What causes a diaper rash anyway?

Diaper rash is most frequently caused by the skin being in touch with moisture, friction, and/or irritants for an extended period of time. Ammonia from baby's pee and poop enzymes trapped in their diaper are usually no. 1 culprits, but allergy to fragrance or certain ingredients could also cause a rash. Too-small onesies or super tight leggings that compress the diaper could make it worse (check out our baby jogger pants that give the diaper room). It's highly recommended to use fragrance-free wipes and to clean up a full diaper as soon as possible. If you are super diligent at cleaning up baby's pee or poop right after it happens, it's unlikely the baby will develop a diaper rash. Sounds simple right? 

The issue is - the most common way of cleaning up is using baby wipes. Baby wipes are great for on-the-go, but they're not the most effective way to clean irritants off skin, especially in the early newborn months when baby poop can be pretty sticky. With every blowout, you might find yourself using wipe after wipe trying to get that one sticky spot off while not rubbing too hard on the skin. Well, guess what - there is a better way! One that our "yue sao", a traditional Chinese confinement nurse, taught us. She's taken care of 100+ newborns and moms over 20+ years, so she's done this A LOT.

What is The Baby Bidet Method?

We call it The Baby Bidet Method, sort of as a joke, but it's also the simplest way to describe it. It's just washing your baby's bum! Instead of bringing baby to the changing table, bring baby to the sink and rinse the mess off right down the drain. 

One-Time Home Sink Setup

Dedicate a sink at home for this, if possible (we like the laundry sink because it's deep), and set up the area with baby soap and some soft cotton cloths. The cloths are for drying post-wash, so something soft and organic would be ideal. Old t-shirts scraps, burp cloths, or small wash cloths all work. We cut up old organic cotton onesies into 3x3-ish squares. You just have to set this up once!

The Baby Bidet Method: 3 Easy Steps

Once the sink is ready, then it's just 3 easy steps:

1. Rest baby's head in the crook of one arm (so the neck is well-supported by your elbow/arm area) and the hand holding one side of their thigh/back-of-knee, so you can keep the other hand free. 
2. With the free hand, turn on the tap to lukewarm water, undo the diaper and move it aside. Move baby under the water and rinse, rinse, rinse! Make sure to get into the thigh creases and use a little baby soap as needed for extra sticky areas.
3. Gently pat dry (not wipe!) with the cotton cloth from front to back and carry baby to changing table to put on the diaper. 

Why We Love The Baby Bidet Method

• It's gentle AND effective! Washing baby's bum is the gentlest way you can be 100% sure all stickiness and residue are gone.
• It's faster and cleaner! This seems like more work at first, but it's actually less (and less stinky) because it all gets washed down the drain quickly. Baby's bum and your hands are totally clean after this.
• It saves wipes and $$$! Every poop takes an average 4-6 baby wipes (blowouts even more) x many poops a day = SO MANY WIPE$. That number goes down to 0 with this method. 

Now, we're not saying ditch the baby wipes (don't at us, Big Baby Wipe!). We still use them for pee diapers and when we're out of the house, but if baby just did a blowout and we can get to a sink, you bet we're doing The Baby Bidet.

Happy Washing!!