buying for newborn... mix them up or all one brand?

[ukemmalewis]

hi there,
am just buying for a newborn. From reading this forum and mumsnet etc plus getting advice from the nappy lady I was going to go for a mix up of nappies for the first stage to see which ones I get on best with. Do you think this is a good idea or is it best to buy all of one type?
My idea was
4 x tots bots size 1(coloured)
4 x fluffles size 1
4 x bamboozles size 1
4 x motherease sandy's small
4 x kissaluv

4 x airflow wraps small
4 x airflow wraps medium

Anyone have any strong agreements / disgareements / suggestions with this choice? Also should I go for a mix of aplix / nippa?

its so tricky deciding !!

anyhelp appreciated xxx

I wouldn't bother getting so many packs, your baby will be in size 2 before you know it and I doubt you'll remember which brand worked for you anyway (you'll have other things on your mind) - I'd just go for 3-4 packs spread over 1-2 brands and then going forward you can vary the brand you buy but do try to avoid ending up with a stockpile of a size that's been grown out of, there's no pleasure in wasting money on nappies!

just a suggestion but in my area (kent) they have a nappy library where you can borrow nappies and see how they work out for you before you buy any. This would sdave you spending a lot of money on nappies you may not like. And also bear in mind that your nappies may not fit a new born very well - I used disps for 6 weeks until dd fitted into her meos and tots bots properly, but maybe I was just put off by how bulky they looked! She was 6,8 at birth BTW.

I know there are other cloth nappy trial scheme around.

however, you can always sell the nappies you don't ewant so it wouldn't be a total loss if you didn't use some. I know tots bots especuially have a high reasle value as I got all my nappies second hand.

\link{http://aolsearch.aol.co.uk/redir?urn=www.plushpants.co.uk/&url=www.plushpants.co.uk/&requestId=675a7e8b2ab22244&clickedItemRank=2&source=google&searchType=MS&partner=google&query=cloth%20nappy%20trial}

\link{http://aolsearch.aol.co.uk/redir?urn=www.theecologist.org/offer3.asp&url=www.theecologist.org/offer3.asp&requestId=675a7e8b2ab22244&clickedItemRank=1&source=google&searchType=MS&partner=google&query=cloth%20nappy%20trial}

\link{http://aolsearch.aol.co.uk/redir?urn=www.nappytrialservice.co.uk/&url=www.nappytrialservice.co.uk/&requestId=675a7e8b2ab22244&clickedItemRank=5&source=google&searchType=MS&partner=google&query=cloth%20nappy%20trial}

these are just a few I found when I googgled cloth nappy trials (hope links work)

yes that's loads of nappies!

I just had 12 tots bots and that was almost enough (had a couple of flat nappies for emergencies) - I washed every other day with baby clothes and towels etc.

I found getting into the wash routine easier with white nappies - partly because most baby clothes are very pale and so can be washed with them.

so I'd drop some of the nappies. maybe go for 3 of each, or even 2 of each plus a couple of flat ones. Remember that the money you're saving is part of the motivation to carry on so if you buy too many you won't have the same motivation.

Finally I have now converted to tots bots rather than airflow wraps just because there are only 2 sizes (coresponding to tb size 1 and 2) - no dicking about with s, m, l, xl etc.

Definitely hard to decide! in the end I decided that, once I had a newborn to look after, I wouldn't be able to make a decision about which nappies I liked the best, so I plumped for totsbots. I got size 2 and used them from birth with a nappy nippa, thereby saving me more money!

sorry - kinda works

Hi, thought this might be of interest. Saw it the other day. Would definately suggest trying different brands and types but can get a bit expensive. This might save a few pennies \link{http://www.babykind.co.uk/nappytrial.htm\nappy trial}

I've always used terry squares, wraps and a nippa. Can get terry squares in smaller sizes at\link{http://www.greenbaby.co.uk\green baby}

Can be economical, as your babe grows you can use smaller nappies as boosters.

Hope this is helpful. :)

This is great advice thank you as it is very daunting!
Is it best not to go for the small sizes then? Did most people use disposables for newborns?

Thanks

I had tb size 1s and then 2s. But you can use size 2s with a newborn as long as you use nippa ones (you make them smaller by folding the front down).

I say that, I did use a disp for about 3 weeks because I was scared and because of her peg!

I used totsbots size 2 from birh with ds - used a nippa with them and folded the front down (I think the nappy lady might have a picture of how to do it?). He was 8lbs, so not huge, but they fitted fine.

\link{http://www.nappytrialservice.co.uk\Nappy Trial SErvice} or \link{http://www.plushpants.co.uk\Plushpants} both do hire services so that you can try a wide range before you buy.

I started late to cloth and bought some 2nd hand and borrowed a few til I knew what I liked. Today I got to try out muslins and Rikki wraps on a newborn and they worked!!! (my friend's baby kindly loaned his bum for the experiment), we tried a Tots size 1 wrap and it was vast (they do a size 0) but the rikki small worked a treat.

As to nippas and aplix I think it depends who is doing the changing and when (at night in the dark I'd go for aplix everytime, whereas daytime, nippas are fab) so maybe a mix of size 1 aplix and 2 nippa would be a good starting point.

www.babykind.co.uk let you have a selection of nappies on 2 weeks trial for a very good price.

I bought a starter set of Motherease all in ones on a friend's recommendation and found that even with soft liners etc my ds' skin couldn't cope - ended up swapping to fuzzi bunz - a completely different type which keeps everything away from the skin. So I'd say don't make too many assumptions before your baby arrives. Online shopping makes it very easy to top up once the baby arrives (I did this for nappies, bras etc as needed)

Can I recommend bumgenius nappies? Have just discovered them (they are new to this country) and are fab - really easy to use pocket nappy and can easily be adjusted from birth to potty.

I love bamboozles as well but strangely enough (and may just be coincidence with the "batches" I bought), the aplix are more absorbent (I know this because they take longer to dry)and have stayed softer than the nippa version.

Tbh though I used disposables up to 6 months as I didn't feel confident that cloth would cope well with breastfed poo.

I don't really get the whole thing of buying lots of different types of nappies.

We bought 20 Motherease one size before having DS and have been really happy with them. They have been used by DD too and will last at least one more child if not two.

Agree with Miaou about not trying lots of nappies with a newborn. It's hard enough looking after a baby without trying to work out which nappies work best! Motherease appear to be the most popular in the UK and I haven't had any problems.

DS and DD are different sized children (DS - chunky and tall, DD - skinny and no bottom!) but the nappies have fitted them both well.