you will have gone through this!

I am expecting my first baby in 2 weeks and am doing a massive Boots online order.

I am ordering nappies, will use cotton wool and water initially but wondered what all your thoughts and advice was when it came to sudocream, talc etc.

Here are my first time questions to give you all a good chuckle but hopefully to also get me the right answers!! (I don't mind laughing at me, I do all the time ;) )

• What else I am supposed to use?
• Do you use them both each time you change a nappy?
• Or do you only use them for different reasons? IE Should you use sudocream each time to prevent nappy rash or only if your baby has nappy rash?
• Is there anything different you should do for newborns?
• Is sudocream even the best cream to use or is there a better alternative?

Thank you in advance!!

Cotton wool is fine with just water. I preferred the cotton wool pads though as they shed less bits.

Sudocream/Other we didn't use at all until nappy rash occurred - then used Bepanthen as DS is allergic to Sudocream - so maybe order a small pot first.

I second the small pot of ointment. You don't know what's going to work best yet, so don't splash out on a huge one.

I used wipes for my two children, but order the un-perfumed, sensitive skin ones for a newborn if you're going to do that.

Don't order tons of 'newborn' size nappies - if your baby is big s/he will soon be into the next size and the size after that.

Make sure you have a big pile of muslins - they're v. useful - particularly if you plan to BF.

I used wipes (non fragranced for sensitive skin) from newborn, I tried cotton wool balls and water and couldn't get DS properly clean. I don't use talc, and use sudocrem only if he has nappy rash, but have found bepanthan better. You'll probably get a trial size pack of both in your Bounty packs so you can try each one to see which one works best.

I second not buying too many nappies - DS was dinky and was in size 1 nappies for ages, but my friend's DS was a big baby and grew out of them within days. Same goes for baby clothes - newborn only fits up to about 10lb so if you have a big baby they won't be in them long at all!

thanks for all the advice! really appreciate it! look out for me asking for loads more advice once the baby makes an appearance! thanks again.

Don't lose faith in cotton wool too quick (but pack wipes in your hospital bag).

One word: Me-co-ni-um.

After that, bf poo is a cinch.

The bounty pack comes with a diddy sample of nappy cream btw.

I couldn't stand cotton wool. We used cheeky wipes, which are small terry towelling squares. If you have more energy than I did at the time, you can cut up flannels. They get more of an, ahem, grip on the nastier poos than cotton wool.

If I remember correctly Stranded is on a bit of a crusade against socket covers. Whilst you are probably a good while off thinking about them, I totally agree with her. V dangerous things with UK sockets.

I'm still using cotton wool and water - DS is 17 months (today!).
Wipes when out, obv.

I use Bepanthen after every change, always have done.
Would agree with not buying too much at first. You will find you have preferences once you've tried things.

Newborns are no different, just a gentle touch and as little lotions and potions as possible. Plenty of time for bubbles when you need to get Dairylea out of their hair, which takes some doing!

My crusade, seeing as Stranded started it 😉, is PND. Please read up on the signs, ask OH to do the same, and ask if you need help.

Good luck!

That random number string was supposed to be !!

I never bothered with cotton wool and water, my mum bought me a big bag of cotton wool and I ended up using it to take my makeup off, I would have been there all week with cotton wool balls with some of the poos DD did in the first couple of days. I put a small smear of nappy cream on at every change but supermarket own brand works as well as sudocrem. Don't buy huggies newborn nappies they are crap we had loads of leaks with them.

They are slightly more expensive, but if you can manage the extra then buy cotton wool pads rather than cotton wool balls for cleaning baby's bottom with water. We gave up with balls after too much bits of broken off cotton fluff everywhere, and switched to pads which have a gauze cover and so stay together - we would buy rare and occasional packets of the larger pads for the really big messes, and use the little eye-makeup-remover round pads. You don't need to stick with this for ever though - after a few months (depending on how sensitive your baby's skin is) you can switch to wipes - we use Sainsbury's Eco.

We were avoiding chemicals as much as possible and in the first 6 months the only sudocreme we needed was the tiny free-sample pot that we got in our hospital freebie bag. You really don't need to put it on every time, just dab it on if any bits get red (this will only happen if they do a poo that irritates their skin and the nappy stays on for a while. It doesn't actually happen that often. TMI but the composition of each poo will be different and a lot of the time there will be no danger of rash). We did need to use it more regularly after weaning so I think we are on our second (normal size) pot now (DS is 2.8) - but definitely no need to stock up. I wouldn't recommend Talc at all, we never needed it.

We used Pampers for the first few months while DS was very small, as they go to smaller sizes and are better at containing the explosive early poos. When he was big enough we switched to a combination of eco-disposables and cloth nappies but would never recommend starting on these with a newborn unless you just love washing poo off clothes.

Bepanthen is better for preventing nappy rash as it's a barrier cream, sudocreme is more suited for healing.. :)

I use kamillisan nipple cream on baby's bums (only if they need it) and its great for sore nipples and chapped lips too!

Kamillasan and metanium - fab stuff and never failed me with dc1 but dc2 is having problems when teething.

If in doubt, keep it simple and basic. I only bought nappy rash cream when I needed and the freebies lasted a long time. Lots of nappy free time prevents nappy rash and is the best thing to help clear it up. I use cotton nappies so often just lay a loose cotton square round baby's bum to protect nearby furniture from explosions!
Another vote for kamillasan.
Same with baths - not needed for a week or two, not needed every day, and a bit of olive oil in the water to soften it (plain water can be drying) and to massage in is all you need. Johnsons gave my newborns a rash.

Wipes are far, far easier and the unscented ones are really gentle. Tried faffing with cotton wool once, thought bugger that!

I rarely use Sudocrem or anything but DS doesn't seem to get rash.

Change nappy about an hour after a feed - too soon and you'll get piddled on but always change even if just wee, it's stingy on their skin.

Good luck, look after yourself and remember for the first six weeks to do nothing except look after yourself and your newborn, everything else is unnecessary. And learn to tell relatives and friends to fuck off leave you alone! x

Thank you so much for all the tips and replies, I really appreciate it. I'll let you know how I get on!

6 weeks in with my first at the moment and I use warm water and nappy liners to clean her bum. You can get boxes of shop's own nappy liners and use the with water much like you would a wet wipe. I started off using Muslims and water but got lazy (there's already enough washing to do and my girl poos like it's going out of fashion).

Haven't needed to use any barrier cream. I avoid talc and anything with strong fragrances. She's only ever been washed in warm water and had olive oil rubbed into dry skin.

Muslims rofl. I keep loads at home to help with nappy changes and burping .

When you're putting nappies on, I've found that it is essential to have the 'frilly' bits on the leg poking out of the nappy rather than staying inside (you'll see what I mean when you do it).

If we didn't pull the little frills out then DS was in a complete mess every time he pooed!! And BF poos can be quite runny, so you don't want that

I echo the "not too many newborn nappies", my DS was on the small size and yes, we used a lot of size 1, loads of size 2 but were in size 3 in the blink of an eye. I always bought in the ASDA baby event. It's on every 3/4 months. Next time it's on start stock piling size 3

Metanium is the best nappy cream IMO: DS had severe nappy rash at 7 days old, I had tried all the others then GP came for the 1 week check and prescribed Metanium... It's all I ever bought after that, and lasts ages as you only need a tiny amount. DS had mild eczema which explained the shocking nappy rash.

I ditto the Cotton Pads (come in a tube shape plastic bag), they are in the make-up removal aisle of any supermarket. Cotton wool balls are a nightmare but pads are brilliant (the extra cost is outweighed by the quantity used).

Good luck and take care of yourself

Good luck, I am getting broody again thinking about the newborn stage (DS is 14 months). We used cotton wool and water then discovered the DermaH20 waterwipes, they are fab. Pricey but so worth it when you're out and about (and no, I don't work for them, I just like them as they're not full of nasties and DS has sensitive skin anyway).

I also like Metanium, they have a barrier cream for everyday use and a fab yellow cream to treat the rash (it stains though). I've also recently discovered the Boots own brand cream, it has zinc and castor oil and it's fab and very cheap. I use this at every nappy change.

For nappies, I've used Pampers baby dry when DS was a newborn and did many explosive poos, then switched to Lidl own brand during the day and now only use Pampers at night. When I have a second DC I would try the cheaper nappies sooner though.