Handmade Diaper Wipes
While many parents stick with store-bought diaper wipes, you may find yourself attracted to the idea of making your own. It gives you complete control over what goes onto your baby's bottom, which is especially important if he has sensitive skin and has had bad reactions to the store-bought variety. Additionally, if you use reusable wipes, you reduce waste and save money.
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Solution
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A good basic diaper wipe solution contains mostly water to wet the wipe, along with something skin-softening and perhaps a good scent. For example, Make-Your-Own-Baby-Stuff.com suggests mixing two cups of water with a tablespoon each of baby soap and baby oil. Mainstreet Mom suggests using two cups of distilled water, a quarter cup of aloe vera gel, a tablespoon of calendula oil, 2 tablespoons of baby soap and a drop or two of lavender essential oil and tea tree oil. You can either soak your wipes in this solution and store them this way, or you can wait until you need to use them and apply the solution directly to a dry cloth.
Disposable or Reusable
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Paper towels work well to create disposable wipes. Experiment with brands to see which hold up best if you are soaking the sheets. Cutting the roll in half can give you wipes that are more traditionally sized, but it's a lot of work.
If you want reusable wipes, simply cut fabric into small squares to use. Flannel-type fabrics won't easily fray, so they make an ideal wipe. However, if you want to use other types of fabric, you can avoid fraying by sewing two pieces together. Store used wipes in a container until you are ready to wash.
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Storage
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If you are going to soak the wipes in your diaper solution, a plastic box, similar to the one that store-bought diaper wipes come in, is a good solution. Close the box after use to avoid drying out the wipes. Alternatively, you can store the wipes in plastic bags. If you're keeping the wipes dry until use, you can store them in any type of small box, with a bottle of the wipe solution available at any time.
How Many
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No parent wants to run out of diaper wipes at an inopportune time. Plan ahead by making several handmade wipes. For disposable wipes, preparing one or two rolls of paper towels at the same time should last you several days. If creating reusable wipes, plan to have at least 30 per day, then multiply that by the number of days that you hope to go between washings.
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References
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