Surely I'm not the only one who's creeped out by disposable diapers. I mean, they're so unnatural that they won't compost or rot, yet we wrap our babies in them 24/7 and let them soak for hours at a time... But that's a question for another post.
In my musings about Beep's butt-encounters with diapering chemicals, one item I hadn't considered until recently was her disposable wipes. Like parents everywhere, I really don't want to ponder life without them... so I probably just didn't want to look a gift horse in the yapper. But what exactly are in those wonderful little wipes? Why aren't they friendly to newborn skin? What makes them ok for my toddler, especially when her little hiney is recovering from the latest bout of diaper rash?
And of course, the "natural" ones we like are 2-3 cents per wipe. Not gonna break the bank, but... cost + questions = Katie's looking for a recipe to make wipes.
One quick google search later, I had this recipe.
2 T favorite baby wash
1 T baby oil
1 roll of paper towels, cut in half (to fit in plastic container) with cardboard center roll removed
**UPDATE: For best results, use good quality, cloth-like paper towels. Overandout.**
Mix water, wash and oil together in the container, and place the 1/2 roll of paper towels in the mixture. Cover, wait a few minutes, then turn it upside down. Wait a few minutes, and turn right side up. You're done! Custom wipes!
I love that I can make them as natural as I want. Today I used stuff I happened to have on hand, but I could go all granola on this deal and use unbleached paper towels, a natural soap, and pure mineral oil or (I would think) olive oil. If you have a newborn you don't want to use soap on, just use the basic idea and omit the soap and oil.
The only thing I don't like about these wipes is
If you come up with a good way to cut the paper towel roll cleanly, please share. Buzzsaw? Laser beam?
**UPDATE: Cabbage used a hacksaw on the next roll, and it worked much better than a kitchen knife. Not a completely clean cut, but better than the one above that looks like it was cut by squirrels. You know. With their little teeth.**
Otherwise, enjoy! This is a great baby-friendly, budget-wise option for customized disposable wipes.
Back in the day, when I worked at the YMCA daycare, we made our own baby wipes as a cost-savings measure. I think the recipe was similar, and I think instead of cutting the roll in half we had a different size roll of paper towels - like an industrial supply brand instead of the stuff you buy for your kitchen.
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