Nappy rash and bath time

A bath with bicarbonate of soda in it will counteract the acid in the urine and sooth the nappy rash very quickly. A children's nurse told my mum that trick. She used it for me, and I used it for DS. The only time he had a sore bum was when we were away in Iceland in our campervan and there was no bath available.

LittleEva I would advise you not to interfere. Things are done very different now from when our children were small, 25 or 50 years ago, and your daughter won’t welcome your outdated suggestions. You can always ask whether she has mentioned the nappy rash to anybody.

BlueSky

LittleEva I would advise you not to interfere. Things are done very different now from when our children were small, 25 or 50 years ago, and your daughter won’t welcome your outdated suggestions. You can always ask whether she has mentioned the nappy rash to anybody.

I agree about not interfering, but just because it was 25 or even 50 years ago, it doesn’t necessarily mean that the ‘outdated’ ideas were not any good.

Whilst I completely concur with putting sodium bicarbonate in the bath water IF giving a bath, I would also agree that a nightly bath is not necessary.

I used to say to parents that a nightly bath was more about routine, a little exercise, a pleasant play, and settling to sleep, rather than cleanliness. Some think that it contributes to nappy rash - I personally don't, as long as it's only plain water (sometimes 'bath products' produce a rash).

There are so many causes of nappy rash, you really need someone like a Health Visitor to look at it (even remotely you can get a good idea). Using the wrong one can be useless or even worsen the rash, depending on the cause.

I know Calendargirl but I don’t think a daughter or DIL would be pleased, I remember how I felt myself nearly 50 years ago when I had my babies and my mother and MIL ‘interfered with their outdates ideas’ which now I notice are recommended again!

I'm another who would caution against 'interfering'. It depends how you word things too. Nightly baths are not recommended as they can dry the skin. I've had to bite my tongue on a number of occasions. Wait til she decides to do baby led weaning! ☺

LittleEva it’s hard to keep up with the seemingly ever evolving babycare advice. But the one thing that never changes is the risk of a well meaning mother in law offering unwelcome advice. So, I’d tread carefully!

My dil bathed the little ones on alternate nights as nightly was thought to dry the skin.
The occasional nappy rash which often was triggered by certain foods responded very well to metanium cream, found in pharmacies and supermarkets. A very light smear of sudocrem for daily use and for the occasional redness it was a switch to metanium cream.
Congratulations on becoming a Grandma !

I agree about not interfering but how mine used to love their nightly baths and they all have lovely skin never did have any problems and I do think the routine wound them down for bed I wish someone would give me a nightly bath I bet I d sleep better ??

A nightly bath with sea salt is an excellent way of combating nappy rash.

It's all about the delivery LittleEva another talk to your D, perhaps at nappy changing time when you can see your GD's nappy rash might be an idea.

Of course GP's have to be careful not to give the impression that they know best but that said, surely parents have the maturity to see the difference between concern/sensible advice and interference,

I agree BlueBelle I loved the nightly bath routine and that bedtime cuddly feed with my 2, forty odd years ago. A sniff of Johnson’s baby talc can carry me right back there. (Of course the talc has long since been banned)

Modern practice is not to bath baby too often, but that shouldn’t lead to nappy rash. Washing with water at every nappy change and using Sudocrem should prevent/treat. It’s always awkward to give advice, however, so not sure what OP should do, unless asked.

LittleEva bathing won't help nappy rash. There is a cream called metanium which heals nappy rash. You can't get it over the counter. You need to go to a pharmacy and ask for it. You can get it under the minor ailments scheme but that might only be in Scotland. You only need a small amount under the usual cream and it stains yellow so watch the vests. We use it under sudocreme if DGS2 has a sore bum. Clears often overnight.

Nappy rash is I think rare these days - the disposable nappies are awful for the environment, but suck the urine away from the skin and turn it into gel. None of my GC had nappy rash even in the slightest, because they were using disposables.

Even my DDs did not get a nightly bath. Zip the lip!!

Ooh the early days of zipping your lip. I honestly don’t know how my children survived as everything I did is wrong according to current best practice. Congratulations on grandchild.

My grandson has had nappy rash quite badly at times. The GP gave him some cream which works very well. I think some children just have more sensitive skin. His mum (my daughter) didn't have nappy rash once.

It is also possible for a young child or baby to get a Thrush infection in the Nappy area resulting in a sore rash. If this happens, then it’s hard to get rid of without using an anti-fungal treatment such as Timodene, which is available on prescription from your GP.

Don’t say anything. Each mother has their own way of doing things and I am still not having to say a word. One set of GCs are coming up to ten. Even sisters don’t see eye to eye.

PS I use to lay my daughter, while she was awake, on her front bare bottomed, on a cover on the floor. Fresh air seemed to do the trick.

Poor baby. How uncomfortable the dear little soul must be. An evening bath is so much more than getting baby clean isn't it? The warmth always settled my first born for sleep.
My baby never got nappy rash & I put this down to a proper cleansing with a flannel & soap/warm water at every change. If out visiting, & no facilities, it was done asap on return home. I used to feel so sorry for babies whose mothers routinely used wet wipes, although sometimes I just had to when out & about. Never looked good to me & then the mums wondered why baby got sore. I also used terry nappies with a muslin liner. For me it was just part of being a mum, soaking routine was organised & easily dealt with. Happy baby, happy mum.
Good luck to that new mum & congratulations grandma. Enjoy every minute you share with your new granddaughter.

It's not good for babies to be stripped for a bath every day as it removes all their skins natural oils etc and can cause irritation no matter the soap.

I wonder if DIL is keeping nappies dry, having nappy free time on a towel etc or doing any of the helpful advice Google has to offer, if actually what this tiny baby is dealing with is thrush. Quite often missed and quite common.

Otherwise she is a new mum, let her find her feet.

A nappy rash at 4 weeks , especially if using disposable nappies. Is quite unusual. I would ? Thrush infection. Baby may need special cream from GP

Just ask her what is the current recommendation is for nappy rash as you guess it won't still be what you did for her.

Is it nappy rash? DS, six weeks old and breast fed, had what I thought was nappy rash one end and cradle cap the other, when they kept spreading and met in the middle it was realised that he had severe eczema.

I see that someone else has suggested thrush. This is the thing, there are so many causes of a rash on a baby's bottom that are dependent on so many other factors that it is best if you say nothing. Leave it to the parents and their GP and/or health visitor.

Thank you so much for your comments - lots of very good advice here for me to think about