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!

I used to sell and advise on cloth nappies 20 years ago. Muslins are fine for tiny babies but they don't absorb much. Terry squares work much better and absorb a lot more. If it's really warm where you are, you could get away without using a wrap, but in the UK, I always advised using them. However, you don't always need to wash a wrap after every nappy change. So first you use Terry or muslin 1 with wrap A, then when you change, use inner 2 with wrap B and put wrap A to air. Change 3 is inner 3 with wrap A again and so on.

Polyester fleece is brilliant for keeping babies feeling dry. Put an oval of fleece next to their skin, then the absorbent part (muslin or Terry towel) then a waterproof wrap over the top. When DD2 was tiny this worked really well. Once baby gets bigger and wees are bigger, you can experiment with bamboo or hemp inserts as they are more absorbent. Microfibre cloths work well too, but don't put them next to the skin.

Finally, don't use fabric conditioner when you wash them as it coats the fibres of the cloth, making them less absorbent. Put a tablespoonful of white vinegar in the drawer where you would normally put fabric conditioner.

Feel free to message if you have more questions and congratulations on your new baby!

You have had some great advice here already, but I’ll add my 10p. we clothed from day 2 pretty well exclusively until about 20 months inc. when at nursery. I would do it again. Wasn’t hard to do when we were out (get a wet bag) but due to the pandemic opportunities to Go out were limited so my patience maybe wasn’t sufficiently tested.

You’re absolutely right to have figured out that babe is crying because he is cold! Muslins are excellent for cloth wipes but they aren’t massively absorbing for a nappy (per PP). I don’t really understand why you weren’t using waterproof covers (wrap) with these muslins and I wonder how you got them to stay on.

From new born until about 4 months we used the set provided to me by my local cloth nappy library service. Loads of variety in there. Do you have such a service near you? Perhaps you can find it through other “crunchy” circles (LLL, sling libraries, hypnobirth trainers, doulas etc) - try looking for this kind of thing on FB

what’s great about libraries is you can find out what actually works for you and you and your baby.

I had actually already invested in my “birth to potty” set of nappies (motherease wizard duo for day, boosted motherease Sandy’s for night) - really loved these and would use again with a second baby. Day time nappies were easy for others to get their head around as v similar to use vs disposable.

There are also lots of FB group where people sell off their “stash” once they are done with baby stage, and it can be a very good way to get the nappies you’re looking for.

Also worth looking at Clean Cloth Nappies FB group.
excellent washing advice which you do actually need as many people don’t know how to wash heavily soiled items in their machines effectively.

Once you’re into the swing of things it’s not hard to do (if you have a good washing machine).

I think maybe muslin is the wrong translation. I'm using absorbent hydrophile cotton cloths which were traditionally used for baby nappies & towels here. They're smooth though, unlike terry cloth. You fold and pin them just like terry squares so they stay on fine so long as you did the pin right. They will definitely need padding out as he does bigger pees though!

I think I know the sort of cloth you mean and we loved using something similar,as well as terries, on my last son

The other bit of advice I'd add to what you've been given is to think about the fold you are using. There are some which concentrate the fabric at the front so better for boys - from memory maybe the Jo fold and Kite fold? Also you can tuck a bit of extra cloth into the fold for boosting as he gets bigger.

Good luck finding what works for you, and enjoy all those tiny baby skin to skin cuddles 😍

Just in case any one cares, we've worked out what the problem is. Before he pees, he lifts his penis up. That's just about OK in a dry disposable one size too big, but a wet one is too heavy and weighs him down. In reusables, it relies on getting the fit exactly right, and wet is unacceptable We've ended up doing effectively ellimination communication where he pees in a nappy once, then second time he grumbles until we take it off him but hold it close for him to pee into. Only works at home and when I'm paying full attention! Hopefully it will make him really easy to potty train...