Giving Baby Boy More "Air Time"

Good idea with the mattress pad on the floor. Just make it tummy time instead of on his back so it stays in once place and is easier to clean up.

If he just gets 10 or 15 minutes of 'air time' a few times a day, that will really help.

1) Instead of commercial wipes, use a soft washcloth and plain warm water for diaper changes. If you have a really nasty one, use a wipe to toss it, and follow that with the soft washcloth and warm water.

2) After diaper changes, instead of using creams, use a cotton ball to apply Maalox to his bottom. It is an antacid, and will protect his bottom from the acids in his feces the next time he goes. Rather than just being a barrier, it actually neutralizes the damaging acids.

3) If your back can stand it, set him in a warm tub (or the sink maybe?) with baking soda in the water. Just be sure you keep his upper body warm enough... I usually used a couple of extra wash clothes and soaked them with warm water and laid them across the tummy or chest/shoulders to keep them warm while sitting in the bath water.

When my son went through this right after he was born, my mom told me to take a hair drier (On the "cool" setting) and to blow it on his butt after diaper changes to get rid of all the moisture from the wipes. I felt stupid doing it and my son hated it, but it worked.

Also, some creams don't work for some babies (Just like some diapers don't work for some babies). Desitin didn't work for my son. Neither did the extremely expensive cream that my MIL ordered from Germany that she swore by when her kids were little. The only thing that works for him is the 'Boudreaux Butt Paste". Seriously, if his butt is a little red at night we put on the cream and then in the morning all signs of a rash are gone. It's a miracle worker :)

So experiment with different creams to find what works best for your kiddo

Towel and thick blanket on the floor, diaperless tummy time--if he pees it stays where it needs to be, not sprayed on his legs, tummy and face.

My 2 yr old gets a rash within 2nds of a wet diaper. My others were so so. For him, so that I would not become a target, I put a cloth diaper or baby receiving blanket over his front. Then I would blow on him a bit or use the dry diaper as a fan. He hated the hair dryer but thought me blowing on him was funny. Also, for all of my kids Desitin seemed to burn them. For my 2 yr old, Butt Paste worked the best. Putting him on tummy time with a soft towel underneath sounds like a great idea.

A couple things I did at this age:
when you wipe him clean, use either a damp washcloth or rinse the wipes out in warm water to remove all the soap in them. That can help.

While he's bare-bottomed, if you can, use a hairdryer on cool (keep your hand on his leg,close so you can feel it too) to dry his bottom/front. Granted, this only keeps him dry for a short while because they seem to pee constantly.

You can also layer a few blankets on the wood or tile floor and lay him down there with no bottoms. I did this with my son as well. Throw the blankets in the wash when they get wet. If you put him on a yoga mat underneath a baby blanket, that will also be enough padding, and yoga mats generally wipe dry. Good luck!

The most important thing to do to clear up the rash is to keep his bottom dry. I used to use a hair dryer on my daughter's bottom at the first sign of a rash and it typically cleared up right away.

The most important thing is to keep his butt clean. Lots of baths, clean diaper at all times, etc.

We always use a warm cloth (with his soap, if necessary). He never had a diaper rash. Whenever I wanted to give him "air time", I did it at nap/bed time where I could wrap him up in a towel.