August 11, 2007
Tweenie’s Greenies
Week 4: Take Good Care of My Baby
I am on to a new frontier in turning green! My babies. Well, a couple of them are full fledged toddlers now but I have one lovable little babe that is still smack in the middle of infantdom. I am excited to dive into the topic of “green” baby care! I know that this is a very applicable topic to most of my readers, and for those that don’t have “babies” anymore, you can always appear to be all knowing and pass on the information to those that need it.
Again, I am trying to find cheap and healthy ways to green the care of my baby. Whether it’s wipes, diapers, ointments, soaps or whatever else babies need, I hope to become greener for the same cost as conventional or cheaper. We’ll see how this goes.
My first idea was born from a great friend of mine, Big Binder. She is the queen of great inexpensive ideas for the kids (Don’t worry, Good Idea Momma, I have you on a different topic. So watch out!). I thought this was a great thing that she did with her first born. She made her own wipes! Some may find it may be hard to break away from the standard wipes you buy at the store, but I think it might be doable and I am going to try it. It also is in my scientific nature to experiment with mixing things together, so I am excited!! Our big box of Costco wipes is almost gone and I am going to whip up some “green” wipes.
A babies skin is very sensitive and can be easily irritated. Therefore, it becomes important to know just what is going on it, especially if they have a skin allergy. The main issues in baby wipes are that they contain things like fragrance, alcohol, and other chemicals that irritate their little bums. Making your own wipes is supposed to be easy, very cheap, and also lets you control the ingredients. I like the control part because when you have 3 toddlers you lose control of most areas in your life. 
Most homemade wipes have the same basic ingredients. You will need cloth squares (for washable, reusable wipes) or thicker paper towel (for disposable) and a container (perhaps your old store bought wipes container). The liquid mixture usually takes an oil (to keep the skin soft and to help “glide” over the skin), a soap (to help with the cleansing), an essential oil (for scent and antibacterial purposes), and water (for cleansing and diluting). Sounds easy, right?? We’ll see!
There are many different recipes online that you can try, they just vary the amounts of ingredients. The only downfall that I can see to making these is the warnings of only making a “small amount” at a time because they lack preservatives. I am happy that there are no chemical preservatives, but not happy that the wipes can get musty and grow mildew if they are not used quickly enough.
Because there are so many recipes, I have listed the links to some below. You can choose which one you want to try based on your needs. I will experiment with this myself and let you know how it goes! Happy wiping!
If you want to go “lightly” green with your baby wipes, try Seventh Generation’s or another natural store brand choice. Be sure to read labels to know what you are getting. Aim for fragrance free, unbleached, and alcohol free.
Links for wipe recipes: http://www.naturalfamilyonline.com/5-diap/43-diaper-rash.htm, http://www.naturalbabyworld.com/natural-baby-wipe.html, http://babyparenting.about.com/cs/diapering/ht/wipes.htm, http://www.babiesonline.com/articles/baby/homemadebabywipes.asp, http://www.recipezaar.com/41326
August 11, 2007 at 4:13 pm
Hey thanks! Let me add the part that everyone always asked me about - the washing of the wipes. I bought diaper flannel from a fabric store, and cut it into squares. I used cloth diapers so I just threw it into the pail with them but for those of you want to use cloth wipes and regular diapers, here is what you do to wash them so they aren’t too gross to reuse.
Get a little pail. When you change a diaper, shake off all the… excess from the wipe. Then just throw it in the pail. After a few days, you’ll want to wash them because they will get stinky. Vinegar is great for getting the stink out, so you can either pre-soak them in the washing machine, or just add vinegar to the regular wash.
Unlike the kind of cloth diapers I used (AIOs), you can toss them in the dryer so they are very convenient that way. I speak from personal experience; don’t dry them with your bedsheets. You will be forever pulling little wipes out of the elastic corners of the sheets, they like to hide in there.
August 12, 2007 at 4:30 am
Thanks Big Binder! As usual, you are brilliant.
August 12, 2007 at 11:50 am
When my children were little I never used bought wipes, because the kids were allergic to them.
So I often sprayed their butts under the whoer with plain water, then washed them and sprayed them again.
It worked great.
Especially when they were little and I could hold the baby in one hand/over one arm.
August 12, 2007 at 5:23 pm
I do also appreciate the blog plug. Besides, you did mention Seventh Generation which I LOVE! Perhaps you and Jen will be following the pantyliner crusade?