Oh man! I’m not trying to be a horrible parent! But I’m sure some of you may question my parenting after I tell you our new method for preventing diaper rash. It’s not complex or expensive, in fact, it saves us money. But that is not why we are using this new method. So what is our new method?

We don’t wipe anymore. Well, not for wet diapers – we still use wipes for stinky ones.

We’re crazy, right?

Up until a few months ago, I would have thought it was crazy not to wipe at every diaper change. I mean, I thought that was okay for little boys, but I always thought you had to wipe little girls every time.

A few months ago, Miss Boo was acting ready for Potty Training 101. I downloaded this e-booklet that was like Intense Potty Training Boot Camp that suggested switching straight to underwear and with this method she’d be potty trained in 3 days. Well, she progressed and then regressed and broke out in a very bad rash.

Miss Boo has always had sensitive skin and little rashes were actually “normal” for her. So I switched to Pull-ups (Huggies have always been the only diapers she can wear that her skin doesn’t react to. I tried several other brands, but they were a no-go. Now that we have 3 in diapers, we can’t afford Huggies for all of them & I don’t feel right buying Huggies for only one of them & cheaper for the other two – especially since Miss Boo & Miss Cakes wear the same size).

A couple weeks later, her rash was healed & we tried potty training again. The first day she broke out in a horrible rash & it didn’t get better. Our pediatrician prescribed an anti-fungal cream & a steriod (after the anti-fungal cream by itself wasn’t enough). The rash went away in a week, but she was still getting pretty red more frequently than “normal”.

The  first solution I found was to make our own baby wipes, which was also great for our budget.  Then last week I found an article by Michelle Shelton stating that her pediatrician told her not to wipe her baby’s bottom every time she changed a diaper. By following that advice & making her own wipes, none of her 5 kids ever experienced diaper rash. So, we followed her advice: wipe ASAP when there’s a dirty dipe and don’t wipe when they’re just wet. Something about the baby’s PH being the same as the acid in the urine (you can read Michelle’s article for more details).

So we have been following Michelle’s advice for a week now & Miss Boo has never looked better! We’re doing it with all 3 kids (even the ones that don’t have uber sensitive skin like Miss Boo). I’m sure a lot of people will think we’re crazy, make comments to us, or might even talk about it when we’re not  involved in the conversation {Michelle did say that she received many a snide comments about her wiping ways}, however I am so happy that Miss Boo’s bottom isn’t sore and she doesn’t cry anymore when we change her diaper, that I don’t care!