Home Made Baby Wipes

Recently, I happened upon an idea for making your own baby wipes. I thought, "What a brilliant idea for saving money!" Also, have you ever looked at the list of ingredients on the back of the box? Even the ones that are "gentle", "for sensitive skin", "fragrance free", ect., still have loads of harsh ingredients! It is no wonder that babies scream when wiped with these things! Any how, I thought I would test it out on Corky, because after all, it is her bottom that will be the judge! So, I looked at all the various recipes online- there are a million! They all have a basic formula:

water, something to sooth, something to clean, disinfectant, and something to wipe.

Some people use the all-in-one wipes method. Others keep the wipe and cleaning solution separate (in a spray bottle or something). Also, you can make them disposable or washable/reusable. I chose to do all-in-one disposables (I know disposables aren't as good for the environment, but I needed something easy- I might try washables with our next child since Corky should be potty training soon!).

This is what worked for me:

3 cups warm water

1/4 cup olive oil

1/4 cup baby wash

4 drops tea tree oil

I mix it all and store in an airtight container (shake well before each use). Usually a batch of wipe solution will make about 4 batches of wipes.

Next, for the wipes, I use Viva paper towels because they are the softest. I have also used Bounty- they work well, they just aren't as soft. Also, I don't recommend using "select-a-size" type towels unless you have a small baby. Cut the paper towels in half cross ways, so they resemble a large roll of toilet paper. Use one half for each batch of wipes. Place the roll, cut side down, in an air tight container and pour a little over a half cup of solution evenly over the roll (if you use "big roll" towels, you will need to adjust the amount of solution). Then turn it over and repeat. Let it sit for an hour to saturate. It will seem like it isn't wet enough, but after an hour it should be just right. After an hour, pull the cardboard center out, and pull wipes from the center. If they are too dry, add some water, but be careful not to get them too wet! The first time I made them, they were so wet that I had to wring them out to use them- they were too soapy too!

* The reason this recipe is not exact is because all the recipes I tried were failures. So I adjusted it to fit my needs. I chose to mix a batch of solution, and just use what I need for each individual batch of wipes. Also, the amount of solution needed will vary depending on the brand of paper towel.

Substitutions:

Many of the ingredients that I used can be substituted with items more suited to your individual baby. Here are some suggestions:

Water- you can use filtered, tap, or distilled

Something to sooth- baby oil, mineral oil, olive oil, baby lotion (be careful about ones that contain alcohol).

Something to clean- castile soap, any liquid baby soap that works for your baby (something gentle).

Disinfectant- This step can be skipped, tea tree oil, lavender oil, vitamin e liquid from capsules.

Wipe- Any strong paper towel, blue shop towels, strips of soft Cotton fabric (for washables).

*Note- Some of the sites where I found recipes stated that people have had trouble with the wipes mildewing. I have never had this happen. I don't know if it is because of the tea tree oil or because I use them so quickly. Anyway, keeping them tightly covered and out of the sunlight should help.