why is it a big no no

[finallypregnant]

for toiletries and wipes for a baby? Is something proven or is it just the local nazi midwives again?

Cotton wool is no better than wipes, in terms of eco shite.

I've always used cotton wool and water. I find it gets the poo off better and isn't as fiddly as wipes. Have skimmed the thread and am obviously in a minority!

ds2 is 10.5 mths and I use a bowl of warm water and a reuseable cloth (old dishcloths cut up actually)
have better things to spend the money on and nci to think I am doing a little towards the environment

Because infant skin is incredibly delicate and can easily be damaged by the chemicals in baby wipes (the skin can even get burned by adhesive in plasters). That said, as a midwife-in-waiting (and a mother) I would say let's be realistic, wipes for when you're out and about but aim for water/cotton wool generally.

Nazi midwives - yeah thanks for that.

cotton wool is a pain - I use washable wipes at home or Nature Babies ones when on holiday etc.

toiletries are just unneccesary though.

I did't say you or anyone else on this site Spillage21.

I have been reduced to tears by both my local midwives over various issues in my pregnancy - so much so that I am considering lodging a formal complaint to the NHS about both of them.

They upset me so much that I actuall dread having to attend my appointments and get stressed at the thought. Surely not helpful to me nor my unborn son.

What gets me is that how can cotton wool handle loads of smeared crap all over the place, sometimes you just need something bigger, and also for when your out.

Don't worry@finallypregnant. I also encountered a fair few bitch-from-hell midwives. There are loads of lovely ones, I'm sure, I just never met any of them!

when you're changing out and about there's usually a tap to wet it under.
The jumbo cotton pads thus or similar are way better than balls or pleats, which just leave fluff everywhere.

I thought the same and used babywipes straight away on ds. Within a week he had a really sore bottom adn I felt awful. We then only used warm water and cotton wool (make up remover pads were better than balls) and no problems. Waited until he was 6 motnhs old and now use unfragranced wipes with no problem

if it's really bad, a muslin cloth and warm water will do the job (and you can re-use it).

OP, please desist from such flippant use of the term 'Nazi'.

Toiletries and wipes are bad for babies' skin, and tbh unnecessary anyway - a non-mobile or even a crawling baby is generally not going to get mucky enough to need soap, and baby poo is inoffensive, isn't it? water can deal with it just fine.

I use white Ikea flannels (washed at 60° with eco detergent) and warm water for dses' nappy changes, btw.

I used cotton wool for first few days major pita. You use loads of cotton wool and it takes ages to change a nappy. I now use wipes and ds has a lovely clear bum and no nappy rash!

I also love olive oil, great for dry heads and newborns shedding their skin.

I use washable wipes (Cheap flannels and cut up terry nappies) and find that the towelling fabric gets the poo off much better than a wet wipe. Sometimes use unfragranced wipes when out and about and find that I need loads for a job that I could do with one flannel - wet wipes don't 'grip' the poo as well as the flannel! Did use cotton wool when they were tiny but that was more for face cleaning.

cotton wool and water can be a PITA IMO

Wipes are very expensive and the cheap ones always give my DCs a sore bottom. They are very effective at removing stubborn mould stains on UPVC though

I use toilet roll to remove the worst (flush down the loo) and water (or chamomile tea plus olive oil) poured onto a cloth. Works really well, removes everything quickly and easily and doesn't cost anything

Tolietries (as in bath products) gave my DDs very bad excema.

Thank you for your messages everyone.

and to the post above, I never said I found poo offensive and I will use whatever term I see fit for midwives who I find to be bullies.

finallypregnant - just do what you think is best. you will find that everyone (whether or not they have a child or any experience with children) will have an opinion about wipes/nappies/cotton wool/toiletries etc etc. re the ezcema thing, as i child my mum only used cotton wool and water and washable nappies. with ds i use huggies and huggies pure wipes. DS has never had so much as a red mark on his skin let alone the terrible ezcema i have suffered since birth.

you will also get the environmental arguement but washing machines have their own carbon footprint let alone the chemicals being pumped into our seas as a result of washing powder.

so try the products you want and ignore the advice you dont

......and watch me rot in hell for saying all that

kaa901. Thank you. I am beginning to learn that quite quickly now!

Haven't read whole thread but I used small amount baby bath in their baths from day 1 and baby wipes for nappy changes but nothing else. Used olive oil for dry skin and cradle cap.

I used real nappies and tried the washable wipes and cotton wool and water but after getting up at 3am to a 2day old baby on my first night home and trying change a massive pooey nappy, surrounded by little balls of cotton wool covered in poo, pooey hands and then ds peeing all over his own face, me crying and screaming for dh to come quick- I gave up and stuck to baby wipes!

I also did all my own research re: feeding, sleeping, routines etc. and decided to do it my way not MW. Obviously listened to what they said but used my own judgement.

I used water and cotton wool like I was told to, we live in a very hard water area, My son got such bad excema in his nappy area that we ended up taking him to the emergency GP out of hours who gave us steriod cream and didn't bother asking about toiletries or anything to see what could be the cause. When I got home I researched excema on the net and found it can be caused by hard water. I switched to wipes and he has been fine ever since.

Finallypregnant - ah midwives are like that with first timers, mostly because those of us who've done it all before just roll their eyes and pointedly ignore them when they trot out their 'you should' and 'you should never' exhortations.

I didn't use wipes for the first six months, but I do now. Mind you, DD has never had nappy rash either, I think if she'd had any tendency to sensitive skin I would have done it differently.

However before you wipe your baby's arse with one of these things, wipe your nose with it, if it burns your nose, you may wish to consider. Some of them are seriously alcoholic and nasty.

Just wondering if feminine hygiene wipes are gentler than baby wipes? Brands like Femfresh that are ph balanced etc? Use them when have having period and they are really gentle while wipes like Andrex are nasty. Have never tried baby wipes (pregnant with baby number 1 now) so maybe I'm being really stupid and they're a lot gentler, but from the sound of what you're all saying they sound pretty harsh.

They actually have the same ingredients Har - if you have a look at the packaging. Mind you most things like that are made of alcohol, sodium laureth sulphate and fats.

If you can be bothered a garden spray bottle with olive oil and water makes a good alternative when sprayed on soft towelling (and then washed obv).