Do i need boosters? possible heavy wetter always gets nappy rash in cloth

[hayles78]

My dd is 9 weeks old and for the past few weeks i have been experimenting with cloth nappies. Cotton tots, motherease sandy mainly. however she always seems to get nappy rash. The tots bots have fleece liners which are sposed to be good and i have seperate fleece liners i use in the sandy. i always change her after poos and quite soon after putting a cloth one on anyway about an hour or so (use disp most of time as i only have a handful of cloth while experimenting and takes a day or two to get through wash dry cycle). The nappies are usually always wet even after changing her quite quickly. Do i need a booster? if so please advise as i dont know much about them. do they still need liners. have an ellas house bumhugger that i havent tried yet does that need a liner as it seems quite soft? also have a popolini easyfix all in one with a booster but does it need a liner? sorry to ask so many q's but really want to find right system

thanks

Have you tried not using a fleece liner? Sometimes the fleece can irritate some babies. The nappy being wet isn't a problem and you are changing quickly if she has poo-ed. I would also use a smear of barrier cream until the rash clears up (such as Sudocreme, Vaseline, etc.). Definitely try without the fleece.

I'd change your washing powder if she's getting napy rash consistently. IME cloth is more likely to prevent nappy rash than disps. Perhaps wash the nappies on 60, without just a bit of washing soda or vinegar, and leave out the powder altogether. Then try a different powder. Where's FlameSparrow? She has lots of good hints on nappy rash and cloth... in the meantime, if you do a search you'll find several threads about it.

The thing with cloth is that it does feel wet when you do a change. There are no nasty chemicals to absorb the pee so even one wee will make it feel wet. It takes a bit of getting used to, if you're used to disps but it's actually pretty healthy, I think! We use tots at night and they are generally absolutely sopping in the morning. BUT they don't leak, and because we use fleece liners cut to the size and shape of the nappy, DS's little bot is dry as anything. The liner isn't to make the inner soft (although it's certainly a good side-effect!) but to wick the wet away from the skin into the nappy. I'd always use a fleece liner, unless you get a nappy like a stuffie, where the inner layer is made of fleece.

Whether or not to use a booster is up to you. We didn't at first because DS isn't a hugely heavy wetter. We do now at night - folded microfibre cloths.

Hope all this helps. Cloth is brill, btw! And you're doing absolutely the right thing experimenting with different kinds. Much more fun too!

Whoops! cross-advice there re: fleece liners. Horses for courses! That's the beauty of cloth.

Hi Hayles, I second what Corrie said about the washing. We had a few problems with our DS at that age and changed from soap powder altogether, started to use an eco-ball, which has saved me loads on soap powder. It made a big difference to his skin.
I started out wanting lovely white nappies with no stains, but ended up not being that bothered about the whiteness so long as his bum was happy. I still added the odd bit of oxi action to give the nappies a boost, but mainly use unbleached or coloured nappies and they look fab and vibrant because of the eco-ball not bleaching.
The fleece can be an irritant for some babies, but I would say tackle any soap powder build-up first and foremost.
Any cloth with liquid poured on will feel wet, but if the cloth is sodden, then she probably is a heavy wetter and perhaps an extra booster would help with that. I can't be sure, but it is unlikely to be the cause of the rash, because new urine is sterile.
I'm wondering if the rash is associated with teething as this is a fairly common age to develop teething-related nappy rash. If so then I recommend using metanium to clear the redness (excellent works fast) and then a barrier like bepanthan in a thin layer to protect her skin whilst she is teething, plus lots of water to drink and nappy free time.
I hope you sort things out and she is feeling better soon.

Thanks for advise so far - thought I would give an update. Her nappy rash has cleared up quite quickly - i always use drapoline which has seemed to do the trick.

The best thing is that I think i found a nappy that works and I cant tell you how impressed i am. I bought a popolini easyfix (yes im still experimenting) i washed it first - what surprised me was how quick it dried - much quicker than the others i have (tots bots, motherease etc) as ive heard that all in ones take ages. Also - i dont know what material is on the top (the part next to babies skin) as its different than anything ive seen so far but she didnt get nappy rash and it felt incredibly dry. It also came with a booster with the same unknown material on one side so i used this in another nappy i was trying and success. Out of all the nappies i didnt think it would be an all in one and a less well known brand. am gonna buy a few more and trial it better but might have found the one - and no need for wraps either ha ha. Thanks guys if you hadnt have suggested i try one without fleece i might have forgot i had bought the popolini otherwise id have been stuck as to what to try next as paper liners didnt work for me either. Hope this all makes sense, Hayles