Help needed for Reusable Virgin!!

[Dragonhart]

Have a 13 month old and a baby due in Jan and really want to try reusables as cannot aford to buy two lots of disposables.

Want a sized nappy so can have my 13month old in the larger size and new baby in the smaller who will then progress to the larger when older one is out of them. Have looked and looked on the internet at reveiws but just cannot decide. The NappyLady said to use Bumbles but they seem really expensive. Any suggestions would be really helpful also where you can get them as some that are sold on ebay which I have heard good reveiws about I dont seem to be able to find. Also the cheaper the better.

Pre-folds, Shapped, terry, bamboo, fleece AHHHHHH Help!!!

The most reliable that I've found are Tots Bamboozles and I'm pretty sure that if you buy size 2s they can be used from birth as well if you fold the front down.

MEOS (Mother Ease one size) are also supposed to be good although I've not tried them myself.

Hi Dragonhart,

If you've found the NappyLady website you should have a trawl through the classified ads on that. There are lots of good quality second hand nappies and wraps at very good prices. Also here on Mumsnet on the for sale section you will often find people selling them, again at good prices.

I'm a big fan of Motherease one size. The nappies I bought for my first daughter served her very well from six weeks old to potty trained and are now being used by her little sister. They are very easy to use (and therefore easy to persuade Dads, grandparents, nursery etc to use). I'm also a big fan of good old terry squares, which are fantastically good value, dry quickly and aren't really that much more bother to use once you've learnt a fold. But I wouldn't give them to nursery. In case they thought I was a nutter.

I use the flushable liners for nursery (just give them a big roll) and fleece liners for home as I much prefer them but you do have to put your hands in the loo.

My biggest tip if you are going to go down the reusable nappies route is reusable wipes - just cut up old vests, towels, etc in to small squares. So much better for their bums than wipes and so much better for your purse.

PS

I've bought new nappies and wraps from nappymania.co.uk which someone on here recommended. They are well priced (for new) but best of all you don't pay any postage costs.

And I bought my terries from Boots - six for nine pounds

Read up about using terry squares and motherease airflow wraps. Read about some really nice ones from the nappyladdy, bit more expensive but with a thick pile. Think on my budget might be best option - do you think I am mad?

Would love to use fleece liners but not sure where is the best place to get them. Sure I have read someone say that it is cheaper to buy a big sheet of the fleece and cut it up but not sure where I would get that? Any idea anyone? I am at home with my DS and will be with this baby but do you think I will need flushable linners too for if I am out?

Mrscurly, what do you do with the reusable wipes when you have used them? The wipes I use now are sometimes covered in poo when I have finished with them. Do you clean them before putting them in the bucket? Sound like another really good way to save money- cheers!!

Sorry- one last question - boosters- do you use them just for the night? Have seen toweling with three layers, toweling and fleece combined and hemp and bamboo ones- any recomendations or is it best to try diff ones to see what suits?

Thanks for all the help!!

Hi Dragonhart - I bought lovely fleece liners from twinkleontheweb.co.uk - they are shaped as opposed to square/rectangle. If you want to save on cost go to your local habadashery a make your own fleece liners. Also if you need help choosing there is this website now.
\link{http://www.chooseanappy.co.uk/

Personally I use Bamboozles with ME Aiflow and have found them a great combination. Aplix seems to be wearing out on some though and DS is only 10 months old.

Sorry to hijack this thread but I saw the title 'reusable virgin' and thought it was something to do with new surgery to make you all 'fresh' again! Wondered why it was on the nappies and potty training topic! Sorry!

(I cant help but read the thread title wrongly and it makes me gigle )

We're having a good night Tamba!

Have been using reuseable wipes since day dot and just chuck them in the machine when we wash the nappies. we ordered ours from greenbaby. they're a nice soft muslin... you can probably find something similar for cheaper

Hi Dragonhart,

No I don't think you're mad to go down the terries route, but you could make your life easier. I certainly found them good for a newborn as you can make them whatever size you need them to be. With your 13month old it might be more of a problem as they wriggle so much when you're changing them - do you really want to be folding a nappy at the same time? If I were you I'd buy a couple of cheap squares first and see what you think of them.

On liners, no you don't need flushable ones for out and about - many public places for baby change don't even have a loo. The advantage of them is that you can pick them straight up from the nappy and chuck them in the loo without getting your hands too dirty, but I prefer fleece liners as they keep baby drier and are more comfortable, and they aren't really that much of a faff to use. You just get the poo off by shaking it over the loo or holding it in the flush if it won't budge.

And on the wipes question you just chuck them in the bucket along with the nappy and liner, and then in to the washing machine. Use the liner to get most of the poo off first so it goes in the loo, but don't be too worried about getting poo in your washing machine.

I do use a booster at night - the motherease booster just snaps in with poppers. I haven't used a terry at night for ages, so I can't tell you about how to booster those.

One more thought for you - when my second child was born I hired six small wraps from the Nappy Lady. She was only in them for eight weeks so it really wasn't worth buying them. The ones I was sent were in excellent condition and looked brand new.

Good luck,

Mrs C

Wambamboo are great as a birth to potty nappy - you can use the same ones on your 13 month old as then newborn Gotta run though, so I'll come back tomorrow

Hi everyone,

I would recommend Wham-Bamboo nappies as a birth to potty type (ie for using on both your children) as you can get the nappi nippa type which you fold down at the front for a small baby, whereas Bamboozles are no longer available in nappi nippa. They also have a loose booster (as opposed to sown-in like most) so it can be taken out to fit better on a newborn - a real bonus. Bamboo is slimmer than cotton and more absorbant so is likely to be better for your toddler.

Tots Bots cotton tots are a good value shaped terry nappy (easier to use then terry squares) but I don't think they're as absorbant as Mother-Ease. However they are a two-size nappy so if you have a tiny newborn they may fit better to start with as birth to potty nappies (like Mother-Ease) don't always cover the extremes of the range.

I would recommend bamboo nappies overnight with bamboo boosters and a fleece wrap for maximum airflow and absorbancy and minimum bulk.

Hope this helps!
Emma
www.makesachange.co.uk/
The Organic and Fair Trade Baby Boutique

Thanks for all the advise. I have ordered some terrys, airflow wraps and fleece liners to give them a go with a couple of hemp liners and 2 toweling ones to try them. Thought that I could try the whole washing the nappy thing and it would not cost me too much. I figured that if the terries dont work for me then I can always use them as muslins for new baby. If I like them then can always add to them.

I have 6 tots bots size one with the velcro fixing and 2 small wraps that I got as part of a local govenment incentive for a bargin along with a bucket and net bag. Thought I could try them when the new baby comes but I think they will take alot longer to dry than the terries I bought.

I have read that the bamboo nappies can pile like wool if washed on a hot wash and tumbledried alot. Think that is why the bamboozle ones only come with velcro now as the nippas dont work on them after a while. They are telling you to send any without the velcro and they will sew velcro on for you. Read about some with toweling outside to stop this happening but couldn't decide. Thought about using bamboo squares but thought I would try terries first. Also read it takes longer to dry?

I thought if I tried the terries then I could always use everything else I have bought (eg wraps and liners) with another nappy and it has not cost me loads. Hope I have made the right decision but guess I wont know til I use them.

I thought I could have them prefolded with a liner on top on my nappy changer then just pop them under DS when changing but I dont know how practical that is. DS is quite good when changing and stays quite still as long as I dont try to do it on the floor (where he seizes the oportunity to escape!!).

Couple of quick questions - what do you use to wet your reusable wipes? Looked on The Nappy Lady website and she sugested making calomine tea and putting honey in it to wet them which sound quite easy and cheap. Any alternatives.

Also what does every one use to soak their nappies. Nappy Lady says vinegar or bicarb of soda. Vinegar seems quite cheap as I can get huge bottles from Costco.

By the way PMSL at the whole 'reusable virgin' misunderstanding- guess I just have to much of a one track mind to notice these things!

Thanks again xxx

I don't soak at all - just drypail and an extra machine rinse.

Hello again,

Me I use good old H2O to wet my wipes. I keep them in a ziplock bag for out and about. And I don't soak. I do use vinegar sometimes in the machine to keep the nappies softer (a couple of glugs in the fabric conditioner drawer).

I don't think the terries you have bought will go to waste as they are very useful to have around even if you don't get on with them as a nappy. They are great for putting your babe on to air their bum, and perfect mop up cloths when toilet training.

WEN and The Nappy Lady have some good folds. The one I use is called the envelope on WEN and the Jo fold on The Nappy Lady.

If you don't get on with them as nappies please don't give up yet on washables. You have gone down the most hard core route first.

Good luck and best wishes.

If you keep a look out you might find a varity of nappys 2nd hand for sensible money. We have some MEOS and a nappy nation I got this way, only the bumbles I bought new. I like bumbles, they are very easy to boost as a night nappy, I put a folded flannel in the pocket.
fully breast feed poh is near impossible to "shake or rinse" off flease liners, just bung it in the washing machine and it disapears tho.
Agree that small size wraps are a short term thing, beg or borrow but don;t buy if moneys tight.

LOL, glad I looked at this thread, been trying to work out what on earth a "reusable virgin" could possibly be.

We used Tots Bots with an airflow wrap and fleece liners, found them to be fantastic.

Tamba , great minds, or should that be filty minds, think alike!

Dragonhart - I use "babybits" from andeeskoolkids.com for my wipes solution - just dissolve one in a cup of hot water and pour over. Very easy.

Does no body soak then? Advise that I have read on the net is that you have to use the washing machine more/do more rinses so doesn't it work out cheaper to soak? Do the stains still come out if you dry pail?

I dry pail and just do a normal wash each time, although when dd started getting nappy rash a few weeks ago I did put the nappies through an extra rinse to ensure there was no detergent residue and this seemed to solve the problem. Otherwise, nothing extra is needed.

I think wet pailing would smell a lot more than dry pailing and be messier to sort out when you come to wash.

Nappi Nippa problem - has been seen in some Bamboozles but not all, and Tots Bots have not issued a recall per se, but offered to add aplix for free if customers want it. It seems that Bamboozle retailers have taken the decision to stop selling the nippa version (we have) and they will be bringing out a popper version soon to replace it. Wham-Bamboos have not been found to have the same problem - they have a different knit to Bamboozles.

To soak or not to soak - we recommend not unless nappies are badly soiled. Either way, try popping a nappy bin net into the bin, then when you come to wash you can pick up the net and drop the lot into the machine (open the drawstring!!) without touching the nappies. If you choose to soak, don't use harsh chemicals as it degrades the wraps and can irritate skin.

Nappy rash - Bamboo nappies are naturally resistant to the build up of fungus and bacteria which cause nappy rash, so are great for sensitive skin. If a breakdown occurs, consider using silk bourette liners instead of paper or fleece (but take care - they must be hand washed in cool water or they loose their healing abilities).

Emma
www.makesachange.co.uk/
The Organic and Fair Trade Baby Boutique