Airing it out
Say what you will about disposable diapers, especially with regard to their impact on the environment, but it's hard to deny that they do offer (for the most part) one very important positive--the disappearance of diaper rash. The latest models of diapers have so much moisture-wicking capacity and absorbency that diaper rash is more of an occasional nuisance than the norm.
Which leads me to a strange and interesting question. Do kids, in this modern world of diaper technology, need to ever let it "air out?" And by that I mean spend some quality time sans diapers, underpants or anything else. Some--and especially some men to whom I've spoken--say it's important for little guys to air it out once in a while. I've heard the same thing from moms about their little gals. How long is the appropriate amount of time is hard to pin down. Most agree to let the airing continue until there's an, uhm, accident on the bathroom floor.
I've always read or been told that even adults need to air it out, and that it's not necessary to say, wear underwear to bed. If that's true then why would it not be so for kids? If the child is wearing the more environmentally-friendly cloth diapers, which from what I understand are not as absorbent, etc., then might it be more important to get a little air time? Or have cloth diapers modernized right along with the disposable version?
Do you air out your kids, or is it not necessary? Also, I'll say I've heard that despite the diaper rash disappearance, many parents eschew disposables because they say it impedes kids from properly potty training, as they never feel wet!
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Jillian 9-25-2008 @ 3:11PM
It depends on which cloth diapers you're using. Some are extremely absorbent, some are made only to catch one pee. You can also buy some that are made with tops that wick moisture away very efficiently, and then for those that don't have that top layer you can buy fleece to put on top, or even other materials. So really cloth does not necessarily mean your baby is sitting in a wet mess until you change him/her.
When we CD'd we did lots of airing out time anyway. It was actually my way of encouraging the beginning of potty learning with my daughter. I was able to time when I would need to put a diaper on her so she could pee, and then instead of diapering her I encouraged her to go on the potty. We've been really successful and have only had a couple accidents within the past few months. She still wears a diaper for sleeping, but awake at home means diaper free for her. :)
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Melissa 9-25-2008 @ 3:49PM
i agree with jillian....i did the same thing with my daughter, i let her wear nothing but a tshirt around the house, and then i would just take her to the potty about every 20-30 minutes.....yes it's a pain in the butt, and sometimes you forget, but it worked! she is completely potty trained and only wears a pull up at night, and about 99 percent of the time it's dry in the morning, so i am even considering stopping that!
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SKL 9-25-2008 @ 4:11PM
That's news to me about diaper rash. I've read that diaper rash actually increased a lot with disposable diapers, due to the chemicals that are held against baby's skin all the time. I know lots of people whose kids' diaper rashes have been chronic and severe, and they use disposables plus the various diaper rash cremes and such (which I guess wouldn't be on the market if diaper rash had indeed been wiped out).
I don't know much about the pros and cons of airing it out. But I do agree that having a thin layer or nothing, versus a thick layer (absorbent or not) against the bottom, makes kids more aware and more likely to hold their pee until they can get to a proper receptacle. I put my girls in regular panties, day and night, at around 1.5 years old, and they have had only a couple of accidents since (it's been about 4 months).
Somehow, to me, the idea of my girls running around with their genitals exposed to the elements doesn't sound like a great idea. Maybe when they were still immobile (that would have been before I adopted them), but not when they can sit their naked butts down on any and every surface. I would go with a loose-fitting cotton panty before I'd let them go completely naked.
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c_rousseau05 9-25-2008 @ 4:23PM
I agree, it depends on what type of cloth diapers you are using. My daughter uses both cloth and disposable (Pampers only). I let her air dry for ten minutes after her nightly bath and for ten minutes after her first morning diaper change. She only wears Pampers brand because i've tried all the others plus some cheapies and with all of them, air drying or not, she gets rash even though I change her every couple of hours or as soon as I know she's wet. With the cloth diapers we use or with the Pampers she never gets either rash anymore, if she does, it's rare and it's usually because she's peed a lot over the night or it's been extremely hot that day and we were out and about.
If you use cloth, my suggestion and what has worked for us to keep diaper rash/yeast rash at bay is to use pocket diapers lined with microfleece. Two reasons, first off they dry easier because they are two separate pieces instead of one and secondly because the microfleece is the BEST at keeping a bum dry, we dont have to powder her bottom if she wears them.
If you use disposables, yeah, plenty out there are plenty absorbent so take your pick. We use babypowder with the disposables and I won't say she doesn't feel wet because she can tell and she tries to take her diaper off when she feels it's heavy or damp.
I let her air dry twice a day as more of a precaution than anything.
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ivory 9-25-2008 @ 4:47PM
Our girls were cloth diapered, and only had the rare diaper rash, and it was more form a missed poop (darn those naptime poops!) than being wet. Disposable or cloth, those rashes would have happened.
Cloth diapering, for us, was as much about saving money as it ws about limiting our trash. Our cloth diaper set up cost under $300, and has made it through two kids. That is $150 a child, over the course of 4 years. I could not buy 6 months worth of disposable diapers for that money, and now i can turn around and resale the diapers that are in good shape to recoup $75-100 of that investment. With the economy how it is, I'm even more thankful that I was able to breastfeed, and have the capability to cloth diaper, because every little dollar helps.
Oh, and we do air time, but not hours on end. After baths we towel off and have naked time, or if someone makes a mess at lunch and we all need a change of clothes, we will take a couple minute break and air out. I hope to raise my girls knowing that their bodies are not shameful, and not making a huge deal about nakedness (in our home, with our family) is a part of that.
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CLM 9-25-2008 @ 4:48PM
Like SKL, I've heard that disposables can actually increase diaper rash. We use a combination of cloth and disposable for our twin boys. The great thing about cloth is that it encourages you to change your child(ren) more often. I think that is why our little guys have, to date, not experienced a full-on diaper rash. Their poor cousin, on the other hand, has worn only disposables and has had near chronic diaper rash all his short life. That is one kid who is going to be thrilled to wear big boy pants!
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dee 9-25-2008 @ 6:37PM
The disappearance of diaper rash?
Heck, one of the reasons we totally switched to cloth was the problem of diaper rash with my kid. Huggies, Pampers, whatever--diaper rash city. But even in prefolds that he went 12 hours overnight with, no diaper rash. He only ever got diaper rash when he got a stomach virus--about 3 weeks total in 2 years.
And all his friends were in disposables at daycare, and at least half of them had instructions from their parents to slather the kid's butt in cream with every change, to keep the rashes under control. I guess THAT is the advantage of disposables really--you don't care how much cream you're layering on the kid's butt to keep the rashes away. You do care a little bit to a lot with cloth--prefolds don't mind cream all that much, but pockets hate cream.
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Ally's Mom 9-25-2008 @ 9:34PM
I think the diaper rash thing must be a kid to kid thing. My daughter has been in disposables for always. She has only had very minimal diaper rash a couple of times...more to us not changing a diaper in time.
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Robin 9-25-2008 @ 11:42PM
I have to say that disposable diapers made all of my kids break out, no matter what brand I used. When I switched to cloth - it was gone for good.
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rebecca Biernesser 9-26-2008 @ 1:50AM
Both my child still have diaper rash, but it deals with teething. Their pop is more often and horrible when they are teething. I do air dry...the little boys runs around naked and the baby lays on her back several times a day with an open diaper.
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Brian 9-26-2008 @ 5:48AM
Put me down for "the boys need air", although bare-butt time is also when my two-year-old son tries to escape the house and scamper about naked in the front yard while all the neighbors try to hide their "there goes that redneck family again" looks.
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Pavlina 9-26-2008 @ 11:17AM
Huh, Not true. Both my children wore cloth diapers, old fashioned sodden cotton (birdsweave) and also flannel+microfleece. My son only ever had ONE diaper rash, daughter not a one. DS wore diapers until he was FOUR!
Keeping a urine soaked diaper (even if it "feels" dry) next to baby's skin is what causes diaper rash. Urine beaks down quickly, forming ammonia which is an irritant.
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rachel 9-26-2008 @ 4:15PM
We only recently switched to cloth for my son. Before the switch he had frequent mild diaper rashes, and less frequent horrible ones. Sine we switched we've only had a rash following the 2 times he has been in a disposable- never mind that he only wore it for about an hr or less each time, it still gave him a rash.
Back on topic- yes we let him air out occasionally- but at least half the time it's just because his tiny little butt is so stinking cute, lol.
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