Cloth nappies newbie with lots of questions

[Londonmrss]

Hello,

My dd is 4 months and weighs about 14lb. I've been meaning to mice to using cloth nappies but haven't found any I'm happy with yet.

I tried Bambinex and although they are lovely and soft, they were just so bulky that she couldn't move. My husband's cousin is convinced that bulky cloth nappies are the reason her son was really late to crawl. Personally I think that's probably absolute balls but it means my husband is not keen on the idea of reusables and will only be convinced by something slim fitting and easy to use.
I've also just tried an Itti Bitti Snap On one and it's nice and soft and looks really cute. Still quite bulky but I think they all are really. It also doesn't seem to be a cheap option. I've just ordered one of those eBay unbranded ones to try.

Does anyone have any recommendations?

If I went with the Itti Bitti ones, how many would I need to buy to wash say every third day (the snap ones are the ones where you can replace the inside bit without having to do the whole thing). My baby is ebf and only poos twice a week.

What is a nappy bucket for? I assume you rinse out poo before washing? Do you have to change anything about the nappies when they move into solids?

Also is she more likely to get nappy rash with reusables? The thing I like about Pampers is that she goes a whole night, produces about 20 litres of wee and still feels dry- we haven't even had a speck of nappy rash. That and the fact that they aren't bulky. But the amount of waste we produce is just unbearable...

Any advice would be massively appreciated!

I like Bum Genius V4 nappies best. They fit DD really well. I hired a kit from my council for a tenner which meant I could try out lots of nappies over 3 weeks before deciding which ones to buy.

DD is still on milk so I don't do anything about the poo. Once she starts solids I am planning to use flushable liners which will mean the poo will be in the toilet.

The nappy pail has a mesh liner which I pick up and pop in the machine. I wash every second day. I like the Tots Bots pail as it locks. I don't want DD in there when she is a curious toddler

I also use reusable wipes which go in the nappy pail too. I use the Cheeky Wipes (bamboo) for bottoms and (microfibre) for faces. You could easily make your own.

I found 'The Nappy Lady' very good. I completed her online questionnaire and she emailed me nappy options and a discount code!

Oh, no nappy rash until she went back into disposables at Christmas when we were staying with relatives.

This thread has lots of useful info on starting off with cloth. I've never tried itti bitti so can't comment on them but I would try a coupe of different types rather than buying a full set of one kind. Fill Your Pants does a 'try cloth for £10' scheme which is great. As is the Nappy Lady, there is load s of info on different types of nappy on her site.

I use flushable liners, as stargirl said, it means you can get the worst of the poo out and chuck it down the loo. I sometimes rinse or scrub out the nappy on the loo too if it's a bad one!

I also wash every other day, I think 3 days would be the max you'd want to leave it or the bucket would be pretty smelly. How many nappies you need depends on which type you have and how quickly they dry. Mine are mostly fairly slow drying, I have around 30 which is plenty. No problems with nappy rash unless unless she's teething. I did use disposables at night though until recently when she started to wee less at night (at 18 months). Now I use bamboozle stretchies at night which are great.

And another vote here for cheeky wipes, ive got the kit, they are easy to use and fab.

Good luck!

That's all good advice.

Definitely flushable liners & definitely a couple of air-tight buckets.

We've used them on both of ours & love them although I was a bit sceptical like your husband originally.

We've bought all of ours from Hunnybums who have been so helpful. The website is packed with info & videos. Lucy even gave us a skype nappy demo!

It looks like they now have a trial pack with a 70% buy back deal which would be brilliant & she'll be able to advise on what are the least bulky.

HTH

I love my totsbots all I ones.

They used to look a bit bulky on her but they are birth to potty so that's to be expected. Didn't stop her crawling at 8mo
I have 19 and wash every 2 days. I also have some eBay cheap ones and they are actually starting to fit her pretty well now and 5 preloved ones 2 parters ( which I hate) and these extras get me through any diarrhoea or drying emergencies

Nappy rash was a problem right at the beginning and I kept it at bay by using disposable at night for a while it settled down when I started using bum butter

I have to agree with some: I love TotsBots but that's personnal choice. I would advice you to check if there is a nappy library or nappy demonstrations (Nappuccino) happening in your area so you could try different nappies for a few weeks (for a very very small fee or even free) before buying them.

You could also ask your friends and relatives for NapNap Cloth Nappy Gift Vouchers for your birthday, Xmas etc,... so then you can choose the nappies of your choice from the retailers of your choice. That's really good to try different nappies or build up stock (napnaphq.com)

Really it all comes down to personnal choice and the shape of your baby but no you do not have to change anything when baby moves on to solid: poo is more solid so easier to flush down the toilet.

Yes the Hunnybums website is really good so check it out.