have just used my cloth nappies for the first time and need a bit of advice...

[trixymalixy]

I was a bit unsure what to do with the paper liner, it just seemed so enormous. I just laid it over the nappy and tuced in the bits that stuck out once the nappy was on. Are you supposed to fold it? What's the correct way?

Also made a bit of a mess of the nippa. The tabs of the nappy didn't seem to lie very flat. Any tips?

Persevere - you'll get better with practice!
Paper liners are huge - I used to cut mine in half to start with! Once you have the wrap on top then the nippas will not seem to stick up so much.

Nippas are also quite stiff when new - I've had mine for two years now and they are a lot more pliable than when I first used them.

trixy - hello to you! i tend to either cut the paper liner of fold it into 3 to use? i dotn use them that often - i bought a cheapo fleece for £1 in primark and cut it into lengths to fit and bung teh dirty liner in the wash with teh nappy.

nippas - hmm - mine did soften with use but i cant remember the folds not sitting flat being too much of a problem as long as i had the wrap nice n tight.

hope you are well

I poke em back in too.

Nippas just takes a bit of practice

Thanks.

How often should I change the nappy?

The liners don't seem to be doing a great job of keeping the wetness away from him, or should I be using boosters as well?

Hi. I change about every 3 hours during the day for my 8 week old or more often if he poos.overnight he wears fleece or wool covers ( which let some wetness evaporate)and can go for about 8 hours between changes. it varies on the ago of your babe but i'd say change every 2-4 hours.

i've never used paper liners but i don't think they are 'stay dry' and the inside will feel damp after a wee. fleece is better if you prefer a drier bum ( but a bit of moisture is actually kinder for their bums than disposibles which dry up the skin)
hth
lucy

I just tuck the liner in too as you say...i wouldnt cut it as the bigger it is the more poo it will catch...v. important as your baby gets bigger!!

The nappy will feel wet but the liner should keep your baby felling happy though, ive never had any trouble with my ds seeming miserable with being wet.

Well day 2 of cloth and going OK.

So far have tried:

Aplix rainbow tots bots
Nippa tots bots
Motherease one size
Kooshies (don't like)
Nippa bambineos (by far and away my favourite at the moment)

With rikki and airflow wraps.

I can see how people become nappy addicts!

Will have to get some fleece liners to try out.

Have my first wash on so will be interesting to see how well the poo comes out.

welcome nappy addict - bambenio - good choice, it is scarily addictive but a safe addiciotn i like to think , i went in phases - nappy addiction, wraps addiction, pocket nappies addiction and now im starting the cycle again and have a shiny pistachio nippa bambenio looking at me willing me to prewash it to pop under a wacky wrap! oh the fun! I just cannot do a nippa without losing skin - what is wrong with me??

trixy - email me yr address and i will send you some homemade fleece liners to try out>>

If there is some staining, don't worry - sunlight bleaches it out.

Can't believe how long those bamboo nappies take to dry!!

Maybe I won't be selling the others and replacing them with bambineos after all .

Had a couple of leaks today too . I don't know why as he hadn't been in the nappies that long and they weren't poking out of the wrap.

Thanks WO, have e-mailed you.

Yes, Bambineos (actually, correctly "Bambinex") and other bamboo nappies do take a lot longer to dry than other nappies. You may see some people advertising bamboo nappies as faster drying than cotton. In fact, if you have the same size (weight, knit) piece of bamboo and cotton, and add the same amount of water to each, the bamboo will dry faster. However they're so absorbant that they absorb more water in the machine, so have more to evaporate!

You will find, though, that they stay nice and soft (as long as they're not dried on top of a radiator) unlike cotton which will go horrid and scratchy when not tumbled. They are also extremely absorbant, anti bacterial and anti fungal, and of course the most eco friendly nappy.

If you're struggling with drying I would suggest a combination of bamboo nappies and teddy nappies (Bambinex Teddys have just come out today, and the Tots Bots Fluffle is also made from a teddy fleece. There may be others but I actually haven't come across any other 2 part teddys - anyone want to enlighten me?).

I prefer the Bambinex teddy because it's neater and not as bulky as the Fluffle, but they're both superb nappies.

The point of teddy fabric is that it dries REALLY fast - say 2-3 hours on a warm day - and never, ever goes hard or anything other than snuggly, like a teddy bear. Gorgeous. Only disadvantages are that it's not a natural fabric and it's bulkier than other fabrics. It's more absorbant than cotton so I wouldn't really bother with cotton, myself. I would just go with a combo of bamboo and teddy.

Just my thoughts!

Emma

trixy, I use Bambinex as my main nappy and I reckon the disadvantage of the drying time is massively outweighed by the absorbancy, reliability and slimness.

I don't have a tumble dryer but get round it by having a few more nappies and some standbys - I use Fluffles at night and have just bought a Bambinex Teddy to try. I also have the odd MEO etc so it doesn't really matter if I run out of bamboo. Tbh I don't often though and I only wash roughly every 3 days. I have 12 Bambinex and 4 Fluffles but ds isn't a particularly heavy wetter.

Re: the leaks, it can take a bit of time to get used to cloth imo. What wraps are you using?

Why do they feel the need to change the name of the nappies so often? I have some that say geobel and some that say bambineo all ordered at the same time, and now they've changed it to bambinex .

The drying isn't that much of a problem as I'm afraid I'm only a part time cloth nappy user and I also have a tumble drier.

Grimoirethief I was using a rikki wrap both times they leaked.

The names... geobel was the original make of wambamboos - they changed to bambineo for a more international name... but then (I think) due to the similarities between that and bambino mio, they changed to bambinex.

Tested on Saturday - 2 hours on the line on a warm day, the teddy was dry, fluffle still a bit damp around the fleece edging.

Hmm, I've found Rikki wraps to be pretty reliable (obviously not the case for you ).

Was the leak at the front top of the nappy? I have had occasional problems if the front of the wrap has been fastened on a bit low down so that the nappy has kind of ridden up and over it when ds has been sitting down.

I had one leak up the back of the nappy and another one down the leg, but nothing since. Hasn't put me off though. I had him in pampers today as the cloth nappies were drying and the smell of them just made me feel ill, they are so chemically smelling.