Baby wipes on newborns

[Newmum2013]

Hello! Can anyone offer any advice / insight on using baby wipes on new babies. I know the advice is to use cotton wool balls and water which I plan to do in the day. But just wondering about using wipes in the middle of the night to save messing with top and tail bowl etc? Or should I stick with cotton wool and water?

Hope this all makes sense!

I think the advice to use cotton wool and water is to avoid the chemicals on brand new sensitive skin. If you wanted to give it a go through there are some wipes that seem/claim to be less chemically than others. I suspect it's probably a matter of luck how sensitive your baby's skin is as to whether they are absolutely fine or it makes them a bit sore. Good luck!

Hi Newmum... DC1 had cotton wool and cool boiled water. If the HV had advised me to bathe him in the tears of virgins I would have done it. DC2 came along 18 months after DC1and had to rough it with wet wipes. hadn't got the time to faff. Didn't affect him at all and both have gorgeous squidgy bums

We use reuseable wipes. They are made from bamboo and are just wet from water.

I used just cotton wool and water for the first year (at least). I still always finish bum cleaning with cotton wool and water (now 2 and a half).

BUT i just use the same bowl of water over the length of the day - i.e. I don't refill bowl every time (but then, it's not dirty water: I only put clean cotton wool in it). So, in my view, no more faff than wet wipes but much kinder on the tush. Possibly more enviro-fiendly and perhaps also cheaper? Not sure. (PS Refilling a new bowl with body-warm just-so water - as I did for the first couple of weeks - is, however, a faff.)

But of course, if you find you hate using cotton wool and water then just use baby wipes - NB there is one brand (I forget the name) that is especially kind to the skin.

I really wouldn't use wipes until they're about two months old, what with baby skin being so new, there's simply no need and is lots of money.

You don't really need to change them in the middle of the night unless they've done a poo, so just leave a glass of water by the side with the cotton wool, it won't be anymore faff than looking for the wipes. Like GoByTrain says, just use a new cotton wool each time. Within a couple of days, you'll have figured out what you prefer anyway.

I'm not keen on the chemicals in babywipes but on the other hand - what's with the cottonwool? Can you not just get little soft cloths and wash them?

And boiled water?!? seriously?? wtf is in drinking water that can't touch their bums?

hi my lo is 6 weeks old an in the hospital i asked if i needed water n the midwife said if i had wipes use them! which i did at home i use cotton wool n warm water straight from tap i don't boil it and at night and out and about i use Johnsons extra sensitive wipes and my little boys bottom has been fine but i suppose every baby is different

There's an Eco brand that I am planning on using "jackson Reese".
No nasties and they even do an unfragranced version.
I think faffing about with cotton wool sounds like far too much faff!

Still expecting here - but read about Waterwipes. Again, no experience as yet, but was thinking they might be worth a try just for convenience. Seem to have no chemicals etc. in them - but presumably they'd go off once opened pretty quick, may be a good back-up option?

I will be using wipes in hospital regardless of what the pushy MW say! My baby, my way ;)

I will be using reuseable wipes at home though.

Cotton wool makes my teeth itch plus I have very dry sore hands and it just gets stuck everywhere.

Cotton wool balls are a nightmare. One they are wet they are tiny and wouldn't get a speck off poo off. Use the big makeup wipe style ones (oval) instead.

Or wipes like me bad mummy!

Water wipes off kiddicare.com are amazing but not cheap! I used them with DS when out and about, bought a load of cheap flannels from poundland to use in the house and just rinsed immediately then washed with a normal wash load. Still prefer flannels to wipes an DS is 2, they just get rid of the poo better! Gave up on water wipes apart from if he's had nappy rash (usually just when teething).

A year?!?!?!

www.cheekywipes.com/
These are fab

I've always used johnsons wipes and will for this one too, if mws frown ill frown back! Lol x

I'll be using wipes, I've got the Johnsons newborn ones which they claim are perfectly safe on the skin, a friend of mine recently gave birth and the midwives told her to use wipes as they clean the area better and quicker, she found with the cotton wool she was wiping and wiping and making her daughters skin red whereas the wipe removed it straight away.

Huggies do new dry wipes. They are the same type of tissue as the regular wet Huggies wipes but dry. You could wet them with plain water and use that. No bits of cotton wool stuck everywhere.

Ive got some of the buggies dry wipes. Didn't think of
The simple idea of a glass of water! Thanks for ideas / suggestions and not making me feel lazy/ bad for suggesting using wipes instead of climbing out of bed and doing it 'properly'! Won't be changing in the night unles it's a dirty / really wet one! All the wipes we have are for sensitive skin anyway, I'm sure it will be fine!

I use water wipes meant ironed above ^^ all other wipes made my DD get very very sore :( We didn't t start using wipes until 10 wks either. I'd honestly use water and cotton wool or flannels as suggested as you just don't know how sensitive your baby's skin will be and a tiny tot who screams when you wipe their bottom because is red raw is horrific.

I used waterwipes. They were great and never dried out no matter how long I left the packet open for.

They do cost more than normal ones so I used them for the first 12 weeks since that was how long the health visitor said I should use cotton wool and water for. There were reasonable deals on Amazon for bulk buying.

I then switched to sensitive wipes. Been fine with Pampers, Boots and all the supermarkets but for some reason huggies pure always give ds a red bum

I used cotton wool for first few days followed by baby wipes for older two and then baby wipes from the get go for younger three.

I never used anything other than wipes on my two. They didn't have any kind of sensitivity to them. I haven't the patience to be dealing with cotton wool and water, I'm so clumsy that I'd have knocked the water over every time, and I found I had enough washing to deal with without adding pooey wipes to the pile.

Have you removed make up from your skin with baby wipes? I did and was shocked as my face stung afterwards so would never use them in a newborns skin tbh. Johnsons, I wouldn't use on my dog!

I have never been able to use even sensitive wipes on my two as they get horrible nappy rash and eczema break outs.

I use Asda little angels large cotton pads (100 pack) they are always on 2 for £2.50, much cheaper than boots and other supermarkets and good quality. Cotton wool balls just smear it around. You can wet a pile of them and squeeze out the excess water then leave the pile wrapped inside travel changing mat and they won't dry out overnight. Much less chance of knocking over containers of water when half asleep that way. Wish I had figured that out for dd1.