Baby Changing Essentials

[zoobaby]

First baby and not from the UK originally, so I have NO idea...

What have you found to be essential for changing baby? I don't mean obvious stuff like nappies and changing mats etc, but other useful things such as wipes and CREAMS and powders. Things that will clean nicely, not cause problems for baby's skin and will soothe irritations. Things I should have in stock because I'm probably going to need them on the spur of the moment.

Also, what's most practical - e.g. cloths or cotton buds or cotton pads?

Would you have different advice if baby is a boy, as I'm told they're a bit more fiddly to clean?

Please share your experiences.

Well I have a daughter and when she was newborn all I used was cotton wool balls and luke warm water, if she got a rash i'd use sudocreme.
When she got a bit older I started using wipes - huggies newborn ones - but have never used anything else :) She's 14 months now and still just using wipes and sudocreme if a rash appears!
I don't think it's essential to have loads of powders and creams etc as baby skin is so soft and sensitive, but you could have a bottle of talc ready if you really wanted.

I was advised my several mw's and hv's not to use sudacreme. Apparently it's just not designed for disposable nappies as it causes too much of a seal and doesn't allow their skin to heal vet easily. I have several friends who always use it and this may be coincidence but their children have happy rash fa more often and far worse. My DD is 20 months and I have used cream twice. She has very very rarely had any nappy rash (only usually just before a tooth has popped through, and once when she was given very spicy curry!). I have always found the best thing is to make sure she's dry after a change and ideally no nappy and a bit of air does the trick.

I used wipes from birth because the cotton wool balls and pads just fell apart and got stuck to her instead of cleaning her. I also hate the feel of them!

I was also advised not to use talc. There's just no need for it and I had no desire for my DD or myself to be inhaling powder. Yuck!

That's funny, i've always found that sudocreme works wonders on my DD, it clears any rash up in a day and she doesn't get them often.

I suppose the best thing to do would be to get a couple of different creams and see which one works for your DC as they all have different skin :)

I think Sudocrem is magic too although I use disposable vapours. DS hardly ever needs it though.

I've been a terrible mother and used unscented wipes right from the start. I like Simple best but most own brands are good enough. A pot of Sudocrem for any red bits, cheap nappy bags and that's it.

I think boys are easier to clean aren't they? Don't girls have more creases?

I only used cotton wool for the first week and it was a real faff so used wipes from there on in. Sensitive or own brand supermarket ones have been great, I use Little Ones from Sainsburys. Have only used Sudocrem if DS had a nappy rash which was very rarely. A health visitor told me at the beginning to use it as if it was a very expensive face cream, very sparingly! This has worked for me.

im expecting my first child and most places are saying that you MUST ONLY USE cotton balls for the first.. while? but reading here people are using wipes?
im looking for the cheapest / best / least fiddly option.. wipes or balls?! aha
:)

I use cotton wool & water on my DD when we're at home, various wipes when we're out & about. Wipes just don't get her clean IMO. Forget buying cotton buds or balls, if you buy a big cotton wool roll it lasts for ages & works out cheaper. Boots sell them for £3ish.

If she's looking a little pink, I'll use Sudocreme as a barrier cream, or the couple of times she's had really bad nappy rash I've used Bepathan (sp?)

HTH!

I used cotton wool and water then pampers sensitive wipes as baby got older (these are the only wipes my dc's don't react to) sudocrem for rashes or metanium for a really bad rash.

I wouldn't use talc, especially not on girls. There are links with ovarian cancer.

Sudocrem is fine with disposables, you have to use it very sparingly though. Just make sure it's transparent when you put it on

Cotton wool and water initially, then whatever brand of wipes suit your baby's skin. It's a bit trial and error. I found aloe Vera gel really good for the nappy rash, very soothing without being gunky.

On my toddler I'm using the Johnson's extra care wipes, which have lotion in, and are amazing for those full body poops. It's the cillit bang for nappy changing, one wipe and the dirt is gone :o

For ds2, due in two wks, I have stocked up on cotton wool balls for first few wks, use with top and tail bowl. Then I will use nappies with sensitive wipes and bepanthen cream, much better than sudocream. Also have metanium in for nappy rash.

I keep a tube of timodine(sp?) cream in the fridge, and use it on the very rare occasion DD gets nappy rash. Nothing else seems to get rid of it.

Other than that, just nappies and wipes. I have a mat at home but if I'm out just use a muslin or bit of newspaper.

I still have unopened packs of talc, baby oil, sudocreme, lotions etc from when DS was born. He's 4 now.

If you do use the cotton wool ball/water method, it's handy to fill a free flow beaker with cooled boiled water each morning, then you just shake a few drops onto each ball - saves having to keep getting bowls of water from the kitchen at every nappy change.

Washable bits of muslin with water to begin with followed by the Huggins newborn wipes. Dd definitely gets a rash if I use anything perfumed.

Sudocrem also works when she does get a rash though I was also told by my dr not to use it. The aloe gel she recommended instead made the rash far worse.

No need for powders or the like, you really won't use them and talc has had warnings about it getting into babies lungs.

Keep it simple. You don't need lots of expensive crap.

1. A decent medicated nappy cream - e.g. Sudocream.
2. Cotton wool pads to use with water when baby is very small, fragrance free wipes for later.
3. a lightweight, fold up changing mat

I hate sudocreme, you can't wash it off the baby, and I often use cloth nappies, it ruins them as it won't wash out of them either. I use Bepanthen, buy it from Wilkos or the supermarket as it gets pricey from places like Boots. I only use it when there is soreness though.
I use cotton wool from a pleat and water, or if baby is in cloth, washable wipes, the ones I have are terry on one side and fleece on the other, and they are brilliant.
I'm another one with loads of baby toiletries I never used, mostly Johnson's because people gave it to me and I really don't like it.

I used (and plan to use again, this time) cotton wool pads and water, and later washable wipes with lavender and camomile essential oils.

I won't use talc as baby could breathe it in, plus I personally prefer natural ingredients so tend to avoid using much else than mentioned above.

It's expensive but Burt's Bees baby bottom balm, is great if you get nappy rash.

Following on from my ^ post. I should add that I used disposable wipes from the word go when we were out and about.

I would second trying a few different creams etc. For DS1, sudocrem etc didn't work but Waitrose Bottom Butter was fantastic. For DS2, Bottom butter does nothing, Sudocrem does the trick within a day.

Otherwise I use cotton wool pads (not the balls, they just fall apart and are too fluffy) and warm water until 6 weeks then wipes. Whilst they're still little, I place a cotton wool pad in a strategic area to avoid small fountains!

Wipes - whatever is on offer/cheapest, from birth. No fannying about with tubs of water and cotton wool.

ASDA nappies.

Sudocrem for nappy rash (rare in this house)

Travel changing mats from Poundland - one in each changing bag (we have one upstairs, downstairs, pram and car boot)

Boys are much harder to clean than girls, all those dangly bits that end up covered in poo and the threat of being sprayed with wee!

I've only got a DD at the mo but have it on good authority from my sister who has 2 boys, 1 girl & childminds for me that girls are far worse than boys for nappy changes. Admittedly you can get a spray in the eye/mouth from a boy & all a girl does is make a puddle, but when, technically, you're not meant to clean between their creases, it gets a bit tricky as poo gets EVERYWHERE. Boys you just give a wipe down, but girls you have to carefully clean between without pushing anything in anywhere iyswim...

Cotton wool pleats are by far the cheapest way to buy it, but you might want to rip a few bits off before you start, so they're handy.

I tried cheaper nappies (Asda) but they made my DD sore as a newborn, but when she was older I tried Sainsburys active ones & they were equivalent to Pampers, so I would advise shopping around.

Creams; you don't need to put anything on every time normally, as long as baby is dry when you put a nappy on. However, I would recommend putting a cream on at the very first sign of redness though & with a newborn, when they can't crawl off & wee everywhere, leaving nappy off & putting them on a towel is often a very good, quick fix. I use bepanthen at the first sign of redness now with my 2yo & sudocrem if it gets worse.

I used cotton wool & water with my DD for the first little while, as we didn't really go anywhere much at first & if we did, it was to somewhere convenient like relatives etc. As soon as we started going out more, wipes were necessary for out & about. I loved Pampers sensitive as they used to be gentle & come out easily/1 at a time, but since they've changed the formula, they bunch up & are harder to use. I don't think there's much difference between them, so shop around for bargains and try a few out!!

I'm a cotton wool pad girl. Used it the whole way till DD1 was toilet trained and never found it particularly faffy. She reacted to wipes the few times I used them out and about (sensitive ones only) and also I like the fact the pads are thicker when dealing with poo! I also thought it got her far cleaner. DD2 is now 14 weeks old and I'm doing the same with her.

I found Sudocrem the devil's work on DD1's bum and so use Bepanthen for any nappy rash and Metanium for any bad bits. They are both wonderful. Metanium stains though so I keep it for bad rash, butbitbworks in hours. Amazing stuff? Bepanthen is just a really lovely texture and also works well.

Water & cotton wool. It's all u need! Baby skin doesn't need powders & potions

We have used wipes don't get me wrong but mainly save them for when we r out n about. As we're using washable nappies do far we haven't needed barrier creams etc

I used cotton wool and water for first 6 weeks then moved on to Huggies Pure wipes, have tried others but these I've found to be the best, I stock up when they are on offer. Though I only use wipes now when out and about (great for mucky hands and faces too!) as I use baby lotion and cotton wool to change at home, only used it as ran out of wipes one day and had a bottle someone gave me so used it and found it much better and gentler and wouldn't go back, but too much of a faff when out and about. I use sudocream or metanium everyday with every nappy change and use yellow metanium if he gets a rash/sore- its fab and clears it right up. With nappies always pampers, read that Lidl ones were good so went and bought some and they were rubbish and went all hard so have stuck to pampers since! But different napoies suit different babies, my friend swears by huggies and i found them leaky and useless! Always handy to have anti bac hand gel and a couple of muslins in the changing bag too- my lo is 21m now and I still use them even though no longer on milk feeds!

Metanium is magic for nappy rash and great to have to hand. Sudocreme is fine as a general barrier cream but doesn't sort out v sore bottoms. Metanoum does. You can blend the two a bit to make it go on easier. Otherwise fragrance free wipes - the smell of the perfumey ones mixed with poo is too much for me