The secrets to my success. #1 A clean baby bottom

At the end of a 13 year IVF journey, we have hit it out of the ballpark with the  most beautiful, amazing, willful, spirited child I could have ever dreamed of! We are thriving due to countless hours of research by Mark and myself to provide the healthiest lifestyle we can for this little bundle of joy.  We are not doctors or scientist, just parents making choices that are working for us. I am sharing the products we use to live our version of a clean, organic, healthy life.

Let's get down and dirty about dirty bottoms! The thing I clean the most is my baby's bottom! At 18 months old, it's a never ending chore with an average of 5 diaper changes a day.  Having a healthy baby means that he has great gut health and this kid poops 2-3 times a day. It's like this...

10 weeks old. 

THE DIAPERS: I had every intention of cloth diapering. Got all the parts and pieces, watched tons of videos and in the end, we found the awesome sustainable, absorbent, silky-soft bamboo Andy Pandy diapers. We realized we can be "green" and diaper our baby in naturally hypoallergenic and antibacterial bamboo which grows incredibly fast without harsh chemicals or pesticides. YAY!! Click on the image and grab the size you need.  Best part about these diapers? We have had ZERO BLOWOUTS. 

THE DIAPER BALM: Why take chances? Rashes are the worst!!! We put Earth Mama diaper balm on his bottom every time we change his diaper. We have had an occasional rush. This stuff makes it go away by the next diaper change or for sure overnight. The only complaint I have is that when the weather is cooler, you will get some little "pills" which are not defective. It's because some of the oil will pill up but when you put it on the baby, they dissolve pretty quickly. I don't love this but it's inevitable since this product is all natural and free from chemical preservatives which is really important to us.  It is important to know that if there are not chemical preservatives in your products, the shelf life can be shorter. ***TIP*** We have several jars going at all times, one in the diaper bag, one upstairs, one downstairs, and one at grandma's house.  These all get used regularly and since we are still changing lots and lots of diapers, we have not had to worry about the balm getting old and going bad. However, when he starts to potty train, we will use less and at that time, I will use a clean utensil and scoop part of a jar into an existing jar so that they stay fresh.  Sometimes I feel like a genius.


WITCH HAZEL: Mark is a genius. I don't know why he thought to use this but it's so smart. When I change the baby, I wipe him and then spray Thayers Witch Hazel on him before I put the diaper balm on. The one we use has rose water and aloe. It is an astringent so keeps him fresh and the aloe moisturizes.  This has also come in handy if I feel like the wipes were not enough. I might spray and do a bonus wipe especially with poopy diapers.  I feel like I really get him clean this way. ***TIP*** get a small (glass) spray bottle and pour some in there to carry in your diaper bag. I personally keep my diaper balm and witch hazel in a separate little bag in my diaper bag.



THE WIPES: Mark found the most amazing diaper wipes by Dr. Butler's and we absolutely love them. They are all organic and made from super soft organic bamboo. They contain Avena Sativa Extract, Chamomile and other calming and healing Essential Oils.  They are a great size, sturdy and have no fragrance. I love that they are moist but not so wet that they leave a film or too much moisture behind. The bummer is they are quite a bit more than other wipes. If you can fit them in your budget, we believe they are worth it. Especially after the long hard struggle that we went through to conceive, it is important to us that the baby's genitals are healthy and free from potentially harmful chemicals. If we had had a girl, I would be even more concerned with keeping her girly parts healthy and chemical free since females are more susceptible to irritation of their genitals which can lead to bigger issues further down the line. They are cheaper if you buy 3 packs at a time. They market the 3 pack as hemorrhoid wipes but they are the same exact thing. Haha! ***TIP***Get a wipes dispenser/case. (See the photo on the bottom.) This one came with some wipes I had bought a long time ago pre-baby. These are a pain to get out. The sticky window thing is super sticky and the wipes are not folded to pop up. The case makes it so much easier to get them out when you are trying to change a squirmy baby! This is the same with Water Wipes. A pain to get out!


THE CLOTH DIAPER: I did get so many parts and pieces for cloth diapering*Sigh*. However, not all was not lost. I was able to use the inserts as very absorbent burp cloths and even towels/rags for when I washed the baby's bottom. In the beginning we washed the baby's bottom in the sink every time he pooped because a) my mom treats this baby like a little prince b) he was light enough to carry to the sink and c) we still do this for big blow outs even though he is 25 lbs and not light enough to carry to the sink! Anyway, the cloth inserts work great for wiping him off after we wash his little bottom.
And the adorable reusable adjustable diapers work great as swim diapers.  ***TIP*** put two on the baby incase he goes to the bathroom in one, you have a second one to put on him and you don't have to worry about anything escaping into the pool!





There you have it friends. All the fun things we have found to keep the baby's bottom in tip top shape.  Please remember, we are not health care professionals. These are the products we have found to be the healthiest, sustainable options that work best for us. We are sharing our choices because 1) people as all the time what we are using and 2) we can!

Happy Diapering!!