i REALLY love my cloth nappies..........but

[vnmum]

im finding that my ME airflow is leaving red marks around the legs and sometines on the waist, also my tots size 2 sometimes leave marks too. am i putting the nappies on too tight? i was so pleased the first few times when i had no red marks compared to some bad ones i was getting with disposables. i am using a m/l me wrap and have ordered a large but it hasnt Arrived yet. DS is nearly 9 months and just over 22lb, he is now starting to slim down(not that he was mega chubby anyway)with crawling about etc so i am having to fit nappies tighter around his stomach.

has anyone any ideas about these problems?

Also has anyone using bamboozles found they smell abit of wet dog when wet or is it just me?

The other thing i have noticed recently is that DS is smelling weeie(sp?) even when his nappy has only been on a few hours. The nappy lady advice was to change every 4 hours at his age, should i be changing more often if hes smelling or is it normal to get a smell with cloth.

on the plus side, DH is even putting them on now, even the nippad ones. its only taken him nearly 2 weeks. LOL

I've found Nature Babies are good, comfy wraps that go over almost any nappy.
About the wet dog smell - what are you washing them in? Do you line dry or tumble dry? I find line drying makes them lovely and fresh.
And I'd change after every wee.

HI vnmum!

The wraps shouldn't be on too tight - the nappy will hold the bleurghy-ness, the wrap just stops to wet from wicking onto clothes, so as long as there's no cloth bit visible, you wrap could maybe be a bit looser.

Do an extra rinse after you wash just in case it's powder residue left on the fabric.

My Dd is 22lbs (she'4 14 mths!) and just about too big for her M/L wrap so your suspicions about the wrap being just too small could be right. The large size will have more room to wriggle Wee Notions (my favourite wrap!!) have soft lycra (like swimming costume fabric) bindings round the leg and waist which may be less likely to leave marks.

Dd's wee stinks too - especially in the morning - it makes my eyes water! Apparently some babies just do - something about acidic wee? GIve him loads of water and no juice. I wouldn't have thought you should be able to smell the wee through his clothes though. COuld be a diet thing? Not sure - maybe someone else will have th eanswer to that.

Agree about the changing thing - maybe every 3 hours and see if that makes a difference?

thanks guys, im washing in fairy non bio at 60. i use the bamboozles overnight. with the changing thing, i was on the understanding that you didnt need to change after every wee and that the nappy would usually be quite wet as there are no crystals. am i wrong? ds doesnt seem bothered but i dont want people thinking i dont change him often enough if he smells and we're out and aboiut

no, you don't have to change after every wee. You do get a stronger wee smell with cloth but that's just because they're not full of perfume to mask it and anyway I really don't think anyone else will notice.

about those red marks: yes, maybe fit looser, but also don't be fooled into thinking that because you're using a non-bio that the washing powder isn't the problem: non-bios are just as allergenic as any other powder. I would also try using a bit less powder and/or a different brand.

I use cloth nappies and I notice ds's wee smells strong. I soak nappies, wraps and fleece liners overnight in Ecover laundry bleach and teatree then wash them at 60 with Ecover powder but they still smell ever so lightly. Not a wee smell but an odd smell. Any tips to get rid of the smell.

I'd be inclined to try washing them a couple of times in succession with no powder or liquid to see if there's some residue in them. That might sort the smell and possibly also the red marks (depending on what's causing them). If it does make a difference then it implies you need to cut down on the amount of detergent you're using normally.

Wraps don't need to be fastened particularly tightly, so you'll probably find that the larger wrap will help.

Vnmum, have you heard of soap nuts for washing? Google it. Nappies come out of the machine smelling of nothing. I think it's the residue of detergent mixing with wee that causes the smell, so soap nuts could help there. I started using cloth when my ds was about the same age/weight as yours, and we have always used large airflow wraps. Still fine at 16mths! And I don't change after every wee, would only change more frequently than you are doing if his bum was sore or the nappy was sodden. HTH

I find putting white vinegar and a few drops of lavender oil into the conditioner dispenser works nicely for smelly nappies. I also found that when we used disposables on holiday, they absolutely reeked. Way worse than cloth!

Yes that's true, when you are used to cloth, disposables stink when they have been weed on!

thanks, when i do my wash in the moening i'll wash first with no powder then with a little powder and a super rinse to see if it helps. the red marks look like pressure marks rather than an allergic type rash, they are just on his legs and around his waist. his bum is fine.

im due to get some new powder, other than ecover has anyone got any reccomendations

yes, soap nuts!

Just thought I'd add, I switched to reusuables with DS at 11 mths (he was about 18lbs) and went straight into large airflows. He is still on the same poppers at 2 and a half despite having had HUGE thighs and quite a change in shape since then

tatties, ive just googled the soap nuts and they look quite good, and not too expensive. Do they get poo stains off though as i dry pail and DS is doing some sticky poos

Hmmm, poo stains... Well, first of all do you use fleece liners? When ds has pooed I get the worst off into the loo, then rinse in the sink, also rinse the nappy if there's any poo on it before dry pailing. Some of the liners are still a bit stained after but the nappies always come out fine - but I have found this whatever I use to wash with. Sometimes I put a bit of nappy sanitiser or soda crystals in the drawer if I think there might be stains. Also drying outside in the sun helps to bleach them.

i use fleece liners but the poo just sticks to them as its like paste. ive been rinsing them and using vanish but once i had to wash my fluffle aq few times to get rid of the stain. the soap nuts look like they could be cheaper to use than normal powder, have you found this?

Message withdrawn

Only read OP...

Wool & Fleece are more gentle on the legs and waist - wacky wraps are great if you want the soft fleecey feeling, but tighter clothes etc.

No wet dog smells here.

Strong wee smell - an extra rinse, only about 1/4 of the recommended amount of powder, and some vinegar in the softner drawer should help.

Yes soap nuts work out cheap as you can reuse them a few times. My ds does those sticky poos too - nice!

thanks everyone,

another question. when i get my new nappies should i pre wash with or without detergent, and also do i need to dry them inbetween pre washes or just wash a few times then dry?

I do one with, then the rest without

Oh, and I dry, but have been tol you don;t need to.

ok thanks, im hoping they will arrive by monday so i have more to be using and i can then try the larger wrap.

does anyone know if the poppolini vento is maybe softer on the bindings than the ME air flow

I'll second the comments on using less powder (I use 1/2 a fairy bio tablet) and a rinse with white (distilled malt) vinegar. I also had that ammonia smell and it is apparently due to a build up of detergent on the nappies. You could run a 60 deg wash with no detergent at all to clear it. If you are pre-washing you don't need to dry in between times (I just put them in with an ordinary wash). Sunlight is the best thing for getting rid of poo stains on natural fabrics, fluffle liners do go a little grey I have found.

try using just 1/4 of a cup of detergent and do an extra rinse incase that is what is making the marks.