The Diaper Rash Nightmare

As a new mom, one of my biggest fears was for my baby to get a nasty, yeasty diaper rash. I heard so many horror stories from friends on how painful it could be for a baby or toddler. I did some research and found an article that suggested organic coconut oil as a preventive and natural tool for diaper rashes.

After every diaper change, from the time my first son was born, I would lather him up with coconut oil and replace his diaper. I was never the mom that allowed him to sit in a urine filled or poopy mess. I did my best to change him promptly. Things were really good after I started my potty introduction for him at 6 months old. By the time he was approaching a year old, I enrolled him in a school-type daycare, which gave me time during the day for errands and allowed him to be around other little people. Since he was in a very full class, I had to purchase pull-ups for him since I knew the teachers would not be able to provide the one on one attention necessary with his continued potty training. This was a set back that I would later regret. I noticed that my son began to have more accidents at school but would be on point for me at home. He used the potty consistently and wore his “big man” underwear, but at school, with his pull-up, he had accidents!

This wasn’t too much of a big deal for me considering he still understood what the potty was for and wasn’t afraid to use it. The real problem came when I picked him up from school and I smelled a faint poop scent. We moms know when poop is “fresh,” it smells very strong. When poop has been sitting for a while, somehow the smell lessened. I immediately took him to the changing station in his classroom. One of the teachers offered to change him for me and it took everything in me to hold my sarcastic tongue. All I could think was, “Don’t try to change him now that I’m here! He should’ve been changed a long time ago!” I pulled his diaper off and was not prepared for what I saw. His skin was so raw and red. There was poop everywhere. I didn’t know how long my baby boy sat in this mess, but based on the way his skin looked, it was way too long. He screamed to the top of his lungs the entire time I gently wiped him clean. I was LIVID!

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Here’s what I did to remedy the situation:

Step 1: Remove the diaper or pull-up

Remove anything absorbent. As soon as I got home, I took his new pull-up off and left him nude as I ran a warm, Epsom salt bath for him. I gently patted that area dry.

Step 2: Warm Epsom Salt bath

I added a half cup of Epsom salt to a full warm bath. I let him soak for a good 15 minutes and he seemed more relaxed.

Step 3: Pat the area dry

Be gentle, as the skin is raw, sensitive and irritated

Step 4: Apply raw, organic, cold pressed coconut oil

You want to apply this very consistently. Since the rash was active and the skin was extremely raw, I applied coconut oil to him every 45mins to an hour depending on if he wet himself. I used a cloth diaper so the rash could breath. You can even use Aquafor or Vaseline on top of the coconut oil to seal in the moisture and create a barrier between urine or poop if the baby messes him/herself.

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I was happy to see a much happier baby and less raw butt after a good 3 hours! A nightmare that turned into a happier ending. Being the extreme mom that I am, I pulled him out of school and kept him home, even while taking 6 classes at the University of Alabama (online) and pregnant with my second child. Just another experience that shows we moms will do whatever is necessary for our babies!