When our girls had to stay in the NICU when they were first born they had a couple of pretty bad diaper rashes, which looking back I think were caused by a combination of things. Since they were released from the hospital, we have made it almost a year now with two babies and only a few very mild diaper rashes. Here is what we have done that works for us:
We only use wipes that are nontoxic and that do not contain harsh chemicals. Baby skin is so sensitive and harsh chemicals can break down skin or aggravate skin that is already breaking down. For more information, see my post on wipes and how to make your own easy, natural wipes here.
At every diaper change, we use a dry cloth to dry the diaper area on the baby after using a wipe. Certain bacteria that can cause diaper rashes to thrive in dark, damp environments, so keeping your baby dry helps reduce the risk of those types of rashes developing.
We put some soothing balm on the diaper area at every diaper change. After cleaning and drying the area, we always put some soothing balm on to keep the baby’s skin soft and to reduce any potential irritation from the diaper rubbing against the skin. If our babies already don’t have any skin irritation then we use Badger Baby Balm. It is made of all-natural ingredients, including soothing chamomile and calendula and it smells great.
If their skin is showing some minor irritation, like a little redness, then we use The Honest Company’s Organic Healing Balm, which is also made of natural, non-toxic ingredients, and that usually clears the irritation right up. If the irritation becomes a full-on irritable rash, which has only happened about three times so far, then and only then do we resort to using Dr. Smith’s Diaper Rash Ointment, and that has done the trick in getting rid of the rash quickly.
It takes just a little bit of extra effort at each diaper change, but these steps have really helped us keep those nasty diaper rashes at bay, so it has definitely made it worth it!
