How to "use" cloth wipes?

[daisymommy]

If I do start to CD, I'm sure I will use cloth wipes as well. But how do you ladies use them? (aside from wiping baby's bum with them ;)). Do you wet them all first, and stick them in a container till you need them? Do you wet just one at a time when needed? Do you recommend spray bottle or squirt bottle? I've heard it recommended that you use a perri-spray bottle like you get from the hospital--where can you buy extras of these? I also saw a website where a mom put wet cloth wipes into her wipe warmer (which I already have). Anyone do this? Would the wet wipes get all funky after a few days?

And what type of wipe solution do you use? Anyone just use water? I printed out a recipe from Punkin-Butt, and it uses natural baby wash in it. Is J&J baby wash good enough, or is there something better?

[egoldber]

I use either plain water or water with a couple drops of tea tree oil. I put about 18 wipes in old disposable wipes container. That lasts me a couple days, so the water never has a chance to getr funky. I rotate between 2 containers, and that was worked well for me. I've never used a warmer.

HTH,

[AmbyChelle]

We use a warmer. Diaper changes were HELL before we got the warmer. I thought it was such a stupid thing to buy before I had a newborn.. but once we got home and had to put those icy cold wipes on her precious little bum.. no more.. I made my husband run right out and get one *L*. We take a stack of dry wipes, each folded in half, run them under tap water until saturated, squish out all the extra water so they are about the same dampness as disposable wipes (which *can* be handy to have around.. we've had the same refill packages almost 21 months now, but they do get used here and there) .. pop them in the warmer, and you are good to go. I don't leave standing water in the warmer. I don't have a problem with funky smells .. and we put new wipes in every 2 days (simply because that's how many we go through in 2 days). We fooled around with different oils (both tea tree and lavender are polular, but the smell of lavender bothers my husband and the smell of tea tree oil about makes me ill) and baby soaps etc.. but in the end, plain ol water works best for us. with a newborn you do NOT want anything but water on the wipe.. their skin is SO sensitive.. just play it safe a few weeks, and then try some other things if you want. We do get hard water crusty stuff in our warmer.. soaking in vinegar for a couple of hours will take it back off, but I usually just leave it because I'm lazy. You can avoid that and keep funky stuff from growing in there by using distilled water for the wipes if you want. I think a spray bottle is a cool idea for an older baby.. but would have really upset my newborn, and diaper changes alone were her most hated event as they are for most newborns.. so the more comfy I could make them, the better. Take care!

AmbyChelle

[heidi_timms]

I'm not a CDer, but use cloth wipes. I have the ones from Darling Diapers and they fit right in a recycled plastic wipes container when folded in half. I make the wipes solution in a big tupperware pouring container and then pour some in the peribottle. I then squirt them quickly one by one as I'm stacking them in the container with the peribottle. One wipes container full is enough for a few days and I used distilled water so it doesn't get funky. The extra solution stays well in the fridge in a pour container. I make a quadruple batch of this anti-fungal solution:

http://www.gentleparenting.com/diaper_wipes_faq.html

I swear by this solution as it has kept away the diaper rash!

~Heidi
Mom to Kailey Ashlin
4/27/03

[parkersmama]

I use an old plastic disposable wipes container. Most of the wipes I have are from Darling Diapers and they fit nicely (folded in half). I fill the empty wipes container about 1/2 full with water and a squirt of J&J baby wash and a few drops of tea tree oil. I don't always use wipes at every diaper change (once we got past the newborn stage) and they were starting to get "funky" so I only put about 5-8 wipes in the solution. If I use those up before a couple of days, I just add more dry wipes to the solution. After 2 or 3 days, I wring out any leftover wipes and throw them in the pail to be washed and clean out the wipes container and make a new batch. I guess other people don't have this problem but if I stopped at every diaper change to squirt solution on a dry wipe, Amy Grace would have poop on her socks all the time! LOL! It's gotta be quick for me to use it! Also, I do take care to wring out most of the water (I can do this one-handed while keeping the other hand on her) into the wipes container so they are not drippy before I use them.

[daisymommy]

Thanks for the help gals, I'm really likig these ideas! I think I would/will fold them in half, dampen with wipe solution, and keep them in my wipes warmer box. I see that if I use distilled water they will last from one laundry to the next (2-3 days). Wonderful! If anyone has an idea for natural baby wash, please let me know!