When brand names matter...

Brand names are a joke. Most of the time, it's the exact same product produced at the exact same place with a different label slapped on. And the brand name ones are way more expensive. All that extra money is paying for advertising and a pretty label. 

At least that's what I thought until I had babies.

JB got a diaper rash the first time we used any diapers but Pampers (the most expensive kind on the shelf). I tried multiple brands, multiple times. Same result. 

One time, I decided to save money and get the Aldi brand wipes instead of pampers. I took them on a weekend trip and didn't have any backups. After two days of nothing but Aldi wipes, his butt looked like it had leprosy. Red, bumpy, pussy, and painful. 

Now he's two and a half and his skin is MUCH less sensative. I use Luvs diapers (one of the cheapest on the shelf) and Meijer wipes with no problems. But he still gets red itchy skin if I use the wrong kind of soap and don't rinse it all the way off. 

AJ can tolerate just about any kind of diapers, but boy is she picky about wipes. I use Pampers for her. On a weekend trip with friends I had Eric pick up some wet wipes for her and made sure to remind him to get Pampers because she is sensitive. He thoughtfully bought the "Pampers Sensitive" wipes instead of the regular "Pampers Baby Fresh" wipes. By the end of the weekend, she was so red and raw I didn't know what to do! When we got home, we switched back to her regular ones and used some Desitin.  The rash cleared up in a day or two. 

I use Desitin, a zinc-oxide cream, to help get rid of her rashes. I switched to the Meijer brand zinc oxide cream ("compare to Desitin" on the label) last week. She has had a rash ever since. If I used any zinc-oxide cream on JB, he would break out. I could only use A&D for him. 

The heavily guarded secret incredient in those brand name products is certainly worth it's weight in profits for those companies.

My answer for most of these problems is air and water. If I don't have the right name brand on hand, I wash them with no soap and let them run around naked for a while. I have to keep them off the carpet and couches, but they are happy. It's a lot cheaper too.  

Sometimes I think that parenting is a riddle with an answer that is always changing. Once you figure it out, you're wrong again.