#3: Coconut Oil Diaper Ointment for Babies {10 Easy Ways to Use Coconut Oil}

You may be surprised to hear that coconut oil diaper ointment is a great non-toxic diaper cream substitute. It’s hard to find non-toxic diaper creams that work well and that you feel good about putting on your baby, but coconut oil does the trick. Best of all, if your baby eats it, you don’t have to rush to the emergency room!*
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Of course, you’ll want to keep a special container of coconut oil set aside for your diaper ointment. Again, just because you cook with it too doesn’t mean it should come out of the same jar! 🙂
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You can be keep coconut oil diaper ointment in baby’s room or in the fridge. I prefer to use it at a cooler, solid state so it’s less messy to apply and more like the consistency of a regular diaper ointment. It melts quickly when it touches skin, so it’s very easy to apply when solid.

How to Use Coconut Oil Diaper Ointment

  1. Simply put coconut on affected area just as you would a regular diaper cream or ointment.
  2. Apply early. For best results, apply coconut oil diaper ointment at the very first sign of a problem.
  3. Apply liberally! Use a bunch…don’t be shy. Slather it on in a thick layer for best results. Since it’s completely pure and natural, you don’t have to worry about any harmful chemicals, toxins or dyes touching your little one’s skin.
  4. Apply often! Since coconut oil easily absorbs in the skin and isn’t a barrier product like traditional diaper creams, you’ll want to apply it often.
  5. Optional: Add a couple drops of therapeutic grade essential oils. Be really careful here to only use pure and unadulterated essential oils, such as Young Living. Not all essential oils are created equal and it’s not worth putting something of low quality on your baby. If in doubt, leave it out! If you decide to add them, lavender, roman chamomile or tea tree (melaleuca) are excellent options that are all great skin conditioners and generally considered safe for babies.** Always keep products with essential oils in a dark colored glass jar.

Other Tips for Using Coconut Oil Diaper Ointment

  • One of our children was prone to yeast infections as a baby. After taking her to the doctor for the first couple infections, we learned to spot them early on and treat them with coconut oil at the first sign of a problem. When we caught them early enough, coconut oil took care of the issue and we avoided a costly doctors visits.
  • Use non-toxic, chlorine-free diapers to significantly cut down on diaper rashes. Years ago, we made the switch to non-toxic diapers (cloth and disposable) and noticed a huge decrease in diaper rashes. Honest brand is my very favorite disposable (and adorable to boot!), with Earth’s Best a close second.
  • It’s also a great idea to bathe your children in salt baths or baking soda baths when there is a problem for faster results. Apply coconut oil diaper cream to a clean and dry behind after the bath. (Also, if possible, let baby have a little diaper free time after the bath to get extra dry before putting diaper back on.)
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*Applies to plain coconut oil diaper ointment. Please use appropriate caution if you opt to add essential oils. Even high quality, safe for adults to ingest, essential oils often to not apply to infants or young children, so know your products and keep out of reach of children if essential oils are added!
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**I’m not a doctor or an expert, just a mom passionate about all things green who loves to share what I learn. You are responsible for your family…my blog is not medical advice of any kind, it is a compilation of my experience and antidotes  Also, when I discuss essential oils on my blog, I am primarily talking about Young Living essential oils. There are very few brands I would consider safe enough for babies.
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My TOP 10 Favorite Earth Day Deals!

Today is Earth Day!

It’s a day of awareness of all things “green” and it can be a great time to try out something green for around your house. I wasn’t planning on this post, but I kept finding such great deals on green stuff that I had to share them. So here’s my top list of the best Earth Day deals!

  1. Spoonk Organic Accupressure Mat

    Spoonk Acupressure Mats…I’m addicted to mine and use it everyday. I HIGHLY recommend the organic one. The price is amazing for this mat…(47% off) $36…normally $60 …today only!

  2. Conscious Boxes: On Totsy and Plum District today for half off a 3-month subscription of food and home goods. Been dying to try this one for several months and I finally bit the bullet and snagged the voucher. I can’t wait to get my first box in the mail! (Update on this…after 3 months of getting my Conscious Boxes in the mail, I LOVED them!)
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  3. Great Cash Back Deals on FatWallet. My fave is $10 off $25 at Origins.
  4. Kids Organic Sleepwear & HAPE Eco-Collection: Starts at 8pm central on Totsy. Featuring Agabang, PB Couture and New Jammies. Our kids have Agabang and New Jammies and we love them both…super cute and I would recommend them as great organic PJ’s. I’m setting an alarm to check back when the sale starts later tonight. We also have a few HAPE toys and love them. They make terrific gifts for kid b-day parties!

    Agabang Organic Kids PJ’s

  5. 25% off Lunch Bots: Perfect for packing healthy lunches for grown ups or kids.
  6. TONS of Earth Day Deals on Zulily! There are too many to list them all…a few are: Make Love, Not Trash, lots of organic apparel for babys, kids and moms, including maternity. Also, eco-friendly shoes, eco-friendly bath sale, AMAZING outdoor sale with greenhouses, rain barrels, compost bins and lots more…the greenhouses are absolutely drool-worthy…one of my “wish-list” items!
  7. Eco-Chic Nursery: If you’re shopping for nursery stuff, this is the sale for you! Possibly the CUTEST nursery furniture ever…I especially love the toy boxes, but there are cribs, Nook mattresses, changing tables and more. Completely adorable!
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  8. 4 Great Sales on PlumDistrict: $30 for $60 Clean Couture Eco-Friendly Home & Body Care, Melissa & Doug toys, $20 for $40 for Babo botanicals skincare for

    Lunch bots stainless steel food containers

    kids, and Conscious boxes. We use Babo botanicals and love them!  Plus you can buy 2 vouchers for Babo and you get an additional 20% off the second deal so the second voucher ends up being $16 for $40…AWESOME DEAL for a great product!

  9. Non-toxic kids toys at Little Rue, including MiYim, books and adorable wooden puzzles.
  10. Great eco-kitchen deals…yoga sale, reuseable lunch items, earth pans and refurbished kitchen appliances. We got a refurb coffee grinder here over a year ago for a great deal and it was like new…no problems. This is my go-to for high-end refurb appliances. I love buying refurbished b/c it keeps an appliance out of the landfill and is cheaper than buying a brand new one. Plus whatever was going to go wrong on the product already has and the problem has been fixed.

Is There MUCK in Your Kid’s Cup?

I want to know that when I give my kids water, they are drinking water…not water laced with toxic chemicals. I can honestly say I’d never thought a thing about what kind of cup I drank out of until I had kids. When my first child was born, the very first bit of hype was coming out about BPA and most parents didn’t know a thing about “Bisphenol A” and didn’t care. Luckily for me a friend strongly recommended a brand of bottles that were BPA free and thus started my quest to learn more and find muck-free cups, sippys and bottles for my little one.

So what is Bispenol A? It’s an industrial chemical found in certain plastics, including plastics that store food and drink, toys, the linings of canned food, and even some of our cash register receipts among many other things. So BPA is very hard to avoid.

Beyond that, research has shown that BPA can seep into our bodies from touching products that contain it as well as into our food and drink. It’s a known endocrine disruptor, is linked to reproductive disorders and is thought to be especially harmful for children. One possible side effect is early puberty in children. For some further info on the harmful effects of BPA, here’s an eye opening article from Medical News Today, where I got the following quote.

A CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) study found 95% of adult human urine samples and 93% of samples in children had bisphenol A.

Scary, right? I personally don’t want my kids drinking out of beverage containers or playing with toys that contain BPA. Thankfully, many states have take proactive action on BPA and have banned them from children’s products and some states are taking steps to ban them from products that contain consumer goods. Stores like Babies R Us refuse to carry bottles and sippy cups that contain Bisphenol A. Good for you, Babies R Us! It’s a start and a better place than we were in a few years ago.

However, as a mom, I’m still mad! Even when I go into a major retailer, that has effectively stopped carrying stuff with BPA, what about other known harmful chemicals and carcinogens in plastic? What about Pthalates? Lead? PVC? What about all those other chemicals I don’t even know to look out for?
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Why in the world does a parent have to HUNT and HUNT for a product that’s not going to hurt our kids? And what about the parents who don’t know to ask the questions? Who haven’t been informed or who trust that if it’s on the shelf it must be ok? What about the many families in our nation who can’t afford a $20 muck free sippy cup and are stuck purchasing the cheapest plastic out there?!?!
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I don’t want to live my life scared of the next chemical on the block, but I do want to be proactive in doing what I can to protect my kiddos. There are some “better” plastics out there that you can buy as well as some great stainless steel and glass products. Here’s a list of safer alternatives to most of the plastic cups you’ll find on the shelfs.
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I currently use SafeSippys, Klean Kanteen and Lifefactory and would recommend them all. I have 5 Safe Sippys that I’ve used through 2 kids. They are dented and well loved, but still going strong after years of being tossed around!
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There are also numerous “better” plastic options out there, such as ThinkBaby, Born Free that MOMObaby that are made from better plastics and do not have PVC, BPA or phthalates. These may be great options for some parents who prefer plastics and at one point I used some of these brands, but now I prefer stainless or glass containers.
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Stainless sippys or bottles are a terrific gift option for families with babies and toddlers, especially since these stainless bottles and sippys are often hard to find in stores. They are cuter options and are more durable.Thankfully, prices are dropping and these options are becoming more affordable. I actually saw the Safe Sippy recently on Zulily for around $10. I should have stocked up on these for gifts and I’m hoping they go back on sale again soon.
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I still hurt for all the children whose families can’t afford a higher end sippy or bottle. I wish there were a “Tom’s” of sippys…a reputable organization who donated a bottle for each one purchased or a way to recycle stainless cups to families in need…if you know of anything like that, please leave a comment and let us all know how we can help others. Every little bit helps!
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