Natural Diaper Wipes and Daycare

We cloth diaper and wipe as well. We make wipes a batch at a time with a little bit of Jason's Homebest baby soap, a few drops of tea tree oil, and water (we keep them in a wipe-warmer). This mix seems to keep bacteria out. It might work to have a wipe container for the wipes and some sort of easy disposal bin for them at daycare (a little garbage can or something?). That way, the wipes are easy for daycare folks to access, and you can take the containers home, wash, and replenish as needed. I totally agree--keep those chemicals off my baby!
If they won't do cloth, it might work to use paper towels that you make this way. That way you know only mild soap and tea tree oil are in them, and daycare folks can just throw them away!

I have a 4 1/2 month old son who is also starting in Daycare soon. I too use cloth diapers at home, but they won't do cloth so I am also going to use the seventh generation diapers for daycare. I use the seventh generation diaper wipes as well. They are much better for babies than the leading brands.

Good luck!

I babysat for a little boy whose mother would take a roll of toilet paper and soak it in a solution of water and, if I remember correctly, baby lotion, and she kept them in a big Ziplock bag. Something like that might address the problem of the hassle, if that's what you're worried about.

make your own wipes. my daughter had allergies to the store bought wipes so an associate at target gave us the recipe and we used them for years! now that she's 7 and my son is 6 we make them for on the boat when they need to wipe their hands. here's the recipe:

1 roll bounty papertowels--cut it in half with a straight edge knife so it looks like you have two rolls of toilet paper. take your fingers and remove the brown cardboard from the middle of one roll and put the other roll away for later use. put the roll of papertowels in a rubbermade bowl (we use an ice cream pale with a lid. in the center of the lid cut an X (we found that by cutting one of the pointy pieces of the x off just a little bit, the wipes came out better)

mix:
1 3/4 cup hot water
2 tablespoons head to toe baby wash
2 tablespoons baby oil.

dump mixture over papertowels. pull from the MIDDLE of the wipes and pull it through the X in the lid and close the lid. give it an hour or two to soak in. VERY inexpensive and very delicate for babies. Keep one on your kitchen table for easy hand, face, and high chair clean up after eating.

Walmart and target have diaper wipes that are for newborns. They only have water on them. That is what I buy for our daycare kids in my daycare.
If I can help anymore let me know.

As a daycare provider I would sure hope that your provider will conform to your needs. I don't see it going out of the way. Have you thought of making your own wipes. I have made them and they work great. The gauze stuff you can purchase at any hospital or even check with pharmacies. They usually sell them in a box. I think Seventh Generation also makes a brand of wipes without chemicals. You can always order wipes on-line that are chemically free.

Good luck and I hope you and your provider can work things out.

P.S. I have to say that I supply wipes, but I use the sensative skin kind and if the parents don't like that I ask them to bring the ones they want me to use.

Licensed day care centers are not allowed to use any cloth diapers or wipes...they aren't allowed to keep soiled diapers etc. for health code reasons. We use cloth at home and disposable diapers and wipes at daycare. We buy the extra-sensative natural ones and our daughter has had no issues.

We really like the wipes at costco - their Kirkland brand - they are unscented, and are soft cloths.
We've used those with our 2nd and 3rd boys. I don't think the costco was in our area with our 1st son.

My daughter's daycare used a dry wipe similar to a piece of gauze from a doctors office or something it's hard to explain and they just wetted it. It seemed to be something sterile.I have no idea where you would purchase these. It looked like something they bought in bulk.

I've never had to supply the wipes at daycare just the diapers.

You could try contacting a medical equiptment supplier or store prehaps.

I personally like smelly perfume wipes and diapers but have used the non fragrant ones and they don't seem full of chemicals or anything to me.

Have you looked at the Non-scented wipes. I buy the Target brand that compares itself to the Huggies ones. They also have new sensitive skin ones. I know that is what I bought my sister-in-law for her baby shower.

Hi,

You can always try a "gentle" wipe. Go look at your local walmart or target. There's usually some sort of gentl for sensitive skin type of wipe. Read the ingredients, if they are made for sensitive skin, I'd have to immagine there are no dyes and the chemicals are non-existant or minimal.

I used the pampers sensitive skin, for my son for a few weeks, so they'd be easier on his skin when he was a new born, I never had any issues.

And like the other person said, you can always just ask your provider to use what you have been. I have only used an in home provider, so I don't know how centers work....but I've always found my provider is open to working with us.

Like many others on here I also run a daycare and it is sometimes hard to accomadate some requests but I don't think it would be a problem for you to bring your own wipes like the Seventh Generation ones or making your own. I actually make my own quite often for all of the little ones I watch. It is less expensive and easier on their skin.

I know I wouldn't mind if you brought pre-wet towel to use every day but I would not want to worry about rinsing them out and such. I don't think it would be a huge problem to keep them by the changing area and use them if I could just put them in a bag and give them to you at the end of the day.

Just call her and ask her about it and I'm sure you will work something out. The only time it has been an issue for me is when parents want organic food which increases my cost and prep time, so I just have them bring a ready made meal.

And if she doesn't want to work with you it doesn't mean you should look somewhere else for someone "better" but you may want to find someone who shares your ideals. I would personally want a family to go with someone else if I can't provide the care they want for the child...that doesn't mean I am better or worse....just different ways of doing things :)

YOu could try nmaking your own. All they requitre is a really good sturdy paper towel (like Brawny) and little water and whatever you use as a soap for your kids when you give them a bath. Since you are concerned about chemicals I am assuiming you have found a more natural soap for bathtime, you can just use a few squirts of that some water and soak the paper towls on it. I know the recipe for homemade wipes can be found alot of places ion the web if you google it.
K. H

I'm a daycare provider and I have the parents bring diapers and wipes. The diapers are for the individual child who brought them because of size, but I don't have the room for many open containers of wipes. I have one wipes box and I alternate among the contributions of each family. If your provider is willing to accomodate you that is great, but I wouldn't expect it especially if you want to use something that isn't disposable.

As a parent, I understand the urge to make everything perfect for your precious new baby. Sometimes though we need to figure out what is worth making a fuss about and what really is just a little thing. In the big picture, what your child's poop is wiped off with is not a big deal. The exception is when they have irritaion then using a wipe on them hurts. Best of luck.

It was hard for us too because we always used our own cloth wipes (they are sooooo much easier for cleaning off poo than any disposable wipe), but when my ds was in daycare we had to provide disposable wipes. We bought the Seventh Generation refill packs. No scent, no bleach or other nasty chemicals used in the manufacture. Their diapers also rocked, best disposable diapers I ever had on him.

But if I had it to do over again I might make the Daisy Blue Naturals disposable wipes or other similar deal. I just didn't have that knowledge at the time. Again just make sure that you chose a paper product that didn't have bleach or dioxins used in the production (stick with 7th Generation, Green Forest or others).

To all of those posters who think it is about skin reactions to the disposable products, that was of less concern to me as a parent as I didn't have a child with sensitive skin. For me it is about about limiting my child's exposure to nasty chemicals that can build up in his body over his lifetime. When you add up all the little exposures to diapers, wipes, soaps, shampoos, household cleaner residue, detergents, air fresheners, etc. it can be overwhelming to the human body. There is a reason more and more people are being diagnosed with severe chemical sensitivitites.

As a daycare provider myself, yes I think asking them to use wet "non-disposable" cloth is a lot to ask. The non-disposable part would be my concern. I know I do several diaper changes in a row and with all the other activities going on throughout the day, I try to get through these as efficiently and sanitary as possible. I DO NOT AGREE with the people saying that if she can not accomodate you, find another caregiver. IF YOU DO NOT DO DAYCARE YOU PROBABLY DON'T THINK ABOUT THE DIFFERENT STORAGE, DISPOSAL, and CLEANING CONCERNS WE DEAL WITH HAVING SEVERAL CHILDREN IN OUR HOME. IT IS DIFFERENT. Example: potty training in plain panties may be ok at home with one on one parent attention, but would be completely unsanitary in a childcare setting with several children having frequent accidents on furniture used for years and years, and other items that are shared by many children. You need to keep in mind that she is looking out for the best interest of ALL the children in care and the time she can spread out amongst them all. You want her to be able to care for you child and the other children properly and in a group setting it is different than at home and raises different concerns than you would have at hOme. I WOULD HIGHLY RECCOMEND finding a disposable alternative for their sanity and yours though. Seventh Generation has disposable baby wipes also, but they are more than 3 x's the cost of regular baby wipes. Otherwise I know when I had my daughter, in the hospital that we just wet with plain water. I am sure you could find those somewhere. They are disposable and you could pre-wet a bunch each day and send them in a ziploc or something so she had them ready to use. That sounds like the BEST option for both parties to me.

You could make your own:

Ingredients:
1/2 roll of paper towels (cut in half to make short rolls)

1/8-1/4 c. baby shampoo

1/8-1/4 c. baby oil

2 cups lukewarm water

1 plastic container that the rolls fit in

Cut roll in half and remove center cardboard. (I actually use an electric knife and wait to remove the cardboard center until after it's been soaking for a while... it comes out easier) In Baby Wipe Container, mix liquid ingredients and place half of roll in container. Place on lid and tip upside down. To use, pull out from center. (The wipes pull out really easy

I know a couple people that did this and they smell really nice. I am going to try it with my next baby.

I cloth diaper my kids and use wet flannel cloths to wipe them with. I do use the Sam's Club brand of wipes when we are out and about, mostly for faces and hands though :o)
Anywho, have you tried making your own wipes with paper towels and water? Maybe add a dab of baby shampoo to your solution. I used to do that and have friends that do that. Just tear them off and fold them and put in a little wipes pack and then mix a little water and shampoo and dump it on and close it.
Best Wishes,
J.

Hi O.,

You can always ask, the worst she can do is to say no. It could pose an issue for your provider. The best way a parent could have presented that to me was to offer to bring fresh ones every day and take the used ones home every night. Check into making your own disposable wipes. This recipe is for cloth wipes, but what you could do is get Viva towels or a brand that really stays together, and cut it in half with a large knife, soak each half with this solution, and put it in a container.

If your daycare provider always you to use cloths, that is great and very environmentally friendly. However, if you need to use commercial wipes Kirkland brand wipes sold at Costco are great. They are very big and durable and have no scent at all. They are also alcohol free. They are cheaper than most and I've found them to be far superior to other wipes. Not as environmentally friendly as cloths of course but at least they're not full of horrid smelling perfumes.

As a daycare provider myself, there should be no problem with you using the kind of wipes you want as long as you can provide the adiquate amount for your provider. Are these wipes that you use disposable? or are you washing and resuing? Don't expect the provider to have to wash out the cloth id you do reuse them. have you ever looked at the unscented dye free wipes I have used them on my children and have had no problems, but everyone and every child is different.

T.

I understand that you want to provide healthy and wholesome choices for your child, and I commend you for doing that over your own convenience.

I do daycare, and I myself pride myself on helping the parents out however I can. You are paying for a service, and if a small request about wipes can't be accommodated I might find somewhere else to go. Honestly the daycare situation is about finding the right comprimise of what the provider can do and what you need.

I agree however, if you make and provide your own it's the best of both worlds. You're being conscientious of the providers need to take care of all the children, but still providing the wholesome care for your child.

I know seventh generation has baby wipes you can use, look at babies r us - they just expanded their 7th generation line. Also Target just got some new natural stuff - I would look at the label and find out what it is but it might be okay.

Good luck in your transition to daycare and back to work! I hope it goes well!

I would also suggest making your own. I dont know the recipe but it is simple.
Express your concerns, wants and needs with daycare. She may be open to your wipe request. The worst is that she says no. It may take more time for her to cater to this type of wipe, maybe not. Ask her first or present the wipes you wish to be used and see what she says.

I was at Target the other day and they had these new diapers...something baby care...sorry, I dont remember anytyhing else. they were on the end cap of the baby section. Maybe they make and sell wipes too.

Hi there

I am a consultant for daisy blue naturals - our current catalog has a recipe for home-made chemical-free baby wipes that work great. Send me your address and I will send one to you - my email is ____@____.com

kind regards
J.