Washable Nappies Part 3

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I was going to title this thread Bum Chums - thanks Jasper!!! but i thought it would be too confusing and although we might ensnare people onto the thread... who wondered over completely unknowing that the thread was actually all about naps... we might lose the people who actually do want to know about lovely Kissies, fuzzis, tots, ellas and what's the difference between a rikki and a rikka???!!

so at the behest of Girly... I present the new thread!!!!! .... please please don't let it fizzle out now!!!

and to talk nappies... mine are drying on the line outside and if it rains there will be hell to pay!!!! (dh a meteorologist and claimed it might rain so don't chance it with the naps... me? i ussually ignore what he says and i generally do the opposite... thus they are flapping about in the breeze as i type!!! )

Ninja - still waiting for my stuffables (and baby to go in them) although my first bear behind arrived the other day and it is so cute I nearly cried.

From what I've read about stuffables and all sorts of wraps actually is that not all are suitable for all babies - if your baby has quite thin legs then it may be that nature baby stuffables are worth a go - but anyway a lot of them are quite big and so will proably improve as she grows bigger. Or maybe its to do with the way you are stuffing them. Not sure as I've not been there yet but hope you get it sussed.

I'm also awaiting a minki. Just can't beleive how gorgeous these nappies are. And as for little chicks - I can't wait but want to see if its a boy or girl first. Oh never had so much fun with pampers etc....

thought I'd post a whinge - sorry everyone.
i took my lovely ds with his cute white fluffy bum (too hot for wraps now) out to the beach this weekend. Usually we get surprised but nice comments like 'cool nappy' but this time I got a really dirty look and snide comment along the lines of 'what on earth are you making your poor child suffer like that for'? from some nasty old bag. Grrrr.
I bit my tongue - I wanted to make some equally snide comment about chemicals and the environment - but thought I would be grown up. Now I wish I hadn't bothered.
Anyone else had this?? IS it best to just ignore or be self -righteous?

morrocco, 2 words - stuff her!

It's up to you how you bring up your ds - as long as he's happy whats the problem? She was probably just jealous coz she has to wear big incontinence pants!!!

(sorry was that a bit harsh on her?)

just how I feel!
oh why do I let them wind me up?

thanks for the encouragement - it's nice to have reassuremet that it's the right thing.

katherine - little chicks are so beautiful but a warning they seem to be quite small. the small would make a beautiful newborn nappy (unless my dd is really big)

feeling happier today as i'm using my nappysaurus for the first time and it's so beautiful and not too bulky. i'll keep persevering with the different stuffables - seem to habve got the bear behind sussed and am working on the fuzzis - they just seem to be so handy for going out (and showing off). i have to sort out naps for dp to use at night - he hasn't got the hang of nippas and she had a very low slung tots bot this morning! a real builders bottom

ooh it's good to talk nappies

Quick question for clothies. I always take my tots if i'm away for more than a couple of days. But this weekend we were away for just 2 days and one night so i took the moltex instead.
Now ds is a bit more active, i noticed the moltex coming low around his waist, gaping at the back and exposing a rather lovely builder's bum. We also had a very close call with some poo which almost got squeezed all the way up his back (thanks to the builder's bum we saw it coming - not pleasant).
Should i ditch my principles and switch to and evil chemi-disposable or do you have any other ideas for short breaks without the option of washing? We're going away to a wedding in 2 weeks so any advice would be fab - cheers!

What about the weenees. I'm tempted to try these for camping trips. Tehy do their own wraps but you can also use other stuffable nappy wraps apparently. The weenees are disposable pads. You are meant to be able to flush them down the loo but have to wait till they turn to wallpaper paste or something so I'd be tempted to get biodegradable nappy sacks instead as the pads decompose in about 150 days. In fact if they are not pooey you can put them on the compost heap. Haven't used them myself yet but plan too as they seem most eco-friendly alternative to cloth.

You can get them from lollipop. Think the site is
www.teamlollipop.co.uk

Ninja - the other cloth nappy forum I look at report lots of problems with fuzzis leaking round the legs of thinner babes. But also lots of mums raving about them. I'm anticipating leaks at first but hope they will improve with fat!

weenees seem to be on special offer at the moment - will have to be restrained and only buy necessary nappies - thanks Katherine!

morocco, I would have gone for the childish approach personally, she would have got it from A-Z and would have been in no doubt by the time I was finished that at least I was convinced about cloth!

Oh and I'm quite pleased with myself as DS2 is now wearing a terry square, I'm not convinced it is going to be very absorbent though, think I need to buy some better quality ones.

Dememnted - have you seen the coloured ones you can get now?

Hi Katherine, yes those look fab I just shouldn't be spending any more money just now. I think I will wait and see how we get on with the Minkis then buy some better terry squares and some Bear Behinds, then I can sell the thinner terries I have and maybe a couple of Tots to justify the extra expense!

I've just got a bear behinds and it is soooooo cute. Made me wnat to weep. So tiny too. You forget how small new babies are.

Way to convince yourself with the terries is to get the new coloured ones to use as nappies and then use your old terries for other things just as burp cloths, under the head to save the sheets, general mop ups etc etc - or cut them up to make washable wipes.

Terrible though isn't it. Cloth is meant to save you money but they are just so addictive. These WAHMs have a lot to answer for

Katherine know what you mean!.... i seem to spend my time buying naps, see what they look like, try them on dd and then getting all dissapointed becuase they don't fit right etc... and some of them are so lovely... i hang on to them, only to always revert back to my lovely old fuzzis and never really using them... and finally they get returned (if unused and unwashed of course...) or end up on the buy and sell board!... think dh is getting a tad fed up with it really! sigh!

Oh how i wish the people who make fuzzis would make some fuzzis where the pul is lovely and patterned... what a terrific nap that would be! (even though i love the colours they come in already... it's nice to have a few daisies, gingham, cow print, sun and moon, pattern!!! wouldn't it???)

Sorry to ask an obvious question but I've flicked through this thread and couldn't see the answer - what are wraps etc? I mean, what are all the components of a non disposable nappy? I've been trying to visualise them from the stuff here and I just can't (blame the useless lump that is my pregnant brain atm). For example, Demented's post "she asked if she could stuff a minki with her MEOS and I said I didn't think so. Now you've got me wondering if she could and if I could stuff one with a Tots" just had me baffled! If the explanation is here somewhere just point me in the right direction, I do realise it's probably a hassle to explain. Also, as one who hates washing with a passion, is there any way round this with washables? Is it possible to buy more 'things' so it doesn't have to be done so often? TIA! I doubt anyone delivers and collects down here in Devon, although I could be wrong.

Hi

i'm an expectant Mum and currently wading through all the stuff about what sort of cloth nappy to use - we think this is what we are going to do anyway - has anyone used a nappy laundering service & do you think they are a good idea? plan is to start with nappy laundering and then see how it goes to possibly progress to doing the laundry ourselves (dh is so into the idea he has said he will do all the nappy washing!!)
just reading through this thread you've mentioned about 5/6 different wraps and the different inners - is there an idiots guide to cloth nappies that anyone can recommend?
cheers

WWW the wrap is the outer waterproof but usually breathable part that holds all other bits in place. A bit like a modern version of plastic pants, but with poppers or velcro to open and close it. Then you have liners, which can go inside the nappy if you want, fleece ones draw the wetness away from the bottom and into the nappy. Of course there is the nappy itself, which comes in loads of different shapes and sizes, some tie up, some have poppers, some have velcro, terries that use a safer version of the safety pin. There are also booster pads which can be used at night to hold more urine for longer periods of time. With regards to washing, I have a dozen and do them every other day usually. You can buy wraps made from wool, which rarely need washing as they have been coated in something miraculous, which means it only really needs airing and washing about every 20 times I think, and also fleece ones. Best go to a good website and have a look at everything.

Alip (and www) I would recommend going to The Nappy Lady and having a look. If you do their questionnaire it is pretty detailed and they will get back to you with what they would consider the right nappies. They may also know about laundry service.

Hth.

I'm not ignoring you www and alip - just have a minute to write and Bee there are Fuzzis with a nice outside. I bought som on the forum brought over from US, only problem is they're seconds as the PUL is inside out! but it does have 'bugs and bees' on it.

What size does your dd take, htese are medium if they're the right size do you want to swap one for something?

www - wraps are like waterproof pants but they're breathble - you can also have fleece ones which miraculously seem to work.

WWW and AliP I found the best site for info to be here - The Nappy Lady, I personally wouldn't bother trying to wade your way through all the information in the site just find the form to fill in and a nappy advisor will recommend nappies that would suit your lifestyle and tell you how many you would need. I really don't find the washing a hassle at all and wouldn't switch back to disps now. Some other useful sites are here similar to The Nappy Lady, also here for the gorgeous Minki nappies and an explanation. Elinor's Nappy Pages are also worth a look but I don't know the address, maybe someone else could help there (I thought Elinor's mummy was quite barking when I first looked at this but now I understand).

HTH!

I am soooo slow at these links lou33 got there before me! I just wanted to add one more (don't seem to be able to post more than three at once). Bear Behinds similar to Minkis.

Happy shopping!

Just an update. DS2's terry nappy this afternoon was a great success. I used Maria's fold for boys from the Nappy Lady site and to my surprise DS2 woke up from his nap with no leaks and a well contained poo!

DH's comment was "you don't expect me to put those on him do you?"

Demented you may have been slower than me but at least you have worked out how to do more than one link in a post! Still scratching my head over that!

Thanks so much for all the references and explanations Lou and everyone else who replied - I look forward to wading through these sites. Lou33, to put more than one link in a post, make sure you use a comma somewhere after each link.

Aha! Thanks .

WWW, the limiting factor in how often I do a nappy wash is the size of the nappy bin - I can jam about three days' worth, sometimes four, into my bin.

Though I too hate washing, oddly I don't seem to mind doing the nappies so much. I've been trying to work out why, and I think it's partly because I don't have to think about it, iyswim - when the nappy bucket is full, it's time to do a wash. I don't have to carry armfuls of dirty washing to the machine like I do with the clothes because the nappies go down to the machine in the bin, and I don't have to do any 'sorting' (or keep on the lookout for that odd dark sock in the light wash). Transferring the nappies into the machine is a bit yucky, but very quick. I also hate hanging washing out, so I just stick the nappies in the tumble drier. And there's something aesthetically pleasing about a pile of freshly laundered nappies - that and the smug glow makes it worthwhile, I guess!

I also really hate emptying a bin full of disposables.