Every parent wants a happy, healthy baby, however the occasional diaper rash is a common skin irritant that happens to 50-60% of all babies. It’s a condition that causes skin underneath the diaper to become red and tender and looks very painful. It’s often caused when babies are not kept clean and dry, have tight diapers that rub the skin, allergic to the baby wipes, start to eat solid foods and diarrhea. Our little Kaia hasn’t experienced a diaper rash yet, but we also take preventative measures to make sure she doesn’t get one.
How to Identify a diaper rash?
- Sensitivity
- Chafing
- Flaking
- Redness
Here are 5 tips to preventing a diaper rash for your little baby bum:
Change dirty diapers ASAP. This is the most important tip for treating and preventing diaper rash, even if it’s a wet diaper. This reduces the moisture on the skin that can inflame a rash. We love Pampers Swaddlers, because it has the blue line indicator telling us when it’s time to change the diaper. Changing a diaper after each feeding will help reduce diaper rashes.
Be gentle when cleaning the diaper area. Use water and a soft washcloth or baby wipes that is alcohol and fragrance-free. Try to air-dry the area as long as possible. We lay Kaia on a waterproof changing pad in case she happens to have an accident while we are letting her air-dry between changes or after a bath.
Use a daily diaper cream. Even though Kaia hasn’t had a diaper rash, we still put this on her bum to add as a protective barrier cream, because her skin and all babies’ skin are so sensitive. We love using the Dr. Brown’s daily diaper cream. It’s made with natural essential oils and contains coconut oil, organic blue violet, Calendula and chamomile to calm, soothe and cool the diaper area. I like the fact that it’s also non-greasy and all-natural ingredients! Just slather it on gently at each diaper change.
Make sure baby is wearing the right size diaper. Too tight can irritate the skin and too loose can lead to baby having accidents. Kaia is not even 3 months and close to being in a size 3 diaper- she’s such a big baby. (Choose diapers according to their weight, not age) And yes, we’ve already had a few blowouts. Not fun when you have to walk around with poo on you, but lesson learned, always have a change of clothes for you too. Ha!
Don’t rub baby’s bum after bath. Always pat dry instead of rubbing. You could irritate the skin by rubbing it, which will allow bacteria to enter.
Hope these tips helped and checkout Dr. Brown’s brand new skin care line that just launched recently. We love that all the ingredients are all-natural, hypoallergenic, gluten, phthalate, sulfate, petroleum and paraben free.
