Reusable nappy merry-go-round

[Paaseitjes]

We wanted to use washable for environmental reasons, did all the research and bought second hand to minimise carbon. Yes, I over-thought everything!

I wasn't counting on the baby wetting every 15 to 45 minutes though! With disposables, he's OK for an hour or occasionally 2.5h before it gets damp and uncomfortable, but with the cloth he cries straight away. It's costing us a fortune in disposables and reusables are only doable if we've got absolutely nothing else to do and no one needs to sleep. Do I just have a very leaky baby, will it get better as he gets bigger, is there a reusable product closer to pampers, or should I give up? Help!

How old is baby and what reusables are you using?

It's not a generally a problem for them to sit in a damp cloth nappy for a bit, but also not usual for them to cry every time they wee, so if he's crying with each wee there may be something else going on?

It gets better as he gets bigger.

Are you using fleece liners and booster pads? Waterproof outers?

It’s a bit of a juggle while you work out what suits you all.

Another cloth nappy mum of an older child will be able to advise. Things like using a booster pad folded in half at the front for a boy, as that’s where the wet is.

Is the baby newborn? Little babies do lots of little wees. It sounds like the nappies might be too big if there are leaks.

Yeah lots of ways you can improve absorption and fleece liners would help with the dry feel. I also thought it might be that the nappies need a strip wash to improve absorption, but I've done three in cloth with some disposables and not known a baby to cry every time they wee so that made me wonder if it's something else as well.

Newborns need changing every two hours really no matter what nappies they are in, but with the right set up as they get older that will change.

How did we cope before disposable nappies?
Oh yes, we washed them....

What's the point of this comment?
She's trying to use reusable nappies, and asking for advice. Of course she knows about washing them, but she's asking for help with the frequency that she finds she needs to change. And also if you are changing a lot you can find the washing overwhelming, especially with newborn clothes to wash as well. or you run out of nappies before the clean ones dry etc

No need for snarky comments

I bought a big sheet of terry towelling (fabric, not an actual towel), cut it up, folded each smaller piece in half and sewed it together to make extra boosters. We layered up 4 or 5 of these per nappy to increase absorbency.

Also what brand of reusables are you using and did you buy them new or second hand? I found second hand ones hadn't always got the waterproofing intact on the outside anymore due to not being cared for properly, and what turned out to be the cheap brands from China tended to not be very waterproof to start with.

Hemp boosters and fleece liners are the way forward. Pockets and AIOs for us - Charlie Banana, Little Lamb pockets and TotsBots for us. Ah, such happy days 😍

How old is baby? We did cloth with both of ours but didn’t cloth exclusively until 4 months as it’s such hard work. A lot of ‘BTP’ nappies also aren’t suitable from birth, no matter what they claim, even on big newborns.

No matter the age of the child though, cloth does need changing more frequently than disposables. That’s unavoidable. They need a totally different mindset from disposables really.

OP can you use disposables for a bit while your baby is so tiny or at least use disposables some of the time, for example overnight. I think it’s great that you want to use washable nappies in the long run but the newborn period is really tough so please try not to make it even harder for yourself.

I'm using muslin flats to make the washing easy. Leaks aren't a problem so I wasn't using covers. With the covers this afternoon it's gone a bit better so maybe they keep the damp warm. Without he might have been getting a bit cold around the nethers. I've got some fleece to try too, once it's been washed. He's only 10 days old, so hopefully his bladder will get a bit bigger and easier too manage!

We did reusable nappies but didn't start until around 8 weeks. The amount of times a newborn baby goes I didn't want to be tackling that many nappies

Oh and get cheap supermarket disposable nappies, not pampers etc. they are cheap so shouldn't be costing you a fortune

We've been getting through disposables at a rate of knots too. My sanity can't cope with the cloth changing frequency overnight or when we're out!

Definitely use the covers, makes a massive difference. Also ensure they are nice and snug into the legs at the knickers line. And a fleece liner will give a dry feel against his skin. Then you should get a few hours from each nappy.

We didn’t use reusables (I somewhat regret that), but friends did, and I don’t believe any of them used them exclusively and certainly not immediately from birth.

Just think how many nappies you are saving from landfill using even a few reusables a day. Your baby will get bigger and you’ll get more settled in your routine. But also - give yourself a break, disposables are fine for out of the house, night times and days when you just haven’t got on top of the washing.

I might be missing something but surely you need a cover with a muslin flat? It’ll just get his clothes damp as it absorbs through otherwise. Definitely use a cover, as it’ll keep him warmer as well. But equally clothing a newborn is hard work, so don’t despair, it will get easier.

We're spending a lot of time doing skin to skin in bed and on the sofa, so it's only me getting a bit damp! Cluster feeding=cluster peeing

Fleece is fascinating. Fleece outers keep the wee in fairly well, except where there’s pressure like when you support his weight with your hand on his bottom, and fleece liners stop his skin feeling damp. It’s amazing stuff.

Congratulations on your little boy. I became a cloth nappy collector, as my eye got caught by awesome fabrics 🤣

I fostered so had lots of practice. My favourite turned out to be fleece pocket nappies- two layers of fleece with a gap in the seam that you could stuff with flannels, bamboo liners, or whatever came to hand according to the absorption needs. I used nappy nippas rather than Velcro as Velcro snags all your other washing.

Can't comment on reusables, but you don't need to use pampers when using disposable. The supermarket own brand nappies are about £2-3 for a pack of 40ish at that age and they are absolutely fine. I rate the tesco and aldi ones.

Oh bless, he’s still teeny. Muslin flats will be a bit pointless tbh, either go for something all in one or totsbots plus outer. We did cloth from early on but absolutely mixed and matched with disposables as and when - Aldi’s are cheap and amazing.

I used to love all the cloth nappies! A totsbots + outer cover was the only thing mine didn’t soak through during the night.

We're not in the UK. Pampers are about €10 for 25, own brand about half that. The cabinet had Unilever up in front of a committee demanding why everything is so expensive the other day! I couldn't bring myself to spend €500 on a full set of reusable, but job lots of muslins on vinted are very good value, especially when disposables are so much!

Ah ok. Wow that is very expensive!