Stork & Sun Baby Wipes — 6 Pack (360ct)

It started at 3 a.m., with a phone screen. Stefanie turned her phone around to show me what she had been reading about the wipes we were using. We finished the change and sat there in the dark, quietly aware we did not know what we had been putting on our baby twelve times a day.

Ryer was two when Palmer came home. Both of them squirmed like crocodiles on the changing table, and we got poo on our hands more times than we can count. Palmer’s skin came out red and irritated after changes. Then there was the blowout right before family pictures, everyone in dress shirts and dresses. And before Palmer, when it was just Ryer, a blowout on a plane to Florida. You can only imagine our terror.

So we made the wipe we wished we had: thick enough for the caked-on, baked-on ones, big enough that one usually does the job, a pop top that opens with one hand, and seven ingredients we could explain at the kitchen table. Palmer’s skin stopped coming out red after we switched. That is the whole company.

Chase & Stefanie, Sylvania, Ohio

Why there are preservatives. Four of these seven ingredients are preservatives. Without them, a pack that is 99.6% water would grow mold and mildew — and that is the last thing you want on your baby’s skin, or on the surfaces you clean. Together those four come to less than two tenths of one percent of the wipe. Here is every ingredient, in order of how much is in the pack.

EDI Water (Ultra-Purified Water) — 99.6–99.8%

Highly purified water. It is almost the entire wipe.

Propylene Glycol — 0.14–0.20%

A common moisturizing ingredient that helps skin hold onto hydration.

Methylparaben — 0.05–0.08%

A preservative. It keeps the wipes from spoiling.

Benzalkonium Chloride — 0.03–0.05%

A preservative that keeps the formula stable and protected from contamination.

Phenoxyethanol — 0.02–0.04%

A preservative that works alongside the others to keep the formula from spoiling.

Ethylhexylglycerin — 0.02–0.04%

A skin-conditioning ingredient that also helps the preservatives do their job.

Cocos Nucifera (Coconut) Oil — 0.001–0.003%

A skin-softening emollient that helps leave skin feeling comfortable.

That is the complete formula. Seven ingredients, nothing held back. Four of them are preservatives, and together they come to less than two tenths of one percent. A pack that is almost entirely water and lives in a warm diaper bag will grow mold and mildew without them — on the wipe, and then on your baby’s skin and on every surface you clean with it. We would rather show you the exact number than hide the word.

Designed from day one for one free hand, and for both skin and surfaces.

ONE HAND: THE POP TOP
The other hand is usually holding two kicking ankles, so the pop top opens with the hand you have free. Pull once and one wipe comes out, ready to work, instead of a clump you have to peel apart.

ONE WIPE: THE CHANGE
Big, thick and soft: 8x7 inches, 25% larger than the big box brands, with only 7 ingredients. Most changes take one wipe instead of a handful of thin ones. Fewer swipes means less rubbing on tender skin, and a touch of coconut oil keeps it soft.

TWO JOBS: EVERYTHING AFTER
The same wipe is strong enough for the highchair tray, the car seat, the stroller tray, the changing mat and sticky hands. It wipes up food, grease and grime and leaves a clean surface for little hands. One pack in the diaper bag instead of two.

GOOD TO KNOW
It is a cleaning wipe, not a disinfectant. It cleans up messes; it does not claim to kill anything.