baby toiletries

[amoney]

reading lots of conflicting advice (just water / no wipes etc) so thought i'd ask all of you experienced mums... in terms of toiletries etc, what exactly do you need for a newborn baby?

Cheers

Believe in Life - Halo and horns are for sale in both Tesco and Asda round here.

You can get the Waitrose stuff from John Lewis if you have one of them nearby too. John Lewis sell lots of different baby brands like green people. You could check their website.

Thanks GG, it is sometimes in stock at our Tesco but not that often. I usually just stock up when I do an Ocado order as they sell Green People too.

Tlise I don't think anyone's tone has been one of telling off - we're just discussing an issue that there's not that much information on. Very few people have any awareness of these issues at all so you certainly wouldn't be getting your hand slapped!

As I said, I'm qualified and have studied this for many years. Skin doesn't "get used" to things and often sensitivities take many years to surface. My Mum didn't start experiencing sensitivity to products until she was in her 40's.

There will always be some who use products and say "we were fine" - you sound just like my FIL actually who always looks at me with suspiscion when I won't use Johnson's - but with many of the problem ingredients being carcinogenic, it is unlikely you'd see any effect until much much later in life and it would then be difficult to attribute just to this anyway.

Also, what you use to wash your clothes is slightly different. They simply come into contact with your skin, a big part of the issue is that your skin absorbs around 60-80% of products that you put directly onto it - so body lotions, body wash etc. It is absorbed into your blood stream and from there can cause problems.

Oh Gawd don't say I sound like inlaws lol. Doesn't bother me what you use :). Not everyone does. Could it not be tho as regards your mums senstitivity, that its not years of using things, but rather that things have changed ingredients wise? The way things are now, nothing is like it was years ago, everything is cheaper made. Thats meant as a question rather than telling you, as you said you are qualified, I just wondered. I know I have to avoid persil as that always dries my skin and makes it sore so I don't use that at all.

The trouble is its not just with toiletries, its with anything now, you eat things that are good for you, then you find out they have been doing things with it you really don't want to know about. Unfortunately nobody seems to care anymore but they tell you they do but money always wins :(

BelieveInLife I'm not sure if you can buy them online but the information about the range is here

I just used water to bath DD for at least 2 years. We did use wipes though - I always buy the Simple ones. DD had 2 very mild doses of nappy rash when she was teething.

DD is now 3 and I still have oodles of cotton wool that I stocked up on before she was born - frankly it was quite inconvenient & I very rarely used it on her. No need to buy any for this next baby :)

I used some fermented pawpaw cream for both nipples and babys bum (given to me by Aussie friend & it was marvellous) and we were also given some Weleda cream which was lovely (just finishing up that first tube now).

For at least a year DP gave DD a baby massage after her bath using plain organic grape seed oil - really lovely.

So in summary we used very little 'baby products' on DD and we opted for fairly natural products for those we did use. All with great success & DD always smelt lovely & has really soft skin.

Te he - sorry, the "never did us any harm" type comments are typical in-laws though :)

Yes it definitely is the case that products now are very different to years ago. That's why my grandparents etc never used to get sensitive skin, dermatitis etc. Now they pack them with the cheapest ingredients they can and there's so many synthetic ingredients that cause irritation, along with preservatives.

One place I worked at, we actually used to formulate products and one preservative arrived with an escort due to it's high toxicity levels! And that was going into a face cream!

Same with foods really, I do know what you mean about there always being something not good for you but my grandparents for example years ago used to eat such basic pure foods, whereas now everything is mass produced and has all sorts of colours, flavours, preservatives etc. It's no wonder people get food intolerances when you think what we put into our bodies now compared to home slaughtered chicken and homegrown veg 50 years ago!

I was told by a dermatologist friend that if you avoid using creams etc on a baby they quite often has skin that ages less in later life. It seems that more stuff we put on our skins the less able it is to deal with environmental damage later on. I only used water and cotton wool on both dcs, but those first poos are so sticky that a (dark coloured) flannel isn't a bad shout at all.

You don't need anything- honest.... DS was very very poorly when born and had the attention of a number of consultant paeds..... all the advice on washing/wash type stuff was - don't.
Top and tail with warm water cotton wool. I know wipes are handier, but it's not that much of a struggle to have those big bits of cotton wool and a dab of water is it (especialy for the first 4 weeks). We were told not to bath him all over for the first 2 weeks either as they come out with a protective layer which is quite good for their skin (plus they HATE having their clothes taken off and being bathed)....
Poor dd (now 9 months old) has sensitve skin so tend not to use wipes even now, just washable ones made out of soft bamboo and soaked in a little chamomile tea....

Thanks AKMD will look out for that range next time I'm near a Waitrose.

Believeinlife if I get like that again, you have permission to shoot me :D already had the "we didn't have epidurals in our day" yet she has to be put to sleep to have a filling in her tooth lol.

Can't get over the face cream incident! I don't use anything on my skin other than soap and occasionally shower gel...partly because I am lazy and partly because I did have eczema when I was younger on my feet, and had hydrocortizone smeared thickly before wearing socks every night, so can't bear anything greasy or thick on my skin now. Hubby says I don't age, so I must be doing something right...unlike MIL weg

My ex's grandad used to grow chickens, and they were free range, and he used to warn me about supermarket ones. Now they are pumped full of fat as well, have you noticed they are getting as greasy as red meat :( What sort of world are we bringing our children into :(

The suggestion from my antenatal class midwife was WATER and small MUSLIN squares followed by a liberal spray of extra virgin cold pressed OLIVE OIL. Apparently cotton wool can sometimes leave fibres behind and Sudocreme doesn't allow baby's skin to breathe.

What do people think about Cheeky Wipes? Would the essential oils hurt baby's skin?

Definitely second Poppet45 on cotton wool pads not balls - waitrose sell extra large ones which are brilliant - less likely to end up with a poo on hands situation or a fluffy bottom.