Reusable Nappies

[curiositycreature]

PFB is on his way and I've been doing some research on reusable nappies. I've read SO much online that I've overwhelmed myself. I find information is either so thin that it doesn't help, or so detailed that it confuses me. I could really do with hearing some other parent's experiences and recommendations please. Everything I need to know to get started. Baby due early summer so the bulk of the "learning" with a newborn will hopefully be done when it's warm so drying worries me less right now. Thank you!

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MNHQ

We've used cloth with our first (now aged 2) and will be using them with our second who's due any day.

Do you have some specific questions? - I don't want to just repeat info that you've already read our confuse you further.

I was very keen on cloth but DH wouldn’t let me. He said I wasn’t allowed to put shit in the washing machine. Perhaps check that your partner is on board before investing too much effort.

My daughter is 6 months and we've used cloth nappies and cheeky wipes since birth. I reckon in 6 months of use we save over 1000 nappies going to landfill.

My favourite nappy is Motherease Wizard Uno, its pricey but brilliant. You just use poppers to do it up all the layers are sewn together so its just like putting on a disposable. My friend recommended them to me as she used them and she had crunched the numbers that cost wise even with these expensive nappies it still came out cheaper for one child than buying aldi disposables and if you use them on multiple children its money in the bank.

We find it really easy, use, put in a nappy bucket, when bucket is full bung them on a quick wash with an eco egg for 15 mins, then a baby wash at 40 or 60 for 2.5 hours using fairy powder.

Now my baby is weaning I use disposable liners in the nappies to catch any poops.

They are not hard work at all.

You're DH sounds like right charmer Tortoise. Let you?!

We used cotton prefolds and separate covers - you can reuse the covers a few times if they haven't soaked through/really messy, so works out cheaper. I had 24 prefolds (one size) and 4-5 covers in different sizes. The one size prefolds don't fit newborns so I used a nappy service for the first 6 weeks

I’m about this start using reusables too. With a pocket nappy i understand that you put a liner (bamboo or whatever) in the pocket. But then do you put another liner between the nappy and baby’s bum? Or does the baby poo/wee directly onto the main nappy?

DH definitely on board. He made the mistake of telling some older colleagues who laughed at the concept of reusable, and now it's made him more determined to make it work! He's not committed enough to do any research though.

My main question is which type I go with - the two main options seems to be shaped or all-in-one. Are there more?

Do all of the nappies work generally by putting a liner inside, and then it's either a shaped nappy and waterproof outerlayer or just an all-in-one?

Can I assume they are OK with the cord if they say "newborn"?

Some of the youtube videos I've watched talk extensively about containment and leaking. Any recommendations for good containment?

How many do you think would be good to start with? I'm trying to plan for half way between wanting a few so that I can get my head around it properly but not buying so many that if they don't work for us/don't fit then I've not wasted a lot of money.

Little Lamb and Bambino Mio seem like overall good brands with lots of postive reviews - so thoughts on those would be good?

OP do you have you a NCT nappy librbay near you? Might be worth looking into- you can hire loads of different types.

Nappy library is a good idea or buy one of a couple of types of nappy and then when baby is here use them and see how you get on with them.

You can pick up second hand cloth nappies on facebook groups or if you want to buy new and they dont work you can easily sell them on as there is a big second hand market for them.

There are a number of types of nappies. All in ones are the easiest as everything is fixed together and they go on and off like disposables.

Pocket nappies have pockets which you insert the boosters in eg. bamboo, hemp etc. They require a bit more work as you have to put the boosters in the pocket after each wash, but they are customisable so you can add more or less boosters as your child gets older.

I use tots bots bamboozles with a motherease wrap at night, they are really thick with amazing containement but I would only use whilst the baby is sleeping as they are too bulky for the day.

Disposable liners go between the nappy and your babies skin to catch poop. I didnt use them until weaning as I breast fed and the poop dissolves very easily.

I didn't use little lambs but i picked up a bambino mio recently and its ok but I didn't love it. The insert is attached to the nappy which makes it easy to use, but there is a lot of insert so it can be really bulky on smaller babies. I use it as a wash day nappy when my favourites are in the wash.

Definitely do not buy a massive kit full of the same nappy, try different ones to see what suits your child and your lifestyle.

Also do the nappy lady survey she will recommend some for you, again dont buy everything she recommends but use it as a starting point to buy a couple to try.

Newborns get through a ton of nappies so you will probably need disposables as well whilst you get started.

Have you contacted The Nappy Lady?
They have a questionnaire you can fill in and they’ll recommend brands and quantity to you based on your needs.

I am going to use them if this pg sticks, my friends used reusables and mainly motherease but that was many years ago so I want some current advice as so much more choice now.

All in ones are good for childcare, out and about and grandparents! But 2 part often better overnight I gather.

If you look on your councils website there may be a page about cloth nappies and who to contact to borrow a starter pack. In my area there are a few women who run a nappy library. I found it much more helpful to have someone show me rather than reading about it, which just made my head spin! They also advised that although you can use them from newborn, because most cloth nappies are one size that you might get leaks until baby is 9 pounds plus.

Thanks for all who have mentioned nappy library - had never heard of so will definitely look into that! And thanks for all who mentioned the Nappy Lady survey - I'd missed that on her site.

So:

1. It sounds like we need to look into the two parters for overnight. The tots tots bamboozle seems to have good reviews online too.

1. The all-in-ones sound perfectly acceptable for the day (I'd seen some offputting advice online but mainly by American vloggers so maybe not the same?). The Nappy Lady doesn't seem to have anything bad to say about the Wizard Uno either.

Sparks How many would you say of each type do you have in circulation?

I may assume we'll be predominantly using disposables at first. But I'd like a few to ease us into it/not rely completely on disposable. Should I be buying newborn specific or just hoping some of the all-in-ones that say suitable for newborns actually are?

Thank you all so much - finally forming a plan!

SPARKS that is super helpful!

OP I think birth to potty is from 12lbs (around 3/4 months so you could maybe use disposables until then?

Second the Nappy lady, she's great and the survey is helpful. She also has a great Facebook page to ask questions.

With my 3 month old we are getting on really well with cotton little lambs and wraps. I've also used the mio solo all in ones (love the prints) but they have been a bit more leaky!

Emelene what age did you start using the cotton little lambs? Just during the day or at night too?

@curiositycreature we started at about 7 weeks. Currently only using in the day but we have some bamboo boosters to try out to increase absorbency so it can be used as a night nappy.

I second the suggestion to hire or buy a bundle of different types and brands, since you and your baby will have specific preferences that it’s hard to predict.

For example, the totsbots bamboozle and motherease wraps worked brilliantly at night with DC1, but DC2 wouldn’t sleep with such a bulky nappy when wet (we ended up with disposables at night for him). I know different wraps are recommended for “tall and skinny” babies, too...

Well worth the effort, though - found disposables couldn’t contain a poonami half as well as the washables!

Another vote for nappy lady questionnaire.
We have 15 bumgenius all in ones for day time, and 4 totsbots bamboozles with Motherease wraps for night time. Same ones used for number one for number 2.
You don't actually put much, if any, poop in the machine. You put that down the loo. We have biodegradable paper liners to catch the poop and dispose of. Put much more poop in the washing machine with disposables as it all exploded out the back!

Oh, and nappy lady does a hire kit. We did the questionnaire then got the hire kit. Ended up with what she had originally recommended!

I got a fantastic free "starter" kit from my local council with about 8 variety of nappies in, that I haven't yet used with my baby as I got overwhelmed and just went with disposables!

My main issue is; I'm out the house most days between 8am-4pm with baby, due to school run/nursery run/baby classes etc. And I don't get what I do with reusables when out and about. Just put the dirty nappy in a nappy sack and back in the changing bag to go in the bucket at home?! Is there a method I'm missing?!

I loved tots bots and bum genius. The newborn ones are great and super cute. I bought a few wee notions too, don't go down that road. You will gave to sell your husband to fund them haha! The nappy lady is great, I went to her house for a teaching session and learned loads. There are many many groups on Facebook who have very knowledgable and patient members. Cloth wipes are great too. I used the nappy lady ones rather than cheeky wipes (much cheaper). Miss my fluffy stash

We have a reusable "wet bag" to put nappies in, then chuck the whole bag (unzipped) in the wash. Nursery use nappy sacks to put the dirties in.

As well as looking at nappy libraries, check your local council too - ours does a trial pack that you can hire for a refundable deposit and has several different brands and types to try.

We used small Gnappies for newborn (they're a 3 parter: fabric outer, plastic shell and absorbable insert) we had 6 outers and shells and about 30 inserts - we never ran out between washes of every other day and they dry quickly.

Then moved on to a combo of Little Lamb popper 2 parters and Bambino Mio all in ones during the day, then Mios for nighttime. Little Lambs were secondhand and we bought most of the Mios from Aldi with a few second hand. Need to boost Mios for naps and overnight once getting bigger toddler wees. Prob got about 10-15 Little Lambs and around 20-25 Mios, wash every third day.

I bought lots of different bundles from eBay when pregnant, but found that most weren't a great fit - we don't get on with Totbots or Wonderoos as they just don't suit body type (still got them in case they work better for new baby)

In terms of poo, breastfed poo is water soluble, so nappies straight into pail and then washer. Once weaning we tried liners for a few weeks, but in the end abandoned them and just flick poo into the toilet, or wipe with loo roll if poo is a bit loose/sticky. Even liners that say they are flushable aren't, so if you go with liners you'll still have to bin and landfill them. We also found that liners created some wee leaks.

@thebrillopad when out have a wet bag (can get cheap from Amazon), just put the nappy and wipes (assuming you're using reusable wipes) in the wet bag. Then once home empty nappies and bag into pail. The wet bags I have hold between 5-9 nappies (have 2 sizes).

I use baba and boo, little lambs bamboo, bumslender and bumhuggers and Motherease. Along with a planetwise washbag. I've bought a combo of cheeky wipes and cotton face cloths to clean bum.
I rate hemp bamboo and the stay dry liners.

If you are breastfeeding then the nappies are fine in the wash. With formula fed you scrape off the poo or use a liner and chuck in the wash.

Get yourself to a nappy library as its best to trial a few until you invest.

The only nappies I didn't rate were the bambino mio all in 1. They just aren't absorbent enough.