What to look for in reusable nappies?

[MrEBear]

Baby boy is 4 months. I seem to be fighting a constant battle with nappy rash. I get it cleared up then nobody notices a dirty bum and I'm back to square one. I use cotton wool rather than wipes so went to buy reusable wipes and discovered "nappy week" deals which got me rethinking.

What should i look for in nappies?
I think I'd want bamboo - thin and absorbent.

Any brands to avoid?

Hi, I'm currently moving over to cloth (building up stash when I see a bargain, when I can afford it etc) and I'll admit it was mind boggling the different choices out there. Firstly you need to check if you live in a local authority that does a cloth nappy initiative - I.e. they'll give you money (credit to spend in/online nappy shops like Bambino Mio, etc) towards buying cloth nappies (I think it's about £30-£40 in some council boroughs although I don't live in one sadly) and or they have trial packs you get free or to lend so you can see which brands you prefer. I'll get you the link in a minute.

In regards to what you should look for, in my opinion they're all much of a muchness basically you can get an:

all-in-one (aio) nappy that has a waterproof cover with a sewn in nappy pad that you pull out to wash (this helps it dry quicker as bamboo/hemp take a while to dry) Tots bots EasyFit and Bambino Mio Miosolo are like this.

Or a two part nappy thingy (technical ) which consists of a separate waterproof cover with either poppers to attach a nappy pad or folds to tuck in a nappy pad or you can use flat nappy sheets to fold up into a nappy and attach using those three armed things called nappy nippas and then to help keep it on the baby/help stop leaks you put the cover on your baby after. Tot bots Peanut wraps and Bambino Mio Miosoft are examples of this - there ar obv other brands but they are what spring to mind.

With both you can use either disposable paper type liner or microfleece liner to help keep baby dry.

I'm buying a few of each to see how I go in regards to what fits better, lasts longer, doesn't leak/cause rashes and what I find washes easiest.

Also Bamboo is more absorbent than cotton or microfleece but takes longer to dry (hemp is more absorbent but not as mainstream) so ideally you want to have something that's a combination of both, so for heavy wetters/night time a bamboo pad on the bottom, a cotton/microfleece in the middle (to help wick away wet from baby and into the bamboo layer while help keeping baby dry) with a liner on the top - then your baby's bum on top of that

Seeing as your baby is 4 month and assuming he's average weight/size he's probably going to be a size 2 (most mainstream cloth brands have size 1 as newborn/3 monthish) or if it's a 9lb to 35lb nappy then no need to worry.

I strongly recommend having a look at The Nappy Lady website as she has a lot of the main brands and an honest description of fit and strengths/weaknesses or each brand nappy. From what I've read the premium brands all get good reviews so there's no duff ones to watch out for that I've noticed and I've looked at a lot!

Sorry that was reeeally long! Will be back with links...

Links!

www.goreal.org.uk/local-authorities/

But do check if your local council isn't on there - they usually have a page on their own website.

www.thenappylady.co.uk

If you have Facebook check out this page UK nappy library to see if you have a library or napuccino nearby.

These are great for trialling cheaply, advice and chatting with other cloth users.

I used cloth with my daughter from 9 weeks because she reacted badly to all disposables except Boots/Aldi. It later turned out her skin was sensitive to ammonia and fleece/paper liners so we had to use Motherease Stay dry nappies or Prefolds fastened with a nappy nippa (biking twist fold is slim) and fleece wraps as anything else caused problems.

Bumgenius and Gnappies were my favourite nappies before this as they were slim fitting, dried quickly and cute :)

In all honesty there's no perfect type and from our experience most fitted/btp will be grown out of whilst terries or Prefolds can be adapted and you get much more use if cash is an issue this might be worth considering.

As for wipes, i bought 3 packs of baby flannels from the poundshop, soaked them in camomile tea each morning then threw in a zip lock bag to carry around.

Karrimor dry bags are great for storing dirty nappies and it saves you storing/cleaning a bucket as the bag hangs out the way and can be washed easily.

Oh and Weleda nappy cream is a must as it doesn't stain or clog fibres like other chemical creams do

Check re-sale value on eBay, both in case you don't get on with a brand and also when you don't need them any more

The Cloth nappies and Accessories page on FB is excellent for buying/selling too.

I got many a bargain on there :o

Thanks ladies. I'll have a look.

I liked bum genius and fuzzy bums. I preferrd belcro to poppers. Fleece liners draw the moisture away leaving a dry bum.

This is a really good place to look too. www.twinkleontheweb.co.uk/index.html

They do trial packs of 3 you can try them before ordering a large number. I used Ellas house for all my children.

I used to use the honey/propolis bum cream from here too:

www.biggreensmile.com/departments/nappy-creams.aspx?deptid=NAPPYCREAMS

I've been having a look at buckets too. Are they much of a muchness?

As Long as it has a tight fitting, lockable lid it should keep the smell in.

I preferred bags but most people I know seem to use the Bambino Mio bucket.

Dry pail, don't soak, and get a nappy net. You lift the net out of the bucket into the machine. Easy.

I like stuffables best in the end. It's a T shaped of fleece and terry. You can pop boosters (or old flannels/towels) inside it. Put a wrap over the top. I used nappy nippas to secure the nappy. This system is easiest and fastest to wash, as the nappy, wrap and booster separate completely.

I've ordered a bundle of nappies and bucket. I guess i should also consider returning a box of pampers to Asda.

Thanks for your help

Why are you after bamboo specifically? I have used tots bots, gnappies and bambino mio and would definitely recommend bambino mio!
They fit better, are more absorbent, and have the best designs.
I also purchased a lot of the accessories from bambinomio as I trusted the nappies, and wasn't let down!
Don't be put off by cotton, i highly recommend it!