Boosters? Liners? What to get??!

[maveta]

Hi, I'm almost there with my daily torture - that is - deciding which nappies to buy as a starter kit. I am going to use disposables from birth but want to have a couple of real nappies to try out, with an aim to ease myself into it slowly.
So far I have decided to get 1 diddy diaper, 1 tots bamboozle popper size 1, 1 ME rikki size..medium?? and maybe a sandy's.
I'll have muslins aswell so if I'm feeling brave I might have a go at folding too.
Could anyone advise:
a. will a medium rikki be okay over these 3 nappies?
b. Do I need boosters AND liners?
c. Do I need a different wrap for nightime or will the rikki do me to start until I see what it's all about? I was going to try out a wool popolini but they are SO expensive.
Any other advise greatly appreciated!! I am looking on ebay too but am not convinced I want to use 2nd hand on my baby. After all, I wouldn't even touch 2nd hand knickers...!

I would say a medium rikki will be way too big for a newborn, I don't know if it comes in a newborn size, if not a small would probably be better. It really does depend on the size of your baby. If you have the patience to fold muslins, a mum I know highly recommends them for newborns. Personally, I don't have the manual dexterity or patience!

With the benefit of hindsight, I would wait until your baby is here before buying shaped nappies - one size definitely does not fit all. I thought I was going to get tots bots, but I got a trial pack from a local council run scheme, and at the 3 months, the tots bots was huge on dd. I ended up buying bambino mio prefolds, which I thought I would hate until I tried them. A ME one size was also way too big on her at three months, even though they are supposed to fold down to fit from birth. We're just beginning to venture into shaped nappies now, at 5.5 months.

I didn't like the idea of second hand nappies at first, but then I got the trial pack, and it dawned on me that it would be no different buying used nappies. I always wash nappies, new or used, thoroughly before putting them on dd, anyway.

Oops, didn't answer your question about boosters and liners. I use fleece liners in anything that does not have fleece next to dd's skin, as the fleece really does keep her dry. Paper liners can be good to catch poo, so that the liner and contents can be flushed straight down the loo, minimising mess! I need boosters for dd at night, and during the day if we will have to go more than a couple hours between nappy changes. Hemp boosters are the best IMHO, followed by bamboo, although bamboo does take longer to dry.

HTH

If you are willing to try folding do buy one bamboo terry square as well, if you get a 40cm one then it'll make a great booster when baby is bigger, they are lovely and soft and do dry quickly as there is only one layer.

Rikki's that fit are fine for nights (esp. early on as they are easy to do up in the dark) but airflow are better later and wool is fab. You can get away with larger wraps at night (esp. with wool) as this helps the air circulation and evaporation. Also buying 2nd hand wool is a good idea as it'll be well lanolised, saving you the initial setup hassle.

Ebay is a great place to pick up hand knitted wool as well.

Maveta

Thats it - I am going to send you some fleece liners and paper liners to try out - will post on main thread xoxoxoxo

Small rikki would be much better not medium on a newborn - have a spare one of those too.

Echoing the others...

a) Definately a small rikki
b) Boosters only needed if you are using at night. I like the mother of eden boosters - slim with a fleece top so no need for an extra liner.

Liners are needed (unless they are integral to booster) to stop wetness going to the skin and to catch poo.

Disposable ones - either flush or throw out - they are good for solid poos if you don't want to be fiddling with it, but can sometimes leave the skin feeling a bit damp

Fleece ones - breastfed poo tends to go straight through it - bung it in a rinse cycle before washing, and no need to flush or anything. They need a bit more flushing off once baby is weaned, but often just falls off easily.

c) It depends on the size of your wrap - the night nappy will be bigger, so you might need the next size up wrap to fit over it. I love wool at night - much more breathable when they are sat in the same nappy for 12 hours.

If you don't want second hand nappies, you could still consider second hand wraps (especially wool) - think of it as used trousers

Thanks for all the advice, yet again!

I think I´ve finally got my head around it and have a new narrowed down list of things to try out. Thank you so much and I really hope I manage to get the hang of it, I love the idea of real nappies so much. And then I can repay in kind by helping out new real nappy users when it´s my turn! here´s hoping!

can i just day, instead of buying boosters by tesco (or any other brand) microfibre cloths. they are much cheeper and you can use them as a booster instead!

u can also wash then with any thing at any temperature

maveat - glad you have started this thread. i am now going to copy yr list! did you try that litlelambs site??

what is this about a microfibre cloth - am i being really silly but is that just regular cloths - not necessarily baby related??
i have bought some stuff off a mumsnetter so ok with 2nd hand...

In the cleaninng section of tesco - its synthetic fibres that dry fast and are really absorbant. Normally hideous bright greens and oranges (not that that matters in a nappy...)

all the advice i would give has been given! but just to say wilkinsons do great microfibre cloths, v cheap, and in pretty pastels too

Hi Weeonion - I did have a look around the site but couldn´t see the freebies everyone was talking about?? I might end up getting a trial from them though as they seem pretty cheap. How confusing is all of this??!

Thanks for the tip re. microfibre cloths, might do that instead then to start.. I think I know the ones, they feel really synthetic and kind of make your fingers feel funny to touch them? Or is that just me??

Maveta - I think microfibres are good for absorbency but they make my hair stand on end - really horrible to touch - good for in stuffable nappies e.g. fuzzi bunz or nature babies stuffables. Some people don't like them next to the skin - totsbots fluffles make me feel the same way [shiver going down spine]. do you have tescos???!! Lidls also sell them cheaply weeonion.

I could try and get some to add to your parcel if you want.

Ta 11 wks but you are being quite generous enough! Will ask my sister to have a look in tesco for me, she can always pick up a couple and bring them next time she comes out here. x

No problem - got email xoxoxox