Make Baby Wipes at Home

With a baby on the way, I wanted to be able to make my own baby wipes. I am allergic to most of the commercial baby wipes. Some are made with more natural ingredients, but are far too expensive. I was able to come across a few similar recipes for making homemade wipes. I modified them to my liking and here is the recipe I came up with:

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Homemade Baby Wipes

2 well sealing containers (1.2 L / 5 cup capacity)
1 Roll of Bounty Select a Size Paper Towel
2+2 cups Distilled, Purified, or Boiled Water
1+1 Teaspoon of Coconut Oil (solid form)
1 squirt of mild, unscented Baby Wash

Cut paper towel in half with a non-serrated knife. A serrated knife will shred the paper towel too much.

Each container will get 2 cups of water with 1 teaspoon of melted coconut oil and a squirt of mild baby wash.

Then place a half roll of paper towel in each container. Using the container lid, gently mush the paper towel down until you can seal the lid. Place the containers upside down for at least 5 minutes. Then flip back over, open the lids, and remove the inner cardboard tube. Flip the containers upside down again for at least an hour to ensure the paper towel is evenly soaked. Once you are ready to use the wipes, pull from the middle of the roll. The wipes will tear along the perforated line giving you a decent sized square (or rectangle) wipe.

Only use one container at a time to ensure freshness. You can pull a few wipes out and place in a smaller container or zip lock bag for travel purposes.

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I have been using these wipes for myself as cleansing wipes and have been very happy with them. I use containers that have flaps for closure. I use distilled water, cold pressed, virgin coconut oil, and Dr. Bronner's unscented, baby mild, castile soap. Be sure to properly sanitize the containers once they are empty with hot, soapy water or by placing in the dishwasher.

Oatmeal Body Butter

I am now in my 36th week of my pregnancy! One of the main issues I've been dealing with is dry, itchy skin that has led to patches of eczema on my hands, legs, elbows, and shoulders. At one point, in my 2nd trimester, my doctor sent me in to see the dermatologist because the eczema had become really bad. I was covered in rashes and was having trouble sleeping. I had to use a corticosteroid cream to get it under control, plus take a Benadryl at night so I could get some sleep. It eventually got better, but I still get regular flair ups. My hands are by far the worst area for itchiness. I still have to use the prescription cream on occasion, but it is quite drying itself, so I have to be careful.

Regular lotions would make my skin sting and itch, so I've been making by own body butter. I've been changing up the recipe, but I always use coconut oil. I always buy the solid coconut oil. Other ingredients that I've been playing around with are cocoa butter, shea butter, and olive oil. I vary with the measurements, but coconut oil is always the primary ingredient. I always melt the ingredients together, let cool, and then whip with an electric hand mixer. Glass jars work great for storage.

I've been having regular oatmeal bath soaks to help with the itchiness. Ground oatmeal is great for skin itch. You do have to be careful the bath water doesn't get too warm or your skin will just get itchy again. I buy regular rolled oats from the grocery store (I usually find it in the cereal isle) and then grind it up in a coffee grinder to a fine powder. I then add the ground oatmeal to the bath water (about a 1/2 cup or so) and soak for at least 20 minutes. Playing some relaxing music can add to the ambiance.

I don't always have time to have a 20 minute soak, so I started to think that adding oatmeal to my lotion would help with the itchiness and save some time. I came across a recipe online and then modified it to work with the ingredients that I have.

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Here is the recipe for Oatmeal Body Butter:

3/4 cup of solid Coconut Oil
(or 1/2 cup of Coconut Oil and 1/4 cup of Cocoa Butter)
1 Tablespoon of Olive Oil
1/4 cup of fine ground Oatmeal

Melt the Coconut Oil in a double boiler. Then add the Olive Oil and ground Oatmeal. Mix well and let cool. Putting the mixture in the fridge for about an hour will help it to cool faster. Once it is solid, remove from fridge and whip up with an electric hand mixer. Whipping up the mixture will help to evenly distribute the Oatmeal since it tends to settle to the bottom while it's cooling. Once you get the consistency you like, then place the mixture in a glass jar for storage. Canning jars work great. Feel free to double the recipe.

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The consistency might be slightly gritty from the oatmeal. Make sure you ground the oatmeal really well in the coffee grinder before you add it to the mixture. But a bit of oatmeal grittiness will be okay.

Here is a picture of the butter I just made. I find the oatmeal helps the butter to absorb quicker than the previous recipes I was making.

Enjoy!

Sun and Sunscreen

Here is an interesting article on the down side to completely avoiding the sun and using sunscreens that are full of chemicals.  We do need to get vitamin D3, which we get from the sun, for many different health benefits that this article discusses. Not only are we absorbing the chemicals from the sunscreens, but they also end up in lakes and oceans, which of course is not good for marine life. A good read.