Silly but...how Do You Wipe You Babies Face After He/she Eats?

Updated on March 20, 2011
M.C. asks from Saint Paul, MN
26 answers

This is a very silly question probably for a mom of three to be asking but how do you typically wipe you childs face, especially the under a year age children, after they eat. I always feel like I am attacking her (or at least my youngest makes it look like that) and I remember this happening with my older ones. Gentle or not it seems to be a challenge for the wee one. Also with three kids I usually end up just using a baby wipe cause it is easier to grab and throw. I know not so "green" but with my hectic days!!

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T.N.

answers from Albany on

How did I wipe my babies faces?

1st kid: With a bowl of warm water and a clean wash cloth
2nd kid: With a box of wipees
3rd kid: With the sleeve of my shirt

:)

9 moms found this helpful
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R.K.

answers from New York on

With whatever is closest. A bib, washcloth, kitchen towel, paper towel, sleeve, wipe... you get the idea. He hates it but tough.

3 moms found this helpful
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S.H.

answers from St. Louis on

with my daycare, I always snicker inside when parents state that they "can't" wipe their kids' faces/noses/etc! Not only am I allowed to do this, but the other children too! It's simply not an issue in my home....

My method: I singsong "one cheekie, two cheekies. A nose, a chin, a mouth! & now you're kissable again". & yep....they get a kiss on the forehead! If the older girls are in charge of cleanup, then they follow thru with the song & the kiss. It's adorable! Oh, & I use whatevers on hand - & usually it's not a warmed washcloth!

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M.F.

answers from Phoenix on

I bought a set of washcloths that are kept in the kitchen just to be used for washing hands and face after eating. We use a fresh one each morning and rinse it out really well after each meal then hang it to dry for later in the day. End of the day it goes in the laundry basket.
As for wiping gently, no matter what you do, most kids find face washing the most heinous torture ever existed, well that and wiping boogies. I joke all the time as my daughter or one of the daycare kids are screaming during a face wipe, that if only CPS knew how horrible I am that I actually wipe their faces....

2 moms found this helpful

M.B.

answers from St. Louis on

We get sensitive baby wipes, I use those. I giggled when you mentioned attacking their face, because I totally do! My son actually flinches when I come at him with a wipe. This mommy cannot stand when my beautiful faces are dirty!!

2 moms found this helpful

M.W.

answers from Nashville on

I always use a warm wet paper towel. I make it a game to wash her face... I make a silly voice and face and tell her 'Leeeeft CHEEK! Riiiiight CHEEK! CHIN! Chinny chinny chinny chin! Look at that nose! Look at that dirty little nose! Now let's get those teethers!' lol. I usually use 2 towels, so I don't have to 'scrub' so hard to get her clean. She has no problem with me cleaning her face, I can even use the nasal aspirater on her without a problem. She usually giggles through the face washing process. :)

2 moms found this helpful

E.S.

answers from Dayton on

I keep a basket of gruby old baby washclothes in my kitchen towel drawer.
Wet 'em w/ warm water and ATTACK!
Yes, that is a good way to put it. ;)
Even my 5.5 yo uses the washclothes to clean her face. :) So handy!

1 mom found this helpful
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A.C.

answers from Columbus on

I bought 24 pack of cheap washclothes, and put a small basket on the counter out of the way. I wipe w/ water, usually using the same cloth for one day, rinse & ring out; hang it over night over the kitchen sink faucet to dry & throw it in the little basket. Then, when I have a load of towels or socks, I just throw the rags into the wash with them.

When my kiddo got old enough, I'd play peek a boo or "I'm gonna getcha" and get him laughing.... but he hated it for a long time.

1 mom found this helpful

E.B.

answers from Seattle on

we keep a tub of the thicker baby wipes and we are stealth mode parents. we come in silent and just attack. they are gonna fit regardless of how you do it..i dont coger(if thats a word) them, They need to get their faces clean. They wont do it civilized..we go in. we are not h*** o* them we do it in sill manner, i guess i should add that so people dont think we are military hard. its just how we get the job done. I only have two now that have issues with this. runny nose season stinks!! cause they are gross.TMI sorry:)

just remember...sneaker attack..stealth mode...you will be laughing so hard as you do it they will be giggling so it wont be a horrible thing. Its making me laugh just thinking it. you can even say it out loud the first time and act like an airplane and zoom in. They wont know whats coming. making everything fun makes the hard things a little easier:)

- In some cases i will just let it go to. i am that sort of mom. if were home and my toddler hasa little peanut butter by his mouth...who is going to see it to care...My four year old loves to draw tattoos all over (my hubby and I are covered in them and pierced) he can go for weeks sometimes, thats usually if he used a perm maker..Kids are kids..He once found red perm maker and colored both his hands and forearms on a erranfd trip day. he was red for about a month. a little dirt never hurt:)

-Libby

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J.G.

answers from Washington DC on

Wet papertowel, washcloth, or sensitive skin wipe.

D.G.

answers from Lincoln on

I do the same as Emily. Have my older daughters old baby washcloths (and a couple new ones thrown in!) and then attack! Working at a daycare it seems like some parents never wash their kids' faces! Both by the dried on stuff they come in with and how they act when they see the washcloth! But I like a clean face! Oh and yes I use wet wipes on her face too - when we are out or in the morning if she has dried snot or if I need to do laundry. Afterall the are called babywipes not buttwipes! (at least the target brand that I use!)

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D.B.

answers from Charlotte on

.

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D.P.

answers from Pittsburgh on

I always kept a wet washcloth nearby. Preferably warm!

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S.K.

answers from Minneapolis on

I use a burp cloth / paper towel wet in warm water to clean my son's face and hands.
(Try Viva paper towels available at walmart,target.. - they are almost like cloth)

Most of the time I pick him up and bring him to the kitchen sink and wash in just running water with my hands. He likes it. And then dry him with a burp cloth or viva paper towel.

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B.R.

answers from Des Moines on

We bought a couple of ten packs of white bibs and a couple dozen white washcloths. We wipe faces with damp washcloths, and then throw the whole mess of them in with a bit of bleach to wash. They stay remarkably white, even though we seldom do more than rinse tough stains (tomato-based stuff). Btw - babies 'r us has 10 packs of bibs for $10, which is a better deal than the plastic-y bibs. I know I'll find uses for the washcloths for cleaning, etc., when we're done using them this way:)

We also try to make it a game, but my kids have gone through stages where they didn't like it. Peek a boo, I'm going to get you, tickle monster -- whatever floats their boat that day:)

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L.P.

answers from Pittsfield on

Depends on how bad it is. If it's not too bad, I do the baby wipe too. If it's pretty bad I break out the baby washcloth that I wet with warm water. If it's caked on, I add a little Johnson's Baby Wash to the washcloth too. I used to keep a bunch of washcloths in a kitchen drawer so I wouldn't have to run upstairs when I needed it. I've noticed my kids didn't seem to mind the washcloths as much as the baby wipes.

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S.Y.

answers from New York on

I've always used a moistened bounty. If it's really bad, I'll bring my son to the sink and wash his face there and then dry with a towel.

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J.R.

answers from Davenport on

We use a warm damp washcloth, we keep on hanging near the kitchen sink, that is just for faces. When they were really little we would hang it on the back of the high chair. Yes, my 2 year old still screams and fights me sometimes on getting wiped....you just have to do it. MAYBE as they get bigger, have them do it themselves first, and then say "now it ismommy's turn"!

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A.V.

answers from Washington DC on

I often use a damp paper towel, and if she fusses I'll do things like beep her nose or sing a silly song. We wash hands and faces after meals (and then I use the same towel for the table, chair, etc.) and she just got used to it, I guess.

For crusty noses, I use Boogie Wipes or a wet towel or a baby wipe. I find that if it's damp, it doesn't bother her so much.

A.A.

answers from Nashville on

with my daughter who is 2 1/2 i use a wet wash cloth. but when she was under one i would use a wet wash cloth or baby wipe and no she did not like me wiping her face so i would have to hold her face with one hand and wipe with the other:)

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C.P.

answers from Albuquerque on

My girl has never minded having her face washed! I guess she just knows that she needs to be cleaned. I always kept a wet papertowel or wipe on hand when feeding her and now I give her a paper towel "napkin" to clean herself as we're eating. When we're done, she goes to the bathroom and washes her own hands and face. (She's 2.) If your kid is fighting it, maybe show them a mirrror and say "look how dirty your face is! We should clean it so you look pretty/handsome again!" Just enough so they start to be aware of how they look. Of course, spaghetti sauce smeared on a baby's face makes for really cute pictures!

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L.D.

answers from Minneapolis on

Shortly after my child was born I actually STOPPED buying paper towels. What a waste! I bought a 10-pack of dishtowels and used them for wiping. (even on "the go.") Just throw them into the washer, which you're running every other day anyway.

Funny real story: Once I told my 2-year old niece to, "Please come here. I want to wipe your face off." She looked real confused and ran away. She thought I wanted to literally "wipe her face OFF."

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L.Z.

answers from Bismarck on

I used a warm, wet wash cloth most of the time. I would say "here it comes" or "I'm gonna get you" and make silly sounds as I quickly wiped his face. If you can be a little silly about it they often fight less or even find it fun. I liked the cloth because when he was getting teeth he would sometimes grab it in his mouth and I didn't want a wet wipe going in there.

J.G.

answers from San Antonio on

I use/d a baby washcloth, dampened. But, at one certain age, my son hated me wiping his face. My mom would get one of my dish towels and make a little 'sock puppet' out of it with her hands, making a kind of face. The face would kind of kiss my son's cheeks and mouth, therefore wiping his face in a fun way. My son would giggle and next thing you know his face was clean.

L.L.

answers from Rochester on

Most of the time, it's into the bathtub right after dinner. But for the other meals, I usually use a wet paper towel. It's soft and disposable, which I like. I don't feel guilty for not being "green" (but I've got my own feelings on that, and they differ slightly from this new "green" movement...but another subject altogether. I digress. I do recycle.).

MY daughter hates it, but she also hates a washcloth and if I use a wipe, she tries to eat it. What's that about? No idea, but I'd rather throw away a paper towel than have my child ingest whatever is in a wipe! :) (Even though they work better...if she didn't try to grab and eat them, I'd use them.)

C.M.

answers from St. Louis on

My son (19 months) gets his face and hands (and sometimes hair) washed after every meal. Most nights after dinner he yells "Bath!" and we put him in there because he's so messy. My 3.5 year old daughter only gets her face and hands washed after dinner if she got sticky or saucy. I did use a baby wipe in the beginning but my husband didn't like that (he said that it's not for a face, it's for a butt!) and I said if it's sensitive enough for his butt, why not his face? But then I just started using water/wash cloth or water/paper towel. I do use wet wipes sometime to wipe down toys, the counter, the floors, etc!

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