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Pregnancy

Talk about every stage of pregnancy, from early symptoms to preparing for birth.

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Original poster

Baby wipes for newborn?

29 replies

Miia · 01/12/2009 12:36

Just thinking what I need for the hospital bag and have a question regarding baby wipes. Can you use them on a newborn and if so, what is the best brand?

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BonjourIvressedeNoel · 01/12/2009 12:58

I din't genrally use them for a newborn, but they are really useful to help get off meconium poo, which is like tar! I use any fragrence free brand, and cotton woll and water otherwise.

busybeingmum · 01/12/2009 13:01

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

Pannacotta · 01/12/2009 13:07

I used water and cotton wool pads (large size) for both and also mini reuseable wipes made from cut up flannels.
A good tip I read which was too late for me is to put lots of baby balm/bottom cream (the Waitrose Bum butter is great) all over your newborns nappy area, as it makes it much easier to clean up meconium poo.
WIsh I had thought of that at the time...

BikeRunSki · 01/12/2009 13:09

I didn't use them until DS was weaning (6.5 months) and had "proper" poos. Until then cotton wool and plain water worked fine. MW recommended this for 6 weeks, but it worked fine, so I carried on. So far I have only every used Boots ones for sensitive skin, and have had no probs.

Vaseline gets off meconimu poo very easily.

Poledra · 01/12/2009 13:11

Like BikeRunSki, I used water and cotton wool until the introduction of solids. For meconium, I went with some unscented baby lotion on the cotton wool (was close to reverting to the wire brush and Dettol sometimes, mind you).

heth1980 · 01/12/2009 13:47

very interesting tip about vaseline and meconium - I must remember that one! Last time I was trying to do it with just cotton wool and water and it didn't work very well!!

theyoungvisiter · 01/12/2009 13:51

Think vaseline is also not recommended for newborn skin - but I had the same tip from my MW for meconium poo but using olive oil - which works just as well.

Really coat their bottom with it when you put on a clean nappy, and the poo slides off much more easily.

I am allergic to all varieties of baby wipe (fragrance-free and sensitive varieties included) which makes me worry what might be in them! I have always found cotton wool and water did pretty well I found, and as they got older I used Bounty (or Plenty as it's now called) and water. They work just like wipes and are v good.

Poledra · 01/12/2009 13:58

TYV, oddly, my DD1 was allergic to all sort of wipes except J&J, which always get slated on here as being full of chemicals!

krugerparkrules · 01/12/2009 14:00

i used re-usable wipes until they fell apart - worked wonders with warm water and washed well!

Morloth · 01/12/2009 14:02

I liked the Huggies sensitive skin ones. The little teddy bears give excellent friction for sticky poos. Though sometimes there is nothing for it but a terry cloth and some warm water.

Not heard that they are no good for newborns before.

TheMightyToosh · 01/12/2009 14:04

I used cotton wool pads and water until about 6 months, and water only in the bath (no bubbles) for about the same time. I prefered to stear clear of any products until I really needed them, which wasn't until weaning, as someone else has mentioned.

BornToFolk · 01/12/2009 14:07

Terry wipes and warm water. I bought reusable wipes but should have cut up an old towel or bought the Tesco 20p face clothes.

westlondongirl · 02/12/2009 08:34

Totally understand why you should use the cotton wool and water. What do people do if they are out and about and need a nappy change? Would a fragrance free wipe be ok then or do you carry cotton wool and water?

fledtoscotland · 02/12/2009 09:09

I used cotton wool & water for both boys until they were about 3months old. when out & about, just had a pack of cotton wool pads. there is always a basin in the changing room (its usually a disabled toilet) and just ran them under warm water.

alana39 · 02/12/2009 09:43

I know you're supposed to use cotton wool and water, but you will need wipes for when you're out, and tbh I use them a fair bit at home as well after several incidents of older children spilling the water all over my bed mid change while they are trying to get in the way help. So far none of moy DCs have shown any sensitivity to anything / never had any nappy rash but would probably try to avoid wipes if they had.

Mothercare do some sensitive skin ones with very little in them that I bought to use on newborn. When older I'll be using reusable wipes and water (just need to buy some new ones) and Huggies fragrance free wipes when out (as someone else has already said, these have a bit of grip to them which you might need for dealing with proper poo that has gone unnoticed while your toddler tears around the park etc.).

peppapighastakenovermylife · 02/12/2009 09:58

I used baby wipes from the start with both of mine and no one commented. I used the sensitive non fragranced ones. Neither had a reaction of any sorts - if they had I would stop.

I was out and about a lot with DD (second baby) and having to use cotton wool would have been difficult

westlondongirl · 02/12/2009 11:51

I read in one of the pregnancy books that you should use cooled boiled water to clean with the cotton wool. Is this true? Why can't you use tap water? and where do people keep all this cooled boiled water?!

fiveisanawfullybignumber · 02/12/2009 12:50

Like Morloth I used Huggies Pure wipes, very gentle and yes some friction from the teddys,lol. No problems whatsoever. Have used wipes on all 4 of my DC's from birth. Am I a bad mummy?

theyoungvisiter · 02/12/2009 13:30

"By westlondongirl Wed 02-Dec-09 11:51:16
I read in one of the pregnancy books that you should use cooled boiled water to clean with the cotton wool. Is this true? Why c"

I think this is only for cleaning eyes and the umbilical cord. Just because they are very prone to get infected.

But then this always seemed weird to me after you start giving them baths - in that they are then entirely bathed in tap water, cord stump and all! So I only used cooled boiled water up to the point I started bathing them.

theyoungvisiter · 02/12/2009 13:32

oh and I never had any trouble using paper towels or cotton wool while out and about. I just kept a bottle of mineral water in my changing bag and if there was no sink available, I dampened the cotton wool with the water.

Was no more hassle than baby wipes - honest!

hanaflower · 02/12/2009 13:35

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

TheMightyToosh · 02/12/2009 14:08

theyoungvisitor - i used the same trick - bottle of water in the changing bag.

And if you get one with a sports cap, you can operate it one-handed and no lid to lose!

MiniLlace · 04/12/2009 20:24

I started with the water and cotton wool - but then found H2O wipes - you can only get them at boots and amazon.They are 99.9% water and ahve been no problem for my DD - muc prefer them over johnsons

butterscotch · 04/12/2009 21:02

I used cotton wool at the hospital then straight to wipes, I've used a variety of brands with no issues will do the same with dc2

funtimewincies · 05/12/2009 18:57

I fell for the 'just water and cotton wool' and spent at least half an hour trying to scrape meconium poo off ds' bottom in the hospital while he screamed blue murder. In the end, I gave up once he was semi-clean and then got a telling-off by a midwife for not cleaning him properly!

A nice big squirt of baby lotion straight onto the skin and a good wipe with lots of cotton wool does the job, I've since discovered .

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