First time mum-to-be with lots of cloth nappy questions!

[birthofawoman]

[Warning - long post]

Due to give birth in two weeks and one day. Really interested in cloth napping but SO overwhelmed by unanswered questions, all the different nappy options (and not knowing what they mean/how they vary) and so forth!

I understand that there’s lots of videos on YouTube etc on cloth nappies, but surprisingly I haven’t stumbled upon any that actually/specifically answer the questions I have!

I’m interested in those all-in-one, preferably ‘birth-to-potty’ cloth nappies, as they seem like the most convenient/least hassle! Bumgenius nappies look good to me, but I still have so many questions!

1.	Do you HAVE to get newborn cloth nappies or is there a certain type of birth-to-potty nappy that works really well from newborn? Seeing as newborn nappies exist alongside certain kinds of ‘birth-to-potty’ nappies, I’m assuming the latter aren’t so good for newborns? 

2.	I’ve been told that newborns, on average, get through about 10 nappies a day? With this said: 
⁃	How many cloth nappies, in total, would be a decent number to own (newborn or otherwise)?
⁃	How often are you expected to do nappy washes - daily? 

3.	For how long do newborns stay wearing the ‘newborn’ cloth nappies before they can move onto the bigger ones?

4.	How long do cloth nappies take to dry once washed (I’m sure this would vary from brand to brand, and depending on time of year etc)?

5.	If I were to buy ‘all-in-one’ cloth nappies, what else would I need in terms of a wet bag (how many?), a nappy bin/wet bin etc?

6.	What happens when you’re out and about with a cloth nappy baby? I’m assuming you’d travel with a wet bag and put the nappies in that? In which case, how many ‘out and about’ wet bags would I need to purchase? 

7.	Once baby has passed ‘newborn’ stage and can wear regular cloth nappies, how many nappies, on average would they get through a day? With that said:
⁃	How many ‘regular’ (not newborn) sized nappies would I need to own with an older baby (not newborn)?

8.	Is it necessary to have separate ‘nighttime’ cloth nappies for nighttime, or would regular daytime cloth nappies suffice? 

9.	Does anybody actually buy cloth nappies new? It seems as though, for the amount of cloth nappies you need in total, buying that many NEW cloth nappies is just very, very expensive (certainly too expensive for my ‘broke student’, early twenties budget). 

I guess my biggest confusion is knowing how many cloth nappies to buy/own (how many a baby would need in general), more specifically - how many a newborn would need, and how often I’d need to do washes. As well as not knowing how they vary from brand-to-brand, and knowing which styles/brands are the most effective (I know this varies from baby-to-baby). I’m finding this all really overwhelming! I plan to attend my local nappy library, but it takes place just 2 days before my due date!

I’m worried I’ll have to rely on disposables at first, until I get my head around this whole cloth nappy thing - something I REALLY don’t want to have to do!

Gigantic thank you if you read this far, and for your input/advice if you manage to give any (I know I’ve asked a LOT of questions).

I recommend having a look on some Facebook groups, cloth bum advice for example, they’re a great source of info and I still use them now, 20 months in. And the nappy lady website is very informative and can tell you about all the different types of nappies. Drying times vary from nappy to nappy.
I used a laundry service at first as I didn’t want to splash out in case it didn’t work out, and they were prefold nappies and wraps, so a cotton folded nappy with waterproof cover. Then I got pocket nappies of my own when he was bigger. It took him a while to chunk out enough for those to fit as his thighs were skinny so depends on the size of the baby I think as to when newborn size stops fitting and birth to potty fits.
Nighttime ones are different as they’re more absorbent.
I wash every other day. I’ve just bought prefolds for my new baby and ended up with about 30 odd, got carried away but probably better to have more than not enough and I buy second hand from selling groups on Facebook. Rarely buy new.

I probably won’t answer all your questions but I’ll do my best based on my own experience.

Yes, most people use newborn nappies when they are little and switch to birth to potty when a bit bigger. I use birth to potty on my 3 month old and they are a bit bulky, no way that would have fit him from birth and he was 80th centile in weight, 95th in length. Personally, as it’s your first, my advice would be to just use disposables to start and switch to birth to potty nappies when you’re ready. You need about 8-12 nappy changes a day when they’re little and some babies poo every feed. You don’t need to be stressing about that much washing when you are trying to bond and establish feeding (if you decide to bf) and sleeping. Sleeping and cuddles are much more important. I didn’t bother with cloth until 8 weeks when I could manage the extra washing. Also saved me money as I just went straight to btp nappies.

I have about 12 nappies (I think?). I only use them during the day and use disposable at night (less bulky when sleeping and less faffing around during the night). I go through usually 4-5 a day, about every 3 ish hours. I wash every 2-3 days. That’s the capacity of my nappy bin and also means some dry in time for when I run out. Nighttime nappies need to be more absorbent. You can use the same ones, but you add boosters to them to absorb extra wee. Like I said I find them bulky enough for my 3 month old so I don’t use them during the night but that’s what you’d do.

I have a mesh bag in a nappy bin and I put them in there and then throw the open mesh bag in the wash. I have one wet bag for going out. Ideally you’d have two, but I don’t go out loads (live rurally and I often do some work when ds is sleeping so I don’t have the time to go out every day). Two wet bags would be better though if you planned to go out every day so one can be washed and dried after use.

There are lots of different kinds. Aio nappies are considered easiest but take longer to dry. Personally I like being able to take them apart to clean when dirty (you will need to wash the poo out) so I think other kinds are easier. I use a mix of fluffy ones with a waterproof wrap over top (bambinex teddys with a blueberry wrap) and pocket nappies (baba and boo & close pop ins). I prefer the pocket nappies but the bambinex ones are microfibre so they dry really fast. The microfibre ones dry in maybe 6 hours and the other ones take about 12 maybe (indoors). Ideally you should dry outside in the sun and then both are dry by afternoon if I hang them out in the morning. The nappy lady has a survey you can fill out and a consultant will get in touch to recommend the best ones for you. I found that really helpful until I knew what I liked.

I would buy a few and see what you like when your baby is here. Lots of people buy secondhand. I personally bought new, but I only have 12 and I got a voucher to buy then from the council and a few other good deals. I looked to buy secondhand but wanted very specific brands that I just couldn’t find on selling sites so after a week of finding nothing, I just bought them new. Cost me maybe about £160 or so, but still cheaper than 3 years of disposables.

1. Birth to potty ones are unlikely to fit a newborn. I use little lamb 2 parts and the size one worked well from when the cord fell off 7lb at birth (didn't try before that) So either newborn nappies or use disposable until they fit.

1. I wash every other day, I bought 2nd hand so have about 30 and that's more than enough. But it depends on what ones you have, microfibre dry vvv quickly, bamboo take ages (particularly little lambs) I have resorted to a tumble dryer a couple of times in the depths of winter. You could always pop to a shop and get a pack of disposable if all else fails.

1. No idea sorry

1. Yep you're right depends on fabric, wind, sunshine.

1. Liners either disposable (do not flush) or fleece, I have 2 nappy buckets for home and 1 wet bag for out. Night time nappy - all in ones aren't great for the night once baby sleeps longer. Think about washable wipes too.

1. Yep into wet bag, I have 1 and if it needs washing I use nappy sacks.

1. 5-7 day, 1 night.

1. You need something v absorbent for nighttime with potential to add boosters to increase the absorbency. Bamboo little lambs with a mother ease wrap is a good idea.

1. Yes people buy them new. You will of saved money compared to disposable once baby is potty trained, that's before you use them for a second child and/or sell them on. It's just an initial layout rather that with the weekly shop.

Try www.thenappylady.co.uk great for advice/videos and good prices too.

This may answer your questions, I've gone through 3 children in cloth full time now :)

Newborn nappies are brilliant and you can get them very cheap second hand. Mine lasted a few weeks though as my babies were over 8lbs at birth. It really depends how big your newborn is to how long you'll need them.

Birth to potty nappies look like a better idea but I've never managed to get a decent fit in them so they leak. They also seem to always be made with microfiber which stinks and is not absorbent.

I use little lamb sized pockets. They are bomb proof. You can sell them on when you're done, but a 50th percentile baby will be in size one for around 10-12 months and I doubt you'd ever need size 3.

You'll need a different beast for night though. I use little lamb bamboo nappies with a tots bots wrap and a bamboo booster. This is good for 12 hours without a leak.

I have 22 nappies plus 3 night nappies which is fine for every other day washing.

Mine dry on a radiator in a day, or on the line in a few hours. You can dry the inserts in the tumble dryer.

I use bold 2-1 lavender. This has a built in softener which is clay based and doesn't stop the nappies being absorbent which other conditioners do.

Good luck!!

www.thenappylady.co.uk/advice-questionnaire.html

This might help.

Birth to Potty depends on if you can stand that grotty yellow tint of older cloth nappies. If you can then great. I didn’t like it and so I found myself replacing them every 6 months to a year.

Terry nappies (with clips and a waterproof wrap) are a good cheap option for newborns. Or simwthing like newborn luttle lambs. Birth to potty wise, Bumgenious are ok but a bit expensive for what they are. Baba and boo are amazing.

Thank you all for providing such detailed responses, educating me on the very complex world of cloth nappies! Seems it's a case of testing out a few different brands/kinds, trial and error and so forth. I think I'm going to start with eco-friendly disposables to take the pressure off myself while I get the hang of the cloth nappy situation. I'll visit my local sling library, probably buy a few used ones (different brands) and see which ones work best for my baby.

Thanks, again - you've all been really helpful!