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I'm sure loads of you do. I have been thinking of making some of the fleece/terry towelling ones for Beth and the new one on its way.

Obviously for a newborn I will be using them with water, but does anyone have any good recipes for wipe solution for using them with older babies/toddlers or what do you use them with?

I used washable wipes and our bum cleanser was simply witch hazel and grapeseed oil mixed together. We used sesame oil before that on its own, but that is quite thick and oily.

You can add a drop of lavender or mandarin essential oil if you wish

SC x

SE scratches head ... isn't that a flannel?


When mine were tiny all those years ago ... I just used to wash with my hand ... having removed all the mucky stuff with the nappy first...

yep, exactly that - just a few flannels or cut up towels for us :)

I'm hoping to do this as well, although the OH isn't too keen (tough luck!), and I have this "recipe" from the ISH bible -

"Make a jug of chamomile and honey tea using 2 chamomile tea bags, steeped in 250ml/8fl oz hot water with a tablespoon of honey.

Soak ten squares of fleece in the tea. You can start using them once they've cooled and the fleece has absorbed all of the liquid"

It is also recommended they are stored in the fridge during summer months.

Hope this helps.

OOoh i wonder if that would work for my face?

Not having littl'uns, i use baby wipes instead of facial wipes (soap is too drying!). I also use baby nappy cream ( i think they're called Earth Baby - from Eth8ical Superstore) as moisturiser. Might try washing the baby wipe things and see if i can re-soak them.

I tried the honey and camomile and found it too sticky keep meaning to try again with just camomile... also I made too many at a time... I'd imagine that you really just need 4 or five flannel sized ones a day (per baby)

I still just use water with the washable wipes on my one and two year olds, never needed anything else - just use more wipes if it's persistent! Best to dry them off with another wipe before putting the nappy back on to avoid nappy rash though.

i used water and cotton wool, my 2 are a bit past this stage tho (6 and 9)

Yup we use cloth wipes here. I just use water most of the time and wet the wipes as we need them. But for a simple wipe solution you can add a squirt of organic baby wash to some water and dip them in that, put in a spray bottle or soak them in it (the wipes that is). Or a mixture of witch hazel, jojoba oil & water.
It's so nice getting to bypass all the disposable baby and sanitary isles at the supermarket!

titch7069 wrote:i used water and cotton wool, my 2 are a bit past this stage tho (6 and 9)

Totally totally off topic but as a teenager I lived in Dar-es-Salaam and always fancied a trip out to Mafia Island just for the name :) Never went though!

Mothercare sell small pieces of muslin for 'top and tailing' coloured yellow and white than can be used many times ... we find them very handy

Just tend to stick with olive oil as a lubricant!

you don't need mothercare ones! We had 25p flannels from wilko's, they do the same job.

I wondered if flannel might be a bit scratchy on soft wee bums? Then again all the towels etc in our house feel like sandpaper!

I used fleece squares on DD, just cut up from a huge piece I got for next to nothing somewhere or other. I took great pleasure in using an old pampers wipes box, which I filled with a solution of chamomile tea, olive oil and a drop or two of baby bath (although next time I probably won't bother with the baby bath). I made enough solution to soak as many wipes as would fit in the box. It worked really well and I fully expect to do it this time too.

I wondered if flannel might be a bit scratchy on soft wee bums?

once they are wet they go nice and soft. i love using flannels for wipes....you can clear up poo so much easier with them rather than disp wipes. i sell washable wipes but advise my customers to buy some cheap flannels or make their own as it is cheaper!