How much baby shampoo, lotion, etc to get?

[jjswat]

I have a good friend who works for Johnson and Johnson and can buy me all J & J, Aveeno Baby products that I want at a SERIOUS discount. I'm 16 weeks pregnant with my first baby. My friend will be moving cross country way before my baby arrives and will be taking her fabulous discount with her. I want to stock up on baby products before she leaves, but I don't want to overdo it and buy a bunch of stuff I'll never use.

Can anyone tell me, how much of this stuff I'll actually need for the first year or so and what products you loved, hated, etc?


Thanks a lot!

[smilla653]

I would not get much. Your baby could be sensitive to whatever you buy, and then you'd be stuck wit ha bunch of it. Also, tiny babies don't really get very dirty and soap can dry their skin. Just water works fine for most babies.

The first year, I *did* use a lot of diaper cream. My son also happened to get chicken pox when he was 9 months, and the Aveeno oatmeal bath was great for that. And it was pretty expensive.

Sorry! Probably not what you want to hear.

[egoldber]

I would not get much, if anything. I am a former J&J employee ;) and I STOCKED UP at the company store just before Sarah was born (we were moving across the country) and I regret it. Not only did I not end up using most of it, but I am now so uncomfortable with their products I can't even stand to give it away. I did end up giving it to neice for her baby (she is out of work and has NO money) but I did feel a little bad about it.

[AlbrightRC]

I wish i had that kind of friend. We are adopting and will be buying alot of that kind of stuff for orphanage donations.

[brittone2]

I wouldn't suggest stockpiling either, because you never know what your baby will be sensitive to.

I personally am uncomfortable w/ the ingredients of J&J baby products.

[tarynsmum]

yeah, I got a couple of those "gift set" things made my J&J when DD was born, and still have ALL OF IT, totally unopened. Except for the baby powder, that I use in my crocs ;)

[jjswat]

What's wrong with J & J baby products that so many people are uncomfortable using them? I was always under the impression that this was a time-tested safe brand.

What are you using instead these days???

[firsttimemama]

We started out using J&J thinking that it was a safe brand to use.. it dried out our son's skin and we switched to California Baby.. come to find out the ingredients in J&J aren't the best. If you google it you can probably find more info on it.
Our son also didn't react well to burt's bees, which a lot of my friends use on their babies & love.
Kids are so individual.
Our son has eczema now so we use soap sparingly..
They carry California Baby at target. Next time you're there you could look at the bottle, it talks about the ingredients, etc. Or just google it.

[egoldber]

There's a lot of new info about the ingedients in many massmarketed skin and body care products, not just J&J products. Ingredients like SLS, pthalates, and parabens. I am late to this bandwagon myself, but I have finally reached the conclusion after reading so much research and realizing how much the FDA and the manufacturers have covered up. It's really disgraceful.

I am now using more natural and organic body care products. Brands like California baby, Jason and others. Before I buy any new products, I plus them into the Environmental Working Group's cosmetics database to learn more about it.

http://www.cosmeticsdatabase.com/

But I'll let the other Beth (brittone2) address more since this is really her area of expertise. ;)

[brittone2]

Phthalates (usually just labeled as part of the generic ingredient "fragrance") and Parabens are my two major concerns. Both are documented hormone-disruptors . You can do a search here for a bunch of old threads on phthalates and parabens.

A quick sampling:

http://www.newsweek.com/id/105588
http://www.thegreenguide.com/doc/109/cdc
http://www.ourstolenfuture.org/NEWSCIENCE/oncompounds/phthalates/2005/2005-0527swanetal.htm
http://www.thegreenguide.com/doc/106/cosmetics
http://www.safecosmetics.org/about/reports.cfm
http://pubs.acs.org/cen/news/83/i23/8323phthalates.html
http://ourstolenfuture.com/New/newstuff.htm#dbpsperm
http://edition.cnn.com/2007/TECH/science/10/22/body.burden/index.html
http://www.thegreenguide.com/doc/100/10uglies

I personally prefer products like California Baby. They are more expensive, but a little goes a loooong way, IME, at least until they are much older and need much more frequent bathing and get much dirtier. CA Baby can even be found at Target now (as well as Whole Foods, online retailers, etc.).

I agree with Beth's post above...I usually check body products in the EWG Skin Deep database before buying. It isn't perfect, but it at least gives consumers a fighting chance in avoiding potentially harmful ingredients. FWIW, my DH is a chemist and we choose to avoid parabens and phthalates. Since there are safer alternatives, I don't find it a big deal to just do my best to find a safer product w hen possible (and it is usually possible). Not everyone agrees that they are worrisome, but for me, it is worth it to choose a product with less concerning ingredients when available. There are more and more alternatives available.

[srhs]

Yea, the stuff does last a loooong time. We've barely put a dent in our supplies.
One exception would be if you get in a routine that involves a lot of baths. One friend's baby has multiple baths a day because he loves them and they're part of his routine; they put him fast to sleep!
Everything I read said 1-3 times a week, or they'll dry the skin.
(I don't fault my friend, though; if they put my baby to sleep, I'd be all over it too!)

Also keep in mind, people will buy you a lot of it unsolicited.

Not to highjack, but can someone recommend a safe FACE moisturizer for baby? Or regular one they're comfortable using on the face?

[Melaine]

I was suprised how sloooowly we go through shampoo/lotion for the girls. I would suggest getting the most natural, non-scented stuff you can find. Has anyone heard that no-tear shampoo and other products contains a NUMBING agent????

[brittone2]

The other thing is that babies really don't even need soap. You can probably just use plain water for most of those early baths, bathe infrequently in general, or use soap infrequently. My kids always did fine with 1-2 baths a week until they got much older/dirtier. It is better for their skin in most cases anyway to do minimal/no soap and/or infrequent baths. I use(d) soap, but it really does go a long way. We go through much more now but I have two kids and they are outside every single day sweating, playing in the dirt, etc.

[JBaxter]

We are a california baby family also. I bathed our chinese crested in the left over Johnson and Johnson baby shampoo and it made him all dry and flaky. ( he is semi hairless dog)

I have read way to much about the chemicals used in the commercial brands thanks to this board. We have gone organic and natural in many areas of our lives.

[WatchingThemGrow]

We're probably toxic here, but we used about ONE bottle of their Aveeno-like hair-body wash the first year. Both our DC suffered from eczema, so a fragrance-free non-irritating lotion was important. And we use Dr. Smith's diaper ointment, so any of the others would have gone to waste.

[SnuggleBuggles]

Another CA Baby using family. Ds2 is now 9m old and we have yet to finish off a bottle of body wash. We have barely made a dent in the moisturizer. I subscribe to fewer baths per week so we don't have much reason to use a lot of soap (if we did do nightly baths I would be skipping soap most of those days anyway).

Even mainstream magazines like Newsweek ran articles about why to be wary of ingredients in brands like J&J in just the past few months. It's becoming a pretty well known concern.

Srsh- have you tried Eucerin?

Beth

[sste]

I also use the EWG skin deep database - - though its a bit depressing, almost every product I have ever used is at least a "moderate hazard" rating on that site.

Anyway, I completely agree with egoldber about not stocking up - - and about J&J not being a top choice (I even stoppped using aveeno except that bath sprinkle in oatmeal powder which I think is safe). Like others, I have used California baby and been happy with it. For a cheaper alternative with the SAME or close to the same hazard rating (2) per EWG skin deep database as the California baby shampoo and bodywash, you can also buy liquid Cetaphil soap and use it as soap and shampoo. Cetaphil can be purchased at the drugstore, I believe generic versions are available, I get the double-pack at Costco. It lasts forever. We used it on our son with exzema. If for some reason it doesn't agree with your baby, which is pretty rare, you can use it for yourself as its adult face soap, its really a great soap. And you can buy a version with a pump top, $10-13 bucks, it will last you a year at least, no need to hit up your friend.