want to try cloth nappies

[CKMUM]

I haven't got a clue abput them though, what sort, what make, how many will I need, I have a nine month old and a 22 month old and its costing a fortune in nappies but also it will cost a fortune initially to but enough of them.

I therefore want the cheapest option but at the same time think they might be difficult to fold etc and I take a while to learn how to do practical things so don't think i could do the old fashined terry type which i believe are the cheapest.

And I am mad really to consider it as my washing machine is useless and cant offered replacement or repair and I have enough washing to do as it is because of baby with severe reflux

I think its a great idea and will save you lots of money im sure!

all i can say is that IMO cotton bottoms really are NOT my favourite! I find they leak very easily (compared to others) and you have to worry about folding them etc!

Im sure you could get away with tots bots size 2 for both of them (and wont need to buy any more next size) and you can boost them for night time if nesessary.

I personally would NOT recommend the all in 1 nappies, but use a nappy and a wrap cause then you can boost it etc!

Motherease one size may also be a good ideas for the day time, and you can boost those if necessary for the older one!

Oh and microfibre (cleaning) cloths make great cheep boosters! and you can get a fleece throw for a couple of £ and cut it up to make stay dry nappy liners!

what area are you in? some councils do incentives (ie ours was giving away free starter packs).

I really like my motherease one size nappies... although I know others who don't get on with them!! lol
They're slimmer than tots bots, but very absorbant. If you get the stay dry boosters then you won't need a fleece liner in them either.
they ought to do birth to potty, although I am not sure that ds will still be in them at say 2 years... but I think they do extenders for them

go for motherease AIRFLOW wraps (the popper ones)

oh and if you don't mind second hand you can probably pick them up quite cheap on ebay

If you still need the basics, you might need to know that none of the brands mentioned need folding! On the whole you get the nappies shaped, eg. totsbots (puffy, cute, popular) motherease (less puffy, even more popular) and you can add whatever liner or booster to give extra absorbency and extra layer for poo management. Some nappies are poppered, some use nappi nippas which are ingeniously simple but unexplainable, like little plastic claws to keep nappy on. You put a wrap on top of this for waterproofing, but wraps needn't be plasticky - some are breathable like fleece or wool wraps.
All in ones mean all these layers are fixed together - not cheapest, prob. notionally most similar to disposables. You can mix and match between brands of nappy and wrap - I use Bumbles or Motherease nappies with Motherease or Imse Vimse wraps, for instance.

I have about 26 nappies which have had since birth (DD now 18 months) but wraps are more liable to be grown out of so I only currently have about 5 that fit and I seem to get away with that for now tho it's not ideal! (You can see why all in ones are unnecessarily expensive).

There are loads of different sorts. The Nappy Lady (online mail order service) do a useful questionnaire to help you select your 'ideal brand', but buying them new is not necessary if you don't mind 2nd hand, and mixing and matching is good fun.

Terry squares still are the cheapest though, yes. I do know people who have used and enjoyed them. But shaped nappies are genius. You will recoup the cost with two babies, no problem. And you can sell them on afterwards.

As your babies are older you could probably just buy large sizes of most nappies, so pretty much have your pick.
I have set up a website where cloth users have left reviews for the nappies they have tried. Have a look
There as so many gorgeous nappies available now, and it's worth looking on the second hand board at UKParents or the Nappy Lady, for bargains.
I would say don't buy anything 'birth to potty', they don't fit small babies and they're too small for older babies. They probably fit for 6 months in the middle somewhere.
This includes Growing Greens, Cuddlebuns and particularly Motherease Onesize. My ds is 12 months and Motherease still don't fit him around the legs on the larger setting and he has outgrown the smaller setting. I have a much better, more reliable fit on so many other nappies that are in my son's size range, that I wouldn't recommend trying to buy a one size fits all.

as you can see from replies it really depends ont he kids.
I LOVE my motherease one size... maisiemog hates them! lol

it is definitely worth doing some trials (most cloth nappy sites offer these) to see which ones you get on with

Sorry that link is wrong, here is the right link

Thnaks everyone, youngest 9 months but very very tiny

Also when you need to do loads of washing and tumble drying does the money spent on electric mean that cloth nappies dont work out that cheap after all.

Youngest has severe reflux so have to do 5 loads of washing a day anyway, will I have time to wash and dry the nappies!

bumbles? They are adjustable for a little one and my 20mth old sleeps in hers with lots of extra padding where the size 2tots don't hold all the padding she needs they ended up too small for night.
I love my fuzzibunz but they are more of an outlay initially.

with your youngest at 9 mths you don't necessarily have to separate your washing, ie a specific nappy load. I wash mine with towels or white smalls and add a spoonful of sanitiser (nappy fresh) just incase.

I started late with my son at 11 mths and wouldn't put a disposable on him now, you can start gradually, either pick up a few different ones 2nd hand or enrol for a nappy trial . Even if you just use them part-time at first you are saving money/planet and if you find it manageable then maybe aim to buy a nappy a week rather than a pack of disposables and before you know it you'll have plenty.

One last thing , terries are alot simpler on a weaned child as you can just fold them into a pad - no pinning, no struggles with bits of cloth, etc, so if you get one with shaped nappies do try them as well

HTH, Mia

I second the Bumbles idea, as they fold down to fit a littlie and are high waisted enough (this is called the 'rise' in nappy circles ) to fit a bigger baby. They are stuffable, so the middle cloth comes out allowing the nappy to be cleaned thoroughly and to dry quickly. Plus you can put in extra cloth for nights and the fleece keeps their bums nice and dry.
I don't recommend white nappies - you will soon find out why, and Bumbles are available in a range of colours, which is nice.

what's wrong with white nappies? Have used white cloth on ds sinxec birth and they are still whiter than white!

I never had a problem with white either... If anything my coloured ones looked more manky because they faded. The only white one I have that looks grotty is one I had to use the other day on DD - and I forgot about having thrown it in the machine and washed a navy towel with it

sorry im really thick, so you need nappies obviously, then liners and wraps unless they're all in ones. Seems expensive buyingg all these so how many for each child as a minimum and do you need to change liner, nappy and wrap at each change or could you just replace liner or liner and nappy?

very emcarassed as so cluless, sorry for my ignorance

all-in-ones are more expensive and take much longer to dry, so you woukld need more of them.

for shaped nappies you would need say 20 nappies, some fleece liners and maybe 5 wraps.
The outer wraps (waterproof bit) doesn't need changing at every nappy change unless it has got wet on outside, or poo on it.

the fleece liners also aren't totally necessary with all nappies. I don't use them with bumbles because they're already lined with fleece. But I do use them with tots bots which are just terry on the inside.

You might like something like Fuzzi Bunz but they again are pretty expensive, around £9.25 new. They are stuffable nappies... waterprrof on one side and fleece on the other. You can stuff them with anything (muslin, terry squares, special inserts).
They're very easy to use, and slim fitting.

Re white nappies, mine are all grey and a lot have yellow stains. On my Bumble, the stain has gone right through from the inner fleece to the towelling outer.
This is probably due to my washing methods, but is worth considering if your babies have any skin allergies and you can't use non-bio or laundry bleach.
I used to use either Persil or Fairy non-bio, both of which contain bleach, and they weren't so bad, but still not particularly stain-free and sparkly. More recently my ds has developed a sensitivity to washing powder, so I've been using an eco-ball, which doesn't bleach at all, so now my nappies are getting greyer and more stained.
The best looking nappies are the coloured and patterned outers.
I reckon Fuzzis stay looking the nicest. Not that it really matters, as long as they work.
Fuzzis might work for you, although, if you smallest baby is teeny and the other nearly two, then you would probably need two different sizes. You can get away with fewer Fuzzis as they dry overnight, so the extra cost may be covered by buying fewer.
The stuff you put inside can be pricey if you want the real mccoy Fuzzi Bunz inserts, made of hemp or microfibre, but you can get away with microfibre cloths, which dry superfast as well.
To get a decent size microfibre cloth you will probably spend around £3 per cloth, there are cheaper, smaller cloths available, but it's good to actually buy cloths that physically fillup the nappy, for the sake of reliability (no leaks).
It's worth trying a few first, as not everyone gets on with pocket/stuffable nappies, and have trouble with leaks.

I have 8 fuzzi's and use them almost full time but use bumbles at night, have 3 and 2 wraps. You could get a couple of extra things to stuff them with as they do dry fast and sometimes the stuffers take a bit longer than the nappy.
Not sure of the size of your 22 mth old but you may be able to buy some large for them and maybe medium for the 9mth old. If they don't fit them now they should soon. The fuzzi microfibre pad in large actually fits in both the medium and large nappies so say 20of these with 16fuzzies and you might just have to use disposables occasionally which should decrease the cost loads, the younger one can then move into the large's when they are ready.
One of the nappy sites does a 70% refund on first nappy of each kind bought if you don't like it but sorry can't remember which one.

It's not against the law to use disposable nappies too ! Just collect a few one-sized nappies as suggested, a couple of 2nd hand wraps in the right size and a roll of liners (better still fleece reusable ones) and have a play in your own time, when nobody's looking. If you like it, build up your collection bit by bit.
Visit The Real Nappy Campaign to find someone near you who can show you samples and give you tips eg a Lollipop agent...

Anyone who uses cotton bottoms, these seem cheapest but different, do you have to learn to fold them the same way as you do with terry squares?

no, cotton bottoms are very easy to fold, you literally just fold them in 3, place inside the cover and close the cover. You can use a fleece liner or a paper liner if you want. They are one of the cheapest options but not my favourite nappies to use. I like stuffables best.

I didn't get on with Cotton Bottoms either. I also went for the Nappy Lady to start with, and followed her advice (I think she advised totsbots and motherease one size and motherease airflow and rikki wraps). I still use these, but also like Fuzzis alot with Wonder-full inserts.

i have a cotton bottoms brochure now and it does look easy but even if easy to fold i maynot get on with them as dd2 very wriggly and think it would come unfolded whilst trying to get it on her as its difficult just getting a pampers on.

All i can say about cotton bottoms is how much i DISLIKE them

Ive used LOADS of different types of washable nappy and they are DEFINITELY my least favourite.

IMO they looked alot more uncomfortable than other nappies and i found they REALLY often leaked sometimes after less than 90mins, and yes they WERE they right size.
Also i wouldnt have evn dreamt about using them at night!

As and when i have children im determined to use washables, but i wont even be thinking about using cotton bottoms!

(probably a combination of tots / bamboozles/ ME sandys and MEOS, all with ME wraps, and may be few terries / muslins thrown in for tiny baby and emergancies!)