Seeing their little one in pain is probably the most painful and difficult thing for any parent to experience and watch. Imagine the situation where your baby is a newborn, who can hardly communicate their needs and discomfort, and you are too new to parenting to differentiate between their cries and understand them. It is such a heart-breaking situation to be in!
If the reason for this pain, discomfort, and crying is diaper rashes caused by newborn diapers, this can totally be avoided! So, once you decide between disposable newborn diapers and reusable cloth newborn diapers, choose where to buy newborn diapers now is the time to understand how to avoid a painful and nasty rash situation.
There are three significant reasons why your baby might be experiencing rashes during the newborn diapering phase, they are:
- Type of diaper – The frequency, severity and even probability of whether or not your baby might have diaper rash would depend on whether you are using disposable diapers or cloth diapers
- Hygiene of the diaper – A dirty diaper, a diaper with detergent left while washing, or a diaper that stays on the skin for too long can cause rashes.
- The general hygiene of your baby’s bum – Cleaner the bum, lesser the chances of diaper rash! It’s that simple! So please keep it clean and keep everything that touches it clean too.
Keeping the above three reasons in mind, here are some tips on using newborn diapers to eliminate or avoid diaper rashes for your baby.
The Happy Skin No Diaper Rash Zone Tips & Tricks
1. Choose Cloth Over Disposable
Babies who are put in disposable diapers are more prone to develop a skin rash in the diaper area as compared to the babies who are placed in cloth diapers. Thus, while choosing newborn diapers, choose cloth over disposable, which can also eliminate the rash situation for your baby’s delicate and sensitive skin.
2. Diaper Washing Routine
If there is detergent build up in your cloth diapers or any bum wear and apparel that touches your baby’s body, that can cause rashes too. Avoid using more than the prescribed amount of detergent, assuming that more detergent would mean better cleaning. This can lead to the building up of the detergent. Instead, once every 6 – 8 weeks, give your cloth diapers an extra warm water rinse as part of the wash routine and if you use a washing machine to wash clothes, give the drum hot water rinse too once in a while.
Another way of avoiding build-up is using a detergent such as SuperBottoms Cloth Diaper Detergent Sheets that are formulated specifically to clean cloth diapers and other baby apparel than using a generic detergent to wash them
3. Change Newborn Diapers Often
If your baby has pooped, change the diaper promptly. Even if your baby has not pooped, as a thumb rule, change the diaper every 3 -4 hours at least. This habit will help keep rashes away.
4. Maintain Proper Hand Hygiene
Ensure you wash and sanitise your hands every time before you change the newborn diapers and touch the bum or privates of the baby.
5. Check The Ingredients In Their Personal Care Products
Many personal care brands might claim that they are clean and safe for kids and newborn babies but do not blindly believe in all of it. Check the label, check for certifications and authenticity of those certifications. Any harsh chemical or toxins present in body lotion, soap or body wash etc., can cause skin allergies, rashes or even severe painful breakouts on your baby’s sensitive skin.
6. Clean That Bum
Any poop stuck to the skin and not cleaned properly can cause skin irritation and rashes. Thus, just wiping the bum with a wipe is not sufficient at times. Instead, wash the bum with lukewarm water and pat dry at least every alternate diaper change. A baby’s privates (or even adults) do not need to be cleaned with soap. Water is enough to clean the poop and pee.
But make sure you clean and wash the folds between the thighs and area under skin fat properly to avoid any traces left behind that can give your baby a diaper rash.
7. Give Some Diaper Free Time
While wearing a diaper saves your bedsheets, sofas, and your baby’s clothes from getting soiled and adds a lot of convenience to your life, giving your baby some diaper-free time is also essential. Putting them in regular or padded underwear or an absorbent langot while they have tummy time or playtime helps them have a diaper free time without creating mess around.
You can also choose to go completely bum wear free once in a while if you and your baby find that convenient. You can do that after you massage your baby and before bath time!
8. Let The Bum Breathe
Apart from the diaper-free time, you need to let the bum completely air dry and breathe for a while between each diaper change. Before putting on a fresh diaper, let the bum be without any cover for a few minutes. Although cloth diapers are very absorbent, they still cannot absorb 100% moisture and pee off your baby’s skin. Thus, letting it air dry a few times a day helps avoid a fungal or bacterial rash that can be caused due to humidity and moisture on your baby’s skin.
If you follow diligently all the tips mentioned above and make sure that you have
- Chosen the correct diaper for your baby
- Maintain proper newborn diapers hygiene &
- Maintain a good skincare and bum care routine
your baby will never experience any painful, uncomfortable nappy rashes! But if you still end up in a rash situation, let your baby go diaper-free for a few days, and the inflammation will dry up and heal ideally within three days. If the rash persists, it is advised to see a paediatrician to identify the cause and treat the rash. Happy Parenting & Happy Diapering!
Also read: Walks with Babies: Dressing Up and Choosing The Location
