Yes, we make our own baby wipes. After having Cecelia, I started to read and research on the internet different parenting options that I wasn't thinking prior to being a momma. I learned that I wanted to be a cloth diaper momma but knew that since I work, more loads of laundry in the week were not an option. Sanity please! So as a compromise to my consciousness, I decided making baby wipes wan't a big deal and it made me feel better.
I've tried many different recipes from the web and have found the formula I like best. I started making them with Coletyn (baby #2) and didn't even think twice about not doing them with Charlotte. Cecelia got the world's worst sores on her bum from her continual poopies. That little sensitive skin would bleed it was traumatizing for me! We soaked her butt twice a day and dried with a hair dryer. Coletyn never had as much as a diaper rash and I give all the credit to these wipes!
Ingredients:
Coconut oil- 2 tsp
Lavender essential oil- 3 drops
Container
2 cups hot, hot water
half a roll of paper towels (cut a roll in half with a serrated knife)
Coconut oil at room temperature is a solid. When mixed in the hot water it turns to liquid form. I have seen recipe with fractionated coconut oil that is a liquid form but I always have coconut oil on hand so it is cheaper.
So, mix the coconut oil and lavender in the hot 2 cups of water until oil is no longer clumpy and pour into container.
Put in half a roll of paper towel. I always like to put the rough/cut edge on the bottom. You'll see it is bigger than the container... no problem. Squish it down, put the lid on and dump upside down.
Let sit for 5-10 minutes and then turn upright and open. They now fit in the container. If the towels aren't wet all the way through, put the lid back on and turn over for a few minutes longer. The water will wick to the tops.
Once wet all the way through, the roll out of the center will slide right out.
Then, you use them from the center, outward. So easy I made them while holding Charlotte!!
A word on storage... moisture + heat = MOLD
I've had my run-ins with mold and these. So this is what I do. First of all, I leave the lid completely off until they have cooled down, about half of a day. After that, I never secure the lid on them. I leave it a jar so that there is air flow. It takes us less than a week to go through one half a roll. Other ways to prevent mold are to use distilled water. I think we are cursed in our house to begin with as we get mold in other places so they may be completely fine in another house. After I am back to work or the baby starts solids, I will no longer make these any more as we won't go through them fast enough before mold grows.
How they sit in our changing setup is below. In the background, is my second container (I only have two that rotate) that I will make the next batch in when I think there is only one or two more poops worth of wipes in the container.
I am truly serious when saying that I attribute no diaper rash or sores to these wipes. The lavender is calming and the coconut oil is soothing. Not to mention no harsh chemicals from the store bought brands. Side note- something I learned with Cecelia... diaper wipes are only to clean poops. One must dry the bum prior to wrapping back up in the diaper. No one tells you that! Sorry Cecelia, I didn't know!
Did I say I love these wipes enough? I love them so much I've started using them to wash my face (I have very, very dry skin. Any cleanser dries it out further. No moisturizer even comes close to helping!) and take off my makeup. I only use every other day, as I worry about too much oil clogging my pores. Love 'em!
