BG Flip, Are they any good???

[FirstTimeMum2Be]

I've been researching reusable nappies for months now, baby isn't due 'til the beginning of January but I like to be prepared. From reading sites like the nappy lady I think I've made up my mind to try the Bumgenius Flip nappies as they look easy to use, they're a reasonable price and apparently the 2 part nappies leak less.

I plan to get a trial pack of these and the V4s before I buy a pack but I just wanted to get some opinions from the experts as to whether or not they're any good. So has anyone used them & are they as good as they seem?

I'm planning on using them with muslins from birth, do people think this is a good idea? Also will I need boosters & if so what type if I'm planning to use them at night as well?

Sorry for so many questions, bit of a nightmare for a newbie all this reusable stuff.

It's so hard to know what is best until you have your baby. I am a huge fan of pocket nappies rather than the 2 part system and when I first saw the flips I was very unsure of them. I actually sent them back! (This was back in July)
Fast forward a month and I realised that during our holidays DD2 had really bad nappy rash when we used disposables full time so I've now been adding to my stash so that I have plenty nappies (and enough to take some on holiday) I used to keep a disposable in the car for emergencies and a couple in my change bag. I now make sure I keep a flip in there instead. They are very slim so don't take up much space in your bag and are remarkably absorbant.
There is no way that a flip would be absorbant enough for my DD2 (or DD1) at night. The cover although it is birth to potty just wouldn't fit enough stuffing in them. They do appear to be heavy wetters though.
For night time I am using a Bamboozle by Tots Bots (the old style but I've just got 2 new ones - Bamboozle stretchies) to try out with a Motherease Rikki wrap over them.
Flip covers and muslins sound like a good thing to start with.
I would also get a mix of stay dry and organic cotton inserts. The stay dry are handy as they dry so quick and the organic cotton are more absorbant (but will be more bulky on a small baby) and of course take longer to dry.
I have a lot of the Bum genius v3 but haven't tried the v4s yet. They seem pretty similar but sized to fit bigger babies as well.
I'm not sure where in the country you are (assuming you are in the UK) but some councils either offer you a free trial pack or a money back scheme when you buy some real nappies so it is worth checking out.

I like them, they have been pretty leak-proof on my DS. That is with the organic inserts. They are a bit bulky, but he is a big boy and we also use MEOs which are even bulkier. I have a couple of the stay dry inserts too, which are OK for shorter periods. I also bought 3 packs of the disposable liners which are utterly useless and I've only just started the second pack after almost 8 months of using (can only use them when I KNOW he won't poo before I do the next change).

My DP likes them because for a 2 part system he finds them easy to use, he doesn't like the Bambinex we use for overnight because I chose the Nippa ones )

I also like the adjustability of them. I should think using them with muslins would be fine. You could also consider muslins, nippas and Motherease airflows in the early days. I'd recommend getting some bamboo boosters - you can fold these into the muslins if necessary.

Thanks for the replies.

Smacs I'm in Kent but I don't seem to be able to find any information on the council website. I've sent off an email to enquire so thanks for the tip.

I was thinking I'd try them out before buying a whole kit as can't afford any expensive mistakes. Thanks for the advice about the inserts, I naively assumed that stay dry meant they were more absorbent so will definitely be getting a mix. I was a bit puzzled by the disposable option tbh as it seemed a bit pointless.

I thought of a couple more questions as well if that's ok.

1. How many would I need if I'm using them full time?

I've seen a kit with 6 wraps & 16 inserts, is this enough? Should I look at getting 2?

1. Can you soak them in a nappy bucket before washing?

The official site says not to but I'd rather soak than have to pre wash & wash at 60. Or are they fine if I dry pail & wash at 40?

If you wash every other day 6 & 16 sound OK (assuming 5 to 6 changes a day). You might find you end up with a few other nappies over time (most people do ) which will give you more of a comfort zone - and there's always your muslin option (muslins dry quickly too).

Definately dry pail (the implications of a sloppy nappy bucket are too horrible to imagine). You can wash at 40 as a general rule. Then occasionally throw in a 60 wash or an extra rinse (might want to leave the wraps out of the hotter washes). Look up 'stripping wash' as part of your regular maintenance. Use a hotter wash if it is a particularly bad batch or if baby has had any bugs etc. Also use Napisan if you want to get rid of bugs. Don't forget to use about one third of usual detergent amount, and don't use fabric conditioner.

As a newborn the poo is so runny just bung it all in the machine (or use a flushable paper liner to get rid of the worst of the poo first). When weaning starts I would invest in fleece liners so the poo can be rolled off (or at least sluiced in the loo) before washing.

Don't forget washable wipes too. Just buy a load of cheap flannels (IKEA do a good 10 pack) and keep in a tub with your wipe mix of choice (e.g. chamomile tea & tea tree oil & baby wash - everyone has their own recipe). If you're washing nappies you may as well wash wipes, and flannels have so much more surface area and clean poo off better (and aren't full of nasty chemicals!)

Happy nappying!

Thank you so much. I feel a lot more confident now.

I had a google of 'stripping wash', it's amazing how many new phrases you learn when researching nappies!

The nappy set I've seen comes with washable wipes, a 15L bucket, a mesh bag, a dry bag & flushable liners. Its about £150 which I thought was reasonable. Then I thought I'd get a few more wipes, fleece liners & possibly a couple more wraps & inserts. Although if I do get the trial pack we'll have a V4 & extra wrap & inserts already.

I was amazed at how negative everyone's been when I've mentioned cloth nappies so its nice to finally be able to get some sensible advice.

I actually wouldn't recommend the flips from birth. When people talk about two-part nappy systems they are referring to a shaped nappy which wraps around the baby or a prefold which wraps around - the idea is that this first layer of nappy stops the poo from getting on the wrap and then if it does leak onto the wrap, then you have a second chance before it leaking onto the clothes/bedding etc. The wraps can be used from birth, but I would wrap the organic insert around the baby and fix with a nippa to make it contain the poo better. Otherwise I think you will find the poo on the wrap at every nappy change. That said the wraps will wash and dry quickly, it's just if you have enough?

I second dry pailing. Tots Bots bamboozles are great for night or use bamboo boosters if not. And washable wipes are easy peasy when washing nappies anyway.

I don't thnk you would need fleece liners with the Flip stay dry insert as the top layer is fleece anyway.

Good luck!

I LOVE MY FLIPS.
I am a loyal, loyal fan!

I use the stay dry inserts during the day and one organic, one stay dry overnight. Never had a leak- they fit my tiny 6lb baby from 3 weeks- love them so much. They were a bit bulky back then but much less so than my other BTP nappies. I don't boost, and I have a heavy wetter.

Think it's Baba Me that has the new colours- grasshopper is my fave!

I have 20 stay dry, 6 organic, 8 wraps which is way more than enough and I wash every 3rd day.

I'm so glad I have found this thread. I'm 24+5 and last week I bought 4 day packs of stay-dryflips (in the 4 pale colours as I don't know LO's sex) and 2 extra organic inserts to try. (The lady also threw in a newborn size all in one for me to try) as there was an offer on at the baby show. I knew I wanted to give a good go at using washables (used disposables with my DD1 who is now 11 and a half and I hated them) just didn't know which kind, so after viewing a few brands at the baby show I thought these looked pretty simple to use.
So I'm glad some of you like them
I can't believe how negative people have been about this decision. My DH and I had spoken about it and he is all for it :) he even tried one of the flips on a teddy when I got home with them (cute huh)

My mum (even though I'd told her about planning to use washables) has bought me 172 disposable newborn size nappies and to tell the truth a little but maybe they will help in those first few days. Funny thing is DD1 was 8lb1 born and my mum keeps telling me I am having a 'HUGE' baby (even though MW says I am measuring exactly as expected for my gestation) if she thinks it will be huge - why has she bough so many of the new baby size?

A friend confessed to me that another in our group has been going on and on about buying me disposables saying 'oh I know she wants to save money but if we buy her some she will be so thankful' er no..there is a whole lot of reasons for us making this decision.

One of my friends came with me to the baby show and after seeing and touching the nappies she did have to admit, 'actually they are easier than I thought'
The most annoying one however is one of my friends (who is male but had a 5YO) is putting money on me 'caving' and going back to disposables. His logic, at 3am you just want life as easy as possible is not changing a nappy - changing a nappy - whatever it's made of then? and life is difficult enough without giving yourself more work - what putting an extra load of laundry on per day (at the most) is a hardship?

Oh dear - just read that back and realised it turned into a rant sorry about that.

As this thread was started a few months ago - can you let me know how you are getting on now with your flips :)

Hi Eviepoo, I was actually the OP here & have since name changed.

DS is now 4.5 months & we've been using the Flips since he was about a month. I absolutely love them. Like you someone bought us some disposables which were handy in the first month while we adjusted to having DS & we do use disposables when we go out as DS poos A LOT & I don't like carrying dirty nappies. However I much prefer the Flips & they're pretty much bomb proof. We've only had a couple of leaks & they were because I hadn't done them up properly. The disposables seemed to leak all the time & I was forever cleaning poo from all up his back. Also the only time he's ever had nappy rash is when he was in disposables.

I did find I had to buy a couple of extra covers in the end as although I wipe out & reuse covers that are just wet, dirty ones definitely cannot be used again. I've got about 10 covers now which sees us through 2-3 days depending so really its only 2-3 extra washes a week & I just put them on when I go to bed & hang them up in the morning.

We also had a lot of negative comments about them but in the end it doesn't really matter what other people think. A few people made 'eww why would you want to be handling poo all the time' comments as though I'd be rummaging through the nappy bucket every day. In reality I've got more poo on me when using disposables. We use a paper liner so when I change DS I pick this up using a wipe & put it in a nappy bag with the used wipes & we have a mesh bag in the bucket so I just take the whole lot out & chuck it in the washing machine, to be honest it doesn't even smell that bad as I bleach the bucket every time I wash & put a few drops of lavender in the bottom.

My DP also loves them & oddly also dressed a teddy bear in one before DS was born! They are very cute & the colours are lovely. I would say though if you do have a big baby avoid buying clothes from places like GAP or Pumpkin patch as they come up quite small & sometimes they don't fit over the nappies even though they are very slim fitting for reusables.

Anyway enjoy the rest of your pg & lo when they arrive. Hope this has been helpful even though its fairly long.

Just thought I'd add - DD is 7.5 months and we have been using flips (and only flips.. I tried a couple of others inc bumgenius and didn't like them) since she was 6 weeks. They are great and she has never had a leak or nappy rash. I cannot reccomend flips enough!!!

Everyone said I would "cave".... in fact, I have convinced about 4 of my friends to join me in using cloth as everyone has seen how obviously straight forward they are!!!

My DH was pretty "meh" about washables until we started using them... he now is a zealous convert and preaches to everyine about how terrible it is that people use disposables and have no qualms about creating landfill!!!!