Tuesday, June 9, 2009

Chic Cheeks- Wipe Solution

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Ever since I mentioned my bottles of homemade wipe solution I have been getting lots of requests for my recipe, so I thought this week we would hit on just that!

What do you use to wipe your babe's bum?

Obviously, we use cloth wipes with a spray of wipe solution, that is honestly always changing! Wipe solution can be simply made with just a few ingredients- distilled water (keeps longer), a little bit of oil (makes things easier to wipe and adds moisture to the skin), and natural baby soap. My all-time favorite recipe (because it just smells so darn yummy!) is this:

Sweet Clean Wipe Solution:
  • 1 TBSP Apricot oil (you could also use almond, olive or grape seed)
  • 1 TBSP natural baby soap (I usually use Dr. Bronner's Baby Castile Soap or California Baby)
  • 2 drops Tea Tree Essential Oil
  • 1 drop Lavender Essential Oil
  • 1 Cup distilled water
This recipe is an adaptation from one I found in this article by Amy Nogar. She has a bazilion more in this article for every type of skin senstivity, smell preference or need, so you should really check it out!

I usually double or triple my batch so that I can fill my bottles and also have some stored in a mason jar in the fridge. My favorite bottle to use to dispense the solution is a peribottle (you know, the kind you use for yourself after birth)- it gives a nice spray to the wipe and is super easy to use and store. Also, if you like, you can put it in portable bottle warmer (the only reason many of us would ever need one of these gadgets) next to the changing table to keep the solution at a comfy temp for baby. I have also tried storing wipes that I pre-moistened in a standard wipe warmer, which works also but can sometimes turn into a bit of a hassle, since the wipes take up more space than disposable wipes so you typically have to refill it a couple of times a day.

My favorite way to travel with our wipes is to just put a little solution in a small spray bottle that I can use either on the wipes or directly on baby's bum. Some mamas I know like to use a small wetbag to take along pre-moistened wipes, but once again, for me that is too much of a hassle and I always feel like I won't have enough.

As far as the wipes themselves go, I have a few favorites on my list, but the best wipes I have used so far I bought from Small Wonders Wipes on Hyenacart. This mama makes her wipes out of a variety of soft and absorbent fabrics that work like a dream and are cute to boot! Plus, you really can't beat her prices- only $1 a wipe! With R-Man I mostly used baby washclothes (and still do for poos and messes), but I find that they are a little rough and nowhere near as nice as our actual wipes!

So, now it's your turn! Share with us all what you use to clean up your babe's diaper messes and be sure to stop by everyone else's posts to find out their great ideas too! Just place the Chic Cheeks Meme Button (HTML in left sidebar) on your post and then come back here and leave the direct link to your post in the Mr. Linky below! For more details about the meme you can check here!

Happy Wiping!



4 comments:

Mommy of Four said...

I mix 2 cups of water and ten drops of a lavendar/tea tree oil combo and add in a squirt of vitamin E oil. I wisk it really fast and the quickly pour it over the folded wipes in the wipe container. the tea tree oil is a natural anti-fungal (so the wipes don't get nasty sitting in water) and also prevents and helps treat yeast on her bottom. And the lavendar is a natural disinfectant (gotta keep that bum clean!) and smells delightful. And the vitamin E help heal any tenderness on her chubby cheeks (D really struggled with sores for a long time until we realized she has a wheat intolerance). We love the mixture and it literally only takes 1 minute to throw together!

Jinxy said...

Thanks a bunch.
I have just been wetting our wipes with warm water every time I need them. Its a big pain.

Valerie said...

Thanks for the wipe solution recipe and the article was great!! I also want to say thanks for sending me over to Small Wonders, I promptly ordered 10 wipes!! They are just so cute!!

I am getting ready to post a wipe post for the meme, but no Mr. Linky to link up.

Valerie said...

Here's my post for the meme.

http://mamalovelock-lifeinthetrenches.blogspot.com/2009/06/all-about-cloth-wipes-today.html