changing over to cloth - advice needed please!

[mabel1973]

Hi

I am a bit of a late comer - Ds is 14 months, but no.2 is due in september so better late than never.
I have bought shaped terry nappies (like tots bots) and am buying some wraps from ebay.
Obviously I know I need a nappy bucket but what else would the more experienced cloth users recommend I need?
I have read about 'dry pailing' I assume this is just sticking them in the bucket and not soaking them til you have enough to wash? When would you need to use a nappy soak - just if they are particularly soiled?
Would napisan do or are there particular products to use.
I have got loads of terry boosters to go in the nappies, but have also got a couple of fleece ones can anyone tell me the difference pro's and con's?
Should I use fabric conditioner or can this damage the fabric?
Probably sound really thick - but it is a mine field out there

Hi

Yes I did the nappy lady questionnaire just before DS was born. Unfortunately I lost all the information she sent me, so i thought it quicker to pick peoples brains on here!

Message withdrawn

The terry boosters are to increase absorbancy, the fleece is a liner or top layer (next to bum) to keep baby's bum dry (you can also use paper liners). It sounds like you have fleece topped boosters, you put these inside the nappy with fleece up and then you don't need another liner as well.

You can add Nappy Soak or Fresh to the prewash if you are drypailing, it's not really necessary but some mum's swear it gets their nappies whiter?

Thanks I didn't actually realise that the fleece acted the same way as the paper liner.
I've only got a couple so hopefully I'll get some at the weekend and cut it up in to bottom sized pieces!

I used a big pail with a washable net bag inside it so I could just lift the whole bag out and stick it in the washing machine without having to handle stinky nappies. I never had to soak them as stains always came out in the wash- every now and then I did a hot wash and any lingering marks came out.
Def don't use fabric softener. Another tip is to wash without soap every now and then to get rid of product build up as it can cause irritation on the skin.

Oh and I only ever needed boosters at night time- used fleece liners during the day

I dry pail but put a couple of drops of tea tree oil in as it helps with smell and does something else that i cant remember.

Thanks - for all the useful advice!
I am going to get a large bin with a clip on lid from B&Q tommorow rather than one of the smaller nappy bins - does anyone know where I can a net bag to fit that sort of size bin?

I was a late starter too Mabel but I have never looked back! Some tips for you here - and the Nappy Lady's practical advice section answers lots of questions too. Good luck

Is it lavender oil Nemo? I put that in my nappy bucket.

thanks for the link tatties

Mabel - the cotton nappy nets that Spirit of Nature sell are MASSIVE - way too big for a standard nappy bucket! There's a link from the MN homepage or the shopping bit so you should get a discount too!

HI

I have been using my cloth nappies for a week now and everything is going really well, much less hassle than anticipated.
However I have chickened out of putting him in them at night yet.
I don't know if he's a heavy wetter - I am sure he's pretty avareage, it's just that disposable tend to hide the evidence a bit more don't they, but I am changing him more often during the day than I did with disposables so don't feel I can leave him 12 hours in the same nappy, if it's going to be thoroughly soaked and in contact with his skin for that length of time.
What does everyone else do?

bump

Hi Mabel, glad it's going ok!

My ds wakes for a feed at around 11pm-midnight so I change him then. (But last night the nappy was dry at that time so I just left it) He has the nappy on for around 8-9 hours and his bum is fine in the morning. I always use a fleece liner so this keeps him quite dry.

For night-time I use either:

• a Bumble stuffed with its snap in terry booster and an additional terry booster

or

• a Bamboozle boosted with a microfibre cloth

or

• a Harmony (hemp mix nappy from the makers of the Bumble) stuffed with its hemp snap in booster and a microfibre cloth.

All of these have been fine but the nappy is soaked through in the morning. It will probably take a bit of trial and error to find out what works for you at night. I think my ds wees quite a bit at night as he feeds through the night...

HTH

Hi tatties

my ds sleeps from 7pm til 7 - 7.30am, so no opportunity to change him, and I'm not going to start getting him up.
I guess i'll have to just bite the bullet and give it a go - as you say - trial and error!

I use a bumble stuffed with its booster and a muslin cloth and ds2 sleeps from 7-7 usually. The nappy is generally dry at the back in the morning but when he was still waking for feeds is was sodden and required more boosting. It is a case of trial and error though I'm afraid. Oh, I also use a pul wrap too as I find that fleece wraps are a bit prone to wicking when ds rolls over. HTH

Mabel - my ds (18 weeks) sleeps 12hours too and he is fine in a terry all night. I make sure that his bum gets a good airing a couple of times a day.

Mabel if he is not feeding at night he will probably not wee much, sure it'll be fine

Hi Mabel,
I'm glad it's going well. Incidentally, I noticed you had asked about soaking. If you do ever soak really pooey nappies with napisan or similar or put it in your washing machine, it is recommended that you don't put in your wraps. It can damage the waterproofing.
My ds is 15 months and sleeps in a bumble or Huggle or Stuffie or happy hempy. I usually use two or three boosters in the night nappy, these could be a hemp booster, a prefold, a terry nappy, or a terry prefold, I often put something else between the nappy and wrap (wool wrap), as my ds is in the nappy for 12-13 hours and peepees a lot.
Wool is great for nights, it's really breathable and cooler than a PUL wrap like Mother-ease or Cotton Bottoms. Wool actually absorbs moisture and neutralises the ammonia in urine. You can use a wool wrap for couple of weeks, sometimes more before needing to wash it (when it smells stinky).
You just hang it up to air between uses.