Being Sara

It occurred to me a few weeks ago that while I have reviewed several aspects of diapering - diapers, bags, etc., I never got around to reviewing diaper cream - and there are a lot of options out there. I don’t think that Xander is a particularly rashey kid, but he does get a diaper rash from time to time. Sometimes it gets bad - cracked skin, etc. We’ve tried a few different remedies, and found that the original works best for us.

At my baby shower, I got a wide variety of diaper creams - Aveno, Huggies, Desitin Creamy and Budreau’s Butt Paste. I tried them all, and found some interesting results.

Aveno, Huggies and Desitin Creamy all work about the same. The consistency is that of a hand lotion. It goes on easily, wipes off your hands easily, but also wipes off of baby’s bottom pretty easily too.

Boudreaux’s Butt Paste is much thicker, sticks better (on your hands too of course), but it’s brown, which can be kind of confusing when you’re trying to determine if there is a “little present” in the diaper…

I fell victim to the advertising of Desitin and purchased some Desitin Clear. It was a similar consistency as the creamy, but clear. They advertised that you could use Desitin Clear on other body parts - chapped skin, etc. Xander never really had that trouble, so we didn’t try that.

Eventually we settled on the Desitin Original. It’s a thicker consistency, and a pain to get off your hands, but it sticks on bottoms much better, and I find that it clears up diaper rashes faster as well.

I know some people mix up their own concoctions - a blend of a few different brands. I’ve never gotten that creative. Xander has has some painful rashes, but we’ve managed to survive ok with the Desitin Original.

Xander has discovered the joys of getting out of the house and doing things. Now in the morning when we get up, he goes immediately for his boots (for some reason he equates boots with going outside). Once he’s convinced you to put his boots on, he goes for his coat. He can sometimes get that most of the way on by himself, though he can’t zip it. Then he finds either my shoes or Zach’s shoes and brings those to the appropriate person. Finally, once he has convinced you to put shoes on, he takes your finger and leads you to the door, stopping of course to tug on your coat to remind you to put it on as well. Then he’s jiggling the door handle and waiting for you to open the door. On the mornings that we’re getting ready for day care and work, this is great - it keeps him busy and moving forward in the mornings (though it’s tough for Zach to put his shoes on when he’s still in a towel…)

On the weekends, it’s less fun. Zach and I have developed a pretty good routine - one of us sleeps in while the other one gets up with Xander, then we switch the next morning. Some weekends it isn’t entirely perfect - particularly on the weekends that we have to go somewhere earlier in the morning. Anyway, it’s a system that is working well for us so far. Usually when Zach gets up with Xander, after he’s given Xander breakfast, changed his diaper, and played for a bit, they go out and get coffee for Zach. Yes, we have a coffee maker at home, but Zach refuses to use it… a little strange, but whatever. It works out well because when they’re out of the house, I sleep more soundly, and often Xander will nap in the car while they are driving around. They usually get back about the time that I wake up.

Lately though, Xander wants to leave as soon as he gets up. So instead of leaving the house at 8:30 or 9:00, they’re leaving at 6:30. Then when I get up, Xander wants me to leave too - he’s getting me shoes and a coat before I’ve managed to take a shower or get dressed. I’m not sure what is prompting this desire to get out of the house all the time. It’s kind of funny, but Xander gets so frustrated if we don’t actually leave, and he doesn’t really understand the concept of soon, or in 10 minutes, etc.