Those red nuisances.

I'm talking about rashes.  I come from a long line of people with sensitive skin issues.  Rashes and red spots are a common occurrence.  I would like to focus more on our experience with rashes and cloth diapering, but I will refer to other experience with rashes too.

As many of you have heard, we had a terrible experience with enzyme burns.  They present themselves as a rash like looking redness that gets bigger and develops into little sores.  From there it can expand and cover like a chemical burn.  The skin is tender to the touch, very large red patches, leathery skin and sometimes blisters.  This happened to us after a month of starting cloth diapers.  To fix the problem, you need to change detergents and thoroughly strip your diapers.  Then let baby have as much air as possible (either by bare bottom time or using a fitted with no cover).  If it's really bad, your Dr. can prescribe a hydro cortisone ointment to apply to the area to heal it quicker.  After having this experience, we almost gave up our cloth diapering attempt altogether.  That's when I started getting online and doing a little more research.  What I learned was that the "Cloth Diaper Safe" free and clear detergent that I bought at Target because a list online told me that it would be 'safe' to use on cloth diapers was actually the culprit.  All mainstream free and clear detergents contain enzymes (Tide, All, Arm and Hammer, etc.).  Some people haven't noticed a problem with using these, but most of the complaints that I hear from parents with rashes or with leaking diaper problems use these types of detergents.  I always urge people to use natural detergents that have no added enzymes.  There are brands that you can buy at Target or your local store.  Two that I know of are Vaska and Dropps Baby.  Both of these are made with all natural ingredients with no added enzymes.  Otherwise, I suggest finding the cloth diaper specific detergent that works with not only your water ph and hardness, but with your wash routine too.  I'm finding that each detergent works differently even though they are made from basically the same stuff.  You can find more information on cloth diaper specific posts here.  I am also working to get a more comprehensive list put together for everyone in the near future!

The next type of bad rash that we had to deal with was an irritation rash.  This was caused by a combination of heat and activity with PUL exposed on the skin.  Little Man would rub and itch the area, causing the rash to persist.  It looked like heat rash at first and then grew to look almost like a yeast rash.  We knew it wasn't a yeast rash though because it was located on the hip and lower abdomen area, not on the sensitive or normally moist areas.  It was also small patches of red bumps.  Hydro cortisone ointment for 2 days on the area cleared it up, along with changing to a different style of diaper.

I've had many parents contact me about other strange rashes.  I am very glad that they contacted me about this because it ends up being the same cause; sensitivity to man made textiles.  This is actually a more common problem than people realize.  It presents itself in different ways.  The most common way is by causing a rash that will not go away in sensitive areas.  Women find out that they have a sensitivity to synthetic fabrics because of an itchy or red area around the bra area.  Babies will show it first in the diaper area when synthetic fabric diapers are used.  The reaction can range anywhere from a redness or small rash that won't go away, even after changing detergents, stripping, and using creams.  It can also get as severe as a large blistery, pussy rash that requires a Dr. visit.  If this type of rash comes on quickly, take your child to the Dr. or ER immediately to avoid any infections.  The only solution to this is to avoid all man made fabrics and stay with 100% cotton or other natural fibers, like hemp.

***I have a big cautionary note about fabrics that claim to be natural.  Rayon, Suede cloth, microfiber, and microterry can never be considered natural no matter what base plant is used!****  I will give you the most common misconception to 'natural fabrics' that fall under this category.  It is Bamboo.  Bamboo that is made into Rayon is not a natural fabric.  It is a man made fabric.  To make Rayon, the cellulose of the plant is used and heavily processed to create a fabric.  There is no natural fiber used from the plant; therefore there are no natural or beneficial properties left to the fabric.  Bamboo is very absorbent and is good to use if there are no sensitivities, but you cannot use Rayon made from Bamboo if your child has a sensitivity to man made fabrics.  Stick with your all natural cotton prefolds with a nice cover, or find one of the few 100% cotton AIO, AI2 or pocket diapers that are made.  I am doing more research into this topic and look forward to being able to share more with you.

There are many creams out there to help aid with diaper rash.  If you use a cream that you buy at the store like A&D, Desitin, or Bag Balm with your cloth diapers please remember to use a liner.  These types of creams have a petroleum jelly base and they will build up on the diapers and cause repelling.  These types of creams are also extremely difficult to remove from cloth diapers, especially microfiber and man made fabrics. Plus, they will void your warranty.  There are companies out there that have made diaper rash creams specifically for use with cloth diapers.  I hear that they will still build up on the diaper, but they are easier to wash or strip out when needed.  Most of these creams use lanolin or aloe, so I haven't tried them because of our allergies to these ingredients.  The only one that I've found to be truly cloth diaper friendly and hypo allergenic is Boo-Hiney Butter.  I'm sure that there are many other creams or ointments out there that I haven't heard of, but this is the one that I really do love.  Another good alternative to helping diaper rash and redness instead of using a cream is Corn Starch.  I swear it works wonders!  We use it on red skin, rashy skin or burned skin.  It works really well on rug burn on bellies when the kids slide down the carpeted stairs too many times or when little crawlers get sore knees.  Just put a little plain corn starch on your fingers and apply to the area.  Plus, there's no need for a liner with corn starch because it washes right out!

I always urge people to use liners when using creams in their diapers.  You can buy disposable liners, like Kushies.  You can also get reusable liners.  I also find that taking an old t-shirt or flannel nightgown and cutting it into strips work well as liners too.

When it comes to rashes, if you are worried about it then it is always worth a trip to the doctor.  They can help out to avoid infections and they can help ease the discomfort.  I know that we all have experienced a rash and redness in one form or another.  I am just so thankful that it is not such a huge issue for Little Man as it was for Sweet Pea and I am so thankful for my modern cloth diapers.

How we do wipes.

So, this week is wipe week.  We started our cloth diapering days by using those chemical filled disposable wipes.  It was such a hassle keeping a pail for the cloth diapers and then another bag or garbage bin for the wipes.  So we decided to figure out a better alternative after one week.

We thought about what we did with our daughter and I remembered that we used old baby washcloths with water on them because of all of her allergies.  So I found some cloth wipes online pretty cheap.  We went with just a standard flannel wipe with surged edges. We liked these.  We also splurged and bought a wipe warmer which became our changing table center piece!  Little Man loved having warm wet wipes on his bottom.  I can remember that he did the exact same thing his sister did when we would use the occasional cold wipe.....a loud high pitch gasp!

We used these flannel wipes in the warmer for a full year.  As our stash was increasing, we were finding ourselves running out of wipes.  I then got online again and found Charlie Banana Organic Cotton Wipes.  These are amazing!  I loved how well they worked with the warmer and how soft they were.  They also really did the job on big messes and felt like they thoroughly cleaned the diaper area.  I think that they would even make really great makeup remover cloths!  The only drawback was that they required a lot of prep.  It took at least 4 washes before they would absorb any water.  We use them with our flannel wipes, but are thinking about retiring the flannel and adding new wipes to our stash.

We have tried flannel and organic cotton wipes.  We like them both, but prefer the organic cotton because they are thicker and softer.  Next I think I want to try terry wipes.  The GroVia wipes are the ones that I think I'll go with next.  They are a great price and they have a nice feel to them.  There are many great wipes out there though.  I hear wonderful reviews of the Bummas wipes and assorted WAHM wipes.

Wipes are very easy to make yourself.  All it takes is a nice natural fabric cut into 8 inch squares.  You can then surge them.  You can make them double sided by putting two together inside out and sewing around the edges leaving a little opening.  Then you turn it right side out and hand stitch the opening.  You can get really fancy and sew around the edges to finish it off.

We swore by our cloth wipes being used with just warm water.  We would also use the occasional corn starch for redness.  That is, until we found Cloth Diaper Inc.'s Natural Wipe Spray!  I was surprised how it not only cleans the area really well, but it leaves it so soft and takes away any redness.  It is just so different from other wipe sprays because it has no alcohol or soap in it.  All it has is witch hazel and essential oils.  I think it's the perfect combination!

What is your favorite wipe?  Do you use something other than water?  I'd love to hear about your wipe routine!

Natural Wipe Spray Review and Giveaway! - CLOSED!

This week is all about wipe sprays!  I had never used a wipe spray until just recently, but I will talk about that more as the week progresses.

I did a lot of research on wipe sprays and all the differences between them.  Cloth Diaper, Inc. contacted me and told me that they made an all natural wipe spray.  I was amazed when I looked it up and saw the simplicity of their ingredients!  It was exactly what I was looking for.....but would it really work?

They have two different formulas to choose from: Tea Tree and Lavender, and Geranium and Sweet Orange. Lately, I have been a little turned off by Lavender scents, so we opted to try out the Geranium and Sweet Orange because I do love Orange scents.  I didn't know what to expect with the mix of Geranium and I was worried that it would be too floral of a scent.  To my pleasant surprise, the scent is very light, somewhat sweet and tangy.  It is perfect!

We use it by spraying one or two squirts right onto Little Man during changes and then wiping with a damp cloth wipe.  I was surprised how well it worked to clean everything off.  Plus, the pleasant smell makes not only him, but his room smell nice.  I also love that there is witch hazel in it.  This helps relieve any redness on his little bottom.  He hasn't shown signs of tenderness since we started using it!  Little Man loves it when we use it too.  I think because it is cool on the skin.  We don't use it with every diaper change, but about every other and especially with messy changes.

We love how easy it is to throw it in the diaper bag as we're heading out the door.  It works so well and it is so easy to use.  This Trophy Wife is addicted now and I just love this stuff!

Cloth Diaper, Inc. has graciously offered a lucky reader the chance to get a Natural Wipe Spray of their own!

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Go to Cloth Diapers, Inc.

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This giveaway will end August 1st, 2011 at 9:00 pm CST.  

Winner will be drawn via random.org.  Winners will be contacted via email and will have 48 hours to respond before new winners will be drawn.  Giveaway is open to US citizens who are 18 years or older.  Only entries that follow the rules will be entered.  One set of entries per household.  Every entry is checked!

* Wipe spray was provided free of charge to me for the purpose of this review.  I was not monetarily compensated for my opinion.  The opinions in this review are mine alone and were formed from my experience with this product.  My personal experience and opinions of this product may differ from your own.  Facebook is not affiliated with this Giveaway.  All information provided cannot be copied or reused without credit.  All photos were taken by OTTW and are sole property of OTTW; use of photos without consent is strictly prohibited.

Fun in the Sun!!

I have to admit...I don't like humidity and I don't like the sun.  I think most of this comes from the fact that I am extremely fair skinned and I grew up with Asthma.  So humidity and sun are not close friends of mine.  But, I have kids that love to be outside, so I have to get used to being out.

My kids did inherit something from me though.  They have very sensitive skin.  Not necessarily to sun, like me, but to chemicals, bug bites and other allergens.  Our poor daughter gets the biggest welts from Asian Beetle bites!  They get so big and if we don't catch it right away, they get infected.  She also has a hard time with lotions and sunscreens.  So we are very cautious about what we use, and she knows to stick to her stuff and not share what friends are using.

Lotions are a very important thing during the summer.  It's hard to remember to use it, unlike wintertime when skin gets itchy and dry.  But sun kissed skin really needs the hydration too.  For lotions, we love CeraVe.  My mom (who is the matriarch of the skin sensitivities in our family) had a doctor tell her about this stuff years ago.  We had to special order it.  Now, you can find it at Walgreens and Target!  AND, they are coming out with a wonderful facial cleanser and an AM/PM facial lotion group with the AM having a sunscreen in it!  I am so excited!  While pregnant, I live in the cream because it lasts a little longer and works on those stubborn dry and stretchy spots better.  I also use these products on the kids!  I like their hydrating cleanser, especially to get face paint off!  All CeraVe products are good for baby skin, kids, and adults.  It's also great to use if you have eczema or rosacea.














Sunscreen is a must have for year round protection.  But summertime is especially important to put this on everyday that you plan on stepping outside, for any length of time.  Neutrogena Sunscreen spray was the only 'mainstream' brand of sunscreen that didn't make Sweet Pea break out in hives.  It was easy to apply and worked pretty well.  I just didn't like the smell of it, and didn't use it on her until she was 7 years old.  I was searching for something more natural without breaking the bank.  I was also hoping to find something that could work for our little babies too.

I found Episencial sunscreen this spring.  I have been very impressed with it.  It is not super gooey like most natural sunscreens.  It goes on a little thick and white, but it rubs in well.  I think it's great because I can see if I missed any spots before it blends in.  The other thing that I love about it is that it doesn't smell.  It doesn't smell like anything!  No funky sunscreen or coconut smells. (Who thought coconut would be a good smell for sunscreen anyway?!)  And, so far, it works very well.  No bad reactions and no burns.  Of course, it does have a lower SPF than we are used to using and it's not waterproof, but I think it's well worth an extra application during the day to avoid those chemicals.

My sunshine girl and my 15 week bump!

So while you're out and about this summer, remember these key points.  Drink plenty of water!  Wear loose and light layers (my favorite is a light jersey cotton sweater over my tank tops).  Wear hats and sunglasses to protect your head, ears and eyes.  Wear sunscreen....don't forget your ears, neck and hair line (especially parts).  Take cooler showers and lotion well afterward.  But most importantly.....Have a TON of fun with your family and friends!!