Diaper Rash Cream Or Lack Thereof

I'm sticking with the toxicity theme from last week.  When Alison was just a few weeks old, she started getting some diaper rash and we did what we were told by everyone to do: use Desitin.  It works, what a great product!  EXCEPT if you're using cloth diapers. 

It turns out Desitin, or any diaper cream that contains cod liver oils, can ruin cloth diapers.  The oil sticks to the cloth, staining it and repelling liquids, instead of allowing the diaper to do its job and absorb them.  We found this out the hard way.

What's more, unless you're shopping at Whole Foods, every single diaper cream in the baby section of a normal grocery store contains something that doesn't mesh well with cloth diapers.  So what are cloth diaper users to do?

Check out this site, which rates various brands of diaper creams based on their compatibility with cloth diapers:

http://www.pinstripesandpolkadots.com/diaperrashcreams.htm

I tried California Baby Diaper Rash Cream and straight up coconut oil.  The California Baby brand smells awesome, but it didn't do much for Alison and at $11-$16 for less than 3 oz, it's safe to say it was not worth the price.  The coconut oil didn't seem to work either.  I was about to try zinc oxide, which I'd heard good things about, when I went a completely different route entirely and found the solution. 

For $2.44, I bought half a yard of microfleece from a fabric store.  I cut it into strips and lined each diaper with a new strip each diaper change.  The fleece did an awesome job of wicking moisture into the diaper and suddenly, the diaper rash disappeared.  No cream needed, no need to continually buy overpriced products.  I just wash the fleece with my diapers and enjoy a generally rash-free baby!

Breastmilk Storage Tips

I've seen a few eco-tips related to storing breastmilk recently, so thought I'd share them here.

Reuse
I got this link from my friend, Sara, a while ago.  It's a neat way to reuse one of the many gift bags you might get at a baby shower to help you keep your stored milk organized.

http://greenlitebites.com/BreastMilk/

Recycle 
If you plan to use the breastmilk storage bags, it turns out that many are recyclable.  For example, Lansinoh's fall under the recyclable plastics category #4.  Some communities only recycle plastics #1 & #2, but some will recycle up to #7, so check with your local recycling center for details on whether they'll accept these bags when you're done.

Reduce
There is a lot of information out there about some of the bad things that can be found in plastics these days. Beyond the Bisphenol-A (BPA), which has been removed from most baby products, there are other compounds used in plastics that have not been fully studied for their health effects and are on the EPA's "chemicals of concern" list.

If you're worried about any of these chemicals, there's one storage container that appears to be a healthy and eco-friendly alternative: glass.  You're probably already recycling the glass jars you get from the store, so wash those out well and you'll have a ready-made eco-friendly milk container!

Photo Credit: care2.com

Just make sure you're aware of the following caveats.  They'll take up more room in your freezer/fridge than the plastic bags and be sure you only fill them up halfway to account for milk expansion.

Green Quiz Quest

This is probably just a very clever way to get your information for advertising purposes, but I'm inclined to try it out, hoping to find some ingenious new green products.

It's an online scavenger hunt, with some pretty neat prizes AND it starts today! You can read the rules and sign-up at http://greenquizquest.com/.