DIY Baby Wipes

When I was in college I worked at a daycare that was within walking distance of my dorm.  I learned more lessons about life, myself, and parenting than I could have ever anticipated through this position.  Like any job, it had it's ups and it's downs, but I met so many lovely people who have forever touched my life.  To this day I have remained friends with several of them.

Because the daycare was so close to the college campus there were several college students who worked there in between classes.  Work schedules were flexible and were easily manipulated around a new batch of classes each semester.

I had the pleasure of working with many different age groups of children.  One summer I was disappointed when I was assigned to the infant room.  My favorite age group was the 4 year olds.  I had been moved out of that room because of my class schedule for the previous semester.  I loved that I could have a 2 sided conversation with a 4 year old.  I enjoyed coloring and playing dress up.  We even had beauty shop days where I painted nails and created fancy hair styles.  I couldn't do any of these things with infants.  Heck most of them barley had any hair to speak of!

While I wasn't thrilled with the infant room, I decided that I would make the most of the situation.  I enjoyed working with the main caregiver in the room and she tolerated and even grew to enjoy me as well.  Looking back on the situation I think there were deeper reasons, rather than simply availability, for placing me in this room.

The main caregiver had worked in the infant room for many years and she ran the show.  To put it nicely she liked things her way and if you followed her directions, picked up after yourself, and stayed out of her way, it would be a good day.  Frankly, I was slightly intimidated by her at the beginning.

I soon learned that underneath this 'tough' exterior was a kind hearted, hard working grandma.  She simply had been pushed around too much and put walls up to protect herself.  Personal life experiences, that I was/am thankful to have never known,  also added bricks to her walls. 

She loved those babies.  She knew each of their quirks and the meaning of their different cries.  She taught me how to bounce two crying babies while feeding a third.  I learned to invent personalized songs about the babies to calm them when they were fussy and I learned that sometimes a baby just needs to cry.  She taught me that babies cannot be rushed and to be patient.

On the rare occasion that all six babies were taking a nap at the same time (I know the Mommies out there who have more than one baby are getting a good chuckle right now) we talked and I got to know the personal side of her.  She enjoyed taking creative holiday pictures of the babies and making presents of footprints and hand prints for the parents.  She also made these fabulous baby wipes.

I recently made the wipes to use with Baby M.  To be honest I'm not sure why I have waited until baby #3 to make these, but I did.  That is a mystery that may never be solved!

Wipe Recipe:

What to use:

2 cups water
2 tablespoons baby wash
2 tablespoons baby oil
1 roll of paper towel (cut in half)

The Process:

In a bowl stir the water, baby wash, and baby oil together.  Cut the paper towel roll in half.  Put the roll in an air tight container and pour the solution over it.  Let it sit for 30 minutes.  Pull the center tube out.  Turn the container over and let the solution sit for 30 minutes.  Pull the wipes out from the center and they are ready to use.

*When I purchased my container I had forgotten that the paper towels needed to be cut in half.  I purchased a container that I thought would be tall enough for an entire roll of paper towels.  It's really made for a loaf of bread.  I just doubled the recipe when I made the solution because I used a whole roll rather than a half.

My Opinion:

The wipes were very easy to make.  They have worked very well to clean up a baby bottom.  They smell really good!  I have heard, but I have not experienced, that after awhile some of the wipes sour.  I will post an update if this occurs. 

If you try these wipes please let me know what you think. 

What hidden lessons have you learned from previous or current jobs?

***Update 6/5/12***

Price Break Down:

28 oz. of baby wash costs $4.97 (at Walmart)
      I used 2 tablespoons (1 liquid oz. = .5 tablespoon) of baby wash. This would equal $0.71.

20 oz. of baby oil costs $2.47 (at Walmart)
      I used 2 table spoons (1 liquid oz. = .5 tablespoon) of baby oil.  This would equal $.0.25.

6 rolls of paper towel costs $8.47 (1 roll = $1.42) (at Walmart)

      I used ½ of a roll.  This would equal $0.71.

1 batch of the DIY wipes made 176 wipes and costs me $1.67.  This means I am spending $0.01 per wipe.

According to Walmart.com 1 package of 64 Huggies wipes costs $2.37. This breaks down to $0.04 per wipe.