My cloth nappy bubble may be about to burst!

[powder28]

My ds2 is not reacting very well to the cloth nappies I bought. His skin has started to crack and go a bit scabby. My mum said that i was exactly the same when i was a baby and she had to leave me out of nappies frequently because my skin was so cracked and bleeding! I had severe eczema but I didnt think mine would have it.
Anyway, I think I am going to have to sell them, and I have only used them a handful of times!! I am also waiting for some to arrive still!
Anyone else had problems?

Ahh your poor DS!

Are you using a liner in your nappies, eg fleece to keep the moisture away from the skin?

Silk liners might be worth a try as they are supposed to naturally help skin heal.

My DS gets patches of eczema around his nappy area and we have some steroid and anti- fungal cream from the doctors to use on him when it flares up. At all other times I make sure his skin is well moisturised with Unguentum cream (also from doctor) and that seems to do the trick.

ds' eczema flared up badly around his thighs when he wore only cloth - it looked like red rings of burnt skin where the elastic of the cloth rubbed his skin. Since that time, I've only managed to keep it away by alternating with disposables - 2 clothes, then a disp, then 2 cloths. His thighs are fine with this but if I keep him in cloth too long the burn comes back almost immediately.

Have you tried cutting down on washing powder? Ensuring the wraps are really clean and there's no build up of powder/urine in the nappy or wrap cuffs? I only use the smallest amount of detergent in the wash when i'm doing my nappies.

I never put DD in cloth overnight any more - her entire nappy area was bright red after just one night the last time I tried . I make sure I change her more frequently and intersperse with disposables if the soreness seems to be getting bad.

Peanutbutter that sounds a bit like what my DS gets sometimes (although not so bad).

I was about to suggest doing an extra rinse on the nappy wash just to make sure all detergent rinsed from nappies .

It really is worth checking with your doctor though as if it is a fungal infection it won't clear up without the appropriate cream.

Yes his skin looks burnt!!! Sort of like a lovebite! I have been using liners and changing often but my mum said that his skin is starting to look like mine did when i was a baby and that mine was so bad that she had to leave me out of nappies and just clean up any mess I made in my cot etc! She said the skin eventually cracked and bled and I used to scream constantly. I love my new nappies but I would feel so guilty if i kept putting them on him and he was in pain.

Having slated it on another thread, I discovered that vaseline sorted out the large red areas round DDs legs fairly quickly.

powder, id say try using less powder and give him lots of bum off time and bum changes, alternate wraps so that the leg cuffs aren't wet all the time....hmm cant think of anything else!

I do think that having a break and using disposables helped DD a lot. It was only when I used them at my parents over Christmas that I realised it was the cloth nappies causing the rash.

I ahve found it much better since I switched to fairy liquid non-bio rather than powder (less build up). My DS reacts to fleece liners we have discovered too - he is much much better with disposable ones.

What wraps are you using too? Wool would help the airflow more than anything - couche covers are really slim for daytime use.

Im using fleece wraps, motherease and proraps.
Thing is I ordered a pack of nappies off the glowmaternity site and they still havent arrived!!! I also have a swaddlebees still to come and a pocket one. I didnt think that they might not suit him. It's only over hte past few days that i have noticed his skin becoming bad. I use a disposable at night so not sure really what to do for the best.

I would suggest using disps for a few days for him to heal. In that time give the nappies you do have a 60C blast in the machine without powder (after they have been cleaned obv), and try them out again when his skin has healed but stick to disp liners and the fleece wraps where possible.

The swaddlebees you should be able to return if you want to return it without using it, if not you get a good amount for your money on the nappy lady, and on clothnappyaddicts.

Feeling a bit crap now because of this! How sad is that! Over nappies. I think I need an early night...

powder28, trying to make you feel a bit better. My ds seemed to be developing an allergy to his cloth nappies so I stopped using them for a while, but found that he still reacted to disposible nappies they also bought him out in rashes. I found that if I only use fleece liners occasionally and paper ones the rest of the time he doesn't come out in a rash over his willy area. I also found that he is ok with motherease wraps, but the bindings on tots bots and cotton bottoms cause him to get a rash. Try using disposibles and if the problem doesn't resolve then you can go back to using your cloth nappies in the knowledge that disposibles don't make a difference (if that's the case for your son). My son at the moment has no problems in the nappy area except his has learnt how to overcome the problem of not be able to undo poppers. He now just pulls his nappy off! Like Flamesparrow says you should be able to recoup most of your money by selling the nappies should you need to.

I sat and sobbed one night trying to work out if my love of cloth was breaking my baby .... damn these hormones!! And yes Soupy, I know I need a life

I noticed that ds settled down a bit when i put a disposable on him as he has been crying quite a lot and scratching the tops of his legs. I didnt think he might be feeling uncomfortable.

It is heartbreaking having an itchy, sore-skinned baby. I would advise you to do whatever it takes to get him mended, then try again with absolute minimum gunk and junk i.e.

Clean him with cotton wool and water
Leave him to air dry if practical, and if not then gentle drying with a fluffy towel
Lots of vaseline
No detergent for nappies, wraps, towels etc. - I only use laundry balls

If it starts again then I am sorry to be out of ideas

hope his poor skin is better soon, so much sympathy to you.

Thanks for the supportive posts

Oh dear poor old DS. I hope he is feeling better soon.
I know some babies with eczema do better in cloth, but obviously not all.
We had problems with my ds reacting to urine mixing with soap powder and burning his skin. As others have suggested, we had to strip the nappies of all powder by washing without powder, at 60, until there were no soap bubbles in the water.
It took about three washes to shift the soap, which I found quite shocking. We decided to switch to eco-balls, and also reduced the number of nappies we washed per load to around ten, to ensure they were all being rinsed properly.
We also started to add white vinegar to the final rinse to kill off more bacteria and added some nappy sanitiser to the wash every two or three washes, usually as a pre-wash. I think Mio-fresh or the one by OneLife are both good, with no bleaches and things.
This did seem to help and his skin cleared up a lot. I kind of stuck to two-hourly nappy changes through the day unless we were out.
We used bepanthan cream as a barrier, really thinly spread, which was great and as everyone has said lots of nappy free time was useful as well.
But of course if your ds can't go full-time in cloth then of course you should put disps on him, hopefully part-time as suggested? I think disposables definitely have a place when a baby has a skin condition like this.
Hugs to your DS, and hope his bum is better soon.

Suddenly occurred to me... what nappies are you using? Are they a natural fibre or microfibre?

Little ewes, ellas house bumhugger, wambamboos, wonderoos, organic velour swaddlebees.
The bumhugger seems to be a bit small for him though. I am using fleece liners too.
Even if i don't use them I want to keep them cos they are so lovely. It is not cost effective though.

I knoow! They are lovely.
Does he react the same way to all the nappies?
I am just wondering about the fleece, some babies don't get on with fleece and some babies don't get on with paper liners.
Just a thought!

I'm still wondering about the fleece too - DS is terrible with fleece (even nappies with "built in" fleece can cause an issue and its a bit better if I put a disp liner on the top)

aaaaggghhhhhh! My new swaddlebees just turned up and its so lovely and soft and pretttyyyy!

I have feeling it could be the fleece wrap becasue the redness is around the tops of his legs but then again it could be a reaction to the wetness. But as it has only flared up in the last week I can't say for sure.
Should I just sell my nappies? My mum thinks they just don't suit him!