Did anyone use just cotton wool and water instead of baby wipes at changing times ?

Question

Hi I have sensitive skin and so does my hubby to a certain exptent, we always have fragrance free baby wipes in out house as we use them as they come in handy for anything really, however I cannot used them on my face and body etc, despite them being the fragrance free type, I know with experiacne that just because they say fragrance free it doesnt mean it wont irritate, but I was thinking of not using baby wipes on his bottom at all and just using cotton wool and water as it just seems better at first,

Has anyone tired this andis it more time consuming as do you have to get the water first and then dip the cotton wool in it etc, or just wet the cotton wool in advance of changing baby so it is ready there and then like a wipe would be.

Also if I was to just use cotton wool and water in the hospital would they allow it.

Answer 1

I used cotton wool balls and water until my son was about 3 months. Once he started really wriggling around and the consistency of his poo changed it became harder to use cotton wool and also by then his skin had changed and I knew he would be ok with wipes.

Just run a small clean warm bowl of water for each change and have a separate bowl of cotton wool balls to hand and dip them in the water and squeeze out where necessary.

Most hospitals in the UK prefer you to use cotton wool on a newborn.

Answer 2

Yes, I have tried it. It's much gentler and it's not so hard to do. When it was time for a diaper change, I just filled a bowl with warm water and dipped some cotton balls to clean my baby's bottom. Baby's first p**p is very tarry and sticky that I didn't want to use wipes. Otherwise I'd use too much and they would be cold too. I didn't want to spend extra for a wipes warmer for that.  

Answer 3

I did and still do unless I'm out. Get a top and tail bowl, or just any bowl, and fill it  with warm water. Even the fragrance free wipes haves chemicals which could irritate if the skin is very sensitive.

They also reccomend this for newborns.

Answer 4

In my hospital they encouraged it!...there's no need for wipes at all..even whn they are bigger. Google "baby wipe recipies" and youll see how to make your own conveniant and totally natural wipes. Also...dont be drawn into the whole putting lotion and cream on baby...I have always used nothing but warm water on my babies at bathtime till they crawl and get properly dirty...my babies dont have any botom cream on at nappy changes either...and I have never had one incident of nappy rash...I let them air their bottoms out a couple of times a day..on an old clean blanket they like that and then they stay dry...as in they are not constantly smothered in cream or nappy! Oh...and it's your baby..not the hospitals so you do as you want all the time..nobody else apart from the babys Daddy gets a say!

Answer 5

I was told in hospital to only use water and cotton wool on a newborn, but i changed to wipes when i got home (huggies are supposed to be close to water and cotton wool?) it's quicker, because you have to make sure the water is warm and have the separate cotton wool.

Answer 6

I use flannel wipes and water with baby oil.  The oil makes the p**p come off a lot easier.  I never asked at the hospital if they'd do it, though.  I just used their baby wipes until we went home.

These are the wipes I use.  I buy the 2nds since they're cheaper. :-)

http://hyenacart.com/SMJAE/index.php?c=1...

Answer 7

I used wool and water to begin with when my son was small until he was about three months old because i felt it was nicer than using baby wipes and also saved me some money ascotton wool is alot cheaper than wipes. When i went out with him i had to use wipes on the odd occasion but when he got to three months and i didn't trust leaving him on a bed etc on his own to get the warm water i started using pampers sensitive and my son has sensitive skin and they don't irritate him at all.

Answer 8

Hi, I used cotton wool and water with both my sons when they were new born's. I suppose it is more time consuming but not much. I used to get luke warm water when it was time to change a nappy in a small bowl and I kept the cotton wool with the nappies so it was easy to hand. It worked well, but I do suggest you put baby on a towel or muslin as it is obviously much wetter than wipes and so you need some thing to soak up the excess water. If you pre soak the cotton wool it will become cold quite quickly and seems to dry out, I found doing it that way didn't work as well. After a while  went on to huggies wipes as when your out and about cotton wool and water isn't very practical. Huggies claim that their wipes are just like cotton wool and water.

As for hospital, I found that in two different hospitals they encouraged cotton wool and water on new born's. You can always ask your midwife she will no the protocol of your local hospital.

good luck mel :)

Answer 9

I think you're going to find as he's eating more solids that the excrement is going to be sticky to the point it will take A LOT of water and pressure to get it off with cotton.   There is a solution called Cetaphil that I believe is hypoallergenic and that my son's NICU used with cotton when he had a diaper rash.  You may want to look into that or something equivalent that contains some emolients in addition to water.

Answer 10

In the hospital they used warm water and cotton gauze.  Then sent us home with a few packages so we used that for a few weeks until we ran out and then we switched to baby wipes.  

We just would wet a stack for each change...but if you did them in small batches and kept them in a tupperware or the wipes box...I suppose you could do them in advance...just don't do too many...cause you don't want them to mold.

Answer 11

Hi i work in a nursery and a lot of the parents requested us to use cotton wool and water because of sensitive skin or eczma, we collect luke warm water in a dish and wet the cotton wool as we needed it.

I cant see there being a problem for you using it in the hospital.

Hope i helped xx

Answer 12

You have used your head!  :-)

Baby wipes have been around for about 40 years.  Babies have been around for a lot longer than that.  What did mothers use before Baby wipes?  Cotton wool and water, of course.  It's probably better to wet the cotton when you need it, not much in advance.

I can't imagine why a hospital would object to your using it.