Cloth nappies

[ToadandTadpole]

Hi all

Am making the switch to cloth nappies and wipes for 5 week old son.

Does anyone have any tips or advice?

I filled in an advice questionnaire on the nappy ladies website and she sent me 2 recommendations which have been great. if you are using reuseable wipes too don't bother with oil for the clean ones as it can cause a reaction. I'm still finding my routine with washing and drying but we're getting there! I would say get a couple to try before you fully commit as there are so many you can chose from so you want to make sure it's the right choice for you! if you have a nappy library near you that might be a good starting place too.

Nappy lady does good advice and great reusable wipes! Also vest extenders which are handy as cloth bums are so much bigger that sometimes can be a struggle to stretch the vest over them!

It’s definitely more time consuming than disposables (mainly because I find they’re not quite as absorbent and need changing more often - every 3 hours or so depending on brand). But totally doable and I feel a frisson of satisfaction at every nappy change that makes it worth it!!

We do a nappy wash every 2 or 3 days, usually overnight and hang them in the morning. We have a drying rack by the washing machine at the end of the kitchen, takes about 3 minutes to hang them up. We have a changing table downstairs so dry nappies can go straight from rack to baby’s bum.

We have 3 wet bags on rotation for out and about and also take some reusable wipes - most places you can find a sink to wet them, I take some wet wipes just in case but I hardly ever use them.

Worth looking for second hand nappies as new ones can be pricey. And to try out different brands and see which one you get on with best.

Some councils do a free sample pack or other scheme so worth checking that out too.

Good luck! Can be a bit trial and error at first but persevere!

Seek out your local nappy library and hire a kit. That way, it will have different types and different brands - you will find out what works best for your baby in terms of fit, fastenings etc before committing to purchase a specific brand.

Cloth wipes - you'll never go back, they're so much better.

Get yourself a bucket to store the dirty nappies in. We washed 2/3 times a week when exclusively using cloth. A delicates bag works well for the wipes when they go in the bucket.

Let me know if you have any specific questions, I'm a nappy library volunteer and happy to help.

I didn't use them until mine were older but I wish you luck. If you can do full time cloth then great but if you are having a bad day/week and you use disposables sometimes don't feel like a failure. Once they're toddler age I think the cloth nappy experience really varies with poo texture. Nice firm dry poos are easy enough to deal with but sadly both mine did squidgy poos and they were a bit of a nightmare. So again don't feel like a failure if yours does squidgy poos and you're finding it harder than someone else. Good luck!