Reusable nappies and wipes - FTM

[emcampbell04]

Hi all, due my first baby in October and trying to decide on whether or not to use reusable nappies and wipes...
In terms of wipes I've looked in to cheeky wipes but not sure how many to get? I'm thinking of 2 sets with 25 wipes in each, then extra wipes but not sure how many (I think they come in sets of 10 or 25), also not sure if I'd need extra oil to go in with the water mix. What do people use/ recommend?

With nappies I have no clue where to start! Does anyone have any recommendations on brands etc? How many nappies would I need and how many liners etc. I may start with disposable then move to reusable once she's a little older.

Sorry to be completely clueless! Any advice/ experience would be really appreciated 

Hi,
I got nappies second hand from a friend and I like them. I use Miosolo and little bloom nappies and cheeky wipes. I use disposable nappies when out and about and at night but planning to switch to disposable some time.
The reusable nappies leak occasionally and i feel they don't last as long as disposable ones, that's why I haven't tried them at night yet.
Some friends of mine use bamboo nappies which are supposedly amazing. It's an inner bamboo nappy and a waterproof liner, no leaks apparently but expensive.
I don't use the paper liners. I just rinse the nappy when she does a poo and put it into the nappy bucket where I keep dirty nappies. Once full I wash them. I do a little pre soak before putting into the washing machine.
I also found that the nappies are quite big. I started using them once daughter was around 4.5kg

Hi! I have cheeky wipes and really like them. I got the full 'system' which works really well (clean tub and a mucky tub). I do think they're over marketed flannels though - you could achieve the same thing with cheap flannels and tupperware.

I thought id really like re-usable nappies but hated the faff of them.

Second PP above about leaky re-usables. I got two with inserts from kit and kin and they were worse than disposables in terms of leaking.

I'm exactly the same clueless and my dh isn't interested in reusables at all . So I've decided to go with the cheeky wipes and littles & blooms but also disposables for dh to use them go between the two until I decide what I think works for us x

Hello! I've been using cheeky wipes for five years with two kids. I think they're better than Tupperware as the boxes are easy to open and close one handed and they shut tightly, which keeps little fingers out for a good while!

We don't bother using essential oils. We wet the clean wipes and keep them in the box. Use them all within a day or two so they never go manky. We 'dry pail' ie put used wipes into the box dry. We wash the dirty wipes every day or two too. If we are using reusable nappies I wash them all together. If were not using the nappies for whatever reason, I put the wipes on for a rinse wash and then leave them in the machine to be washed and dried with the next load of clothes I wash.

You can also take wet wipes straight out of the machine and put them straight into your clean box, saves the faff of drying them. Make sure you use a hot wash if you're not using a tumble drier as the heat kills the bugs.

We bought one set of boxes and wipes, plus an additional wipes pack. They've lasted the whole 5yrs and are just about enough, sometimes we run out between washes. I really like them. One or two wipes cleans a poo, instead of about ten disposables. Plus, lots of plastic wipes and probably money saved too.

Nappy wise we've been using baba and boo. Tbh I've never heard anyone complain about them. There are heaps to try; I picked these as they seemed to fit many different size of child! The body coach is now using the same brand and often talks about them on their baby account if you want to see them in action!

You can also take wet wipes straight out of the machine and put them straight into your clean box

Why has this never occured to me before?! Ive been drying them and then wetting them again 🤦‍♀️

Agree with everything @TeaAndASitDown says.

You could make your own from flannels but the smaller size of Cheeky wipes is perfect for cleaning baby bums so to properly recreate that you’d have to cut up flannels and then hem them, and who has time for that with a newborn! We got the full set with the trial pack which had different types of cloth and then we bought another pack of the ones we liked (the multicoloured bamboo Terry ones) so we could go longer between washes.

Even if you don’t care about the environmental aspects they are SO much better at actually cleaning your baby. We used them from birth with our son who is now two and will reuse for my next baby due later this year.

I tried reusable nappies and didn’t get on with them. DS leaked through every brand and/or got nappy rash if we did manage to use enough boosters, plus with so many boosters it really restricted his movement. He clearly produces a ridiculous amount of wee!

You will do fine with one set of cheeky wipes (25). You don't need the oils. I just rinsed under the tap and put in the box (empty, not filled with water) and then washed as normal. I also keep them stacked dry and just wet under tap before use. You shouldn't really use essential oils like that on a baby's skin anyway. I have a separate set (black ones, so they look different) that I use in the kitchen but you won't need those until weaning.

For reusable nappies, I personally would start with disposables for the first 8 weeks or so and just see how you are doing. I would have found it really overwhelming from the start. I was exhausted and had enough washing to do already. I personally found that bamboozle nappies with a motherease wrap worked the best for me and really never leaked. But all babies are built differently. I would not get cheap ones just for the sake of them being cheap. Get good high quality ones (even if secondhand) and find ones you like that work well for you. The Nappy Lady has a questionnaire you can fill out, but you may also have a local cloth nappy expert near you (look on Facebook) who could answer questions.

I just use baby washcloths/ facecloths as wipes (Terry towel material). They are brilliant and cost me $5 for 10 from Big W (cheapo shop in Oz).

Just run them under the tap to wet them, or use a spray bottle of water if your change area isn't near a sink.

Second PP above about leaky re-usables. I got two with inserts from kit and kin and they were worse than disposables in terms of leaking.
Lots of problems with the new Kit and Kin resusables. Lots of shops not stockinf them as the quality isn’t up to par.

We use mostly Little Lamb one size pockets in the day and Motherease Sandys with a wool wrap at night. I also really like Baba and Boo pockets.

Hey, my DS is 11weeks and I've been using reusable nappies and wipes full time since we returned home from the hospital (chose to use disposables in there for ease). I chose a two part nappy system to begin with (little lambs microfiber nappies and then the bamboo ones for the night with bamboo inserts to boost the nappies once I realised he was a heavy wetter). This was a great introduction to reusable nappies for me and they were super easy to use, however in hindsight I would use muslins and terries as these just seem to fit newborns much better (fortunately DS was 8lb 13oz so fit into the ones I had extremely well straight away, but if he had been small it would have been a different story).

I've since bought more nappies (don't want to be doing a wash everyday!) and have used the pocket nappy system (this is where you put an insert inside the pocket of a wrap). I get on really well with littles and bloomz (these are super cheap and available on amazon). These have a bamboo insert and last well with just that if I'm in the house, but if I go out i boost it with a bamboo booster (triple thickness little and lamb ones are fab) to make it last longer. I also got some eco print pockets and elf pocket nappies (from ecoclothdiaper.com) as they have disney prints! But these have turned out to be a fab nappy too. I bought these with the microfibre insert and I now like to combine the microfibre and bamboo inserts for extra absorption. I've had no leaks with any of these so far.
On a night I use the bamboo little and lamb nappy or the Ella's bumhugger nappy with hemp and bamboo inserts and the petit lulu pull up cover and these last 8hrs minimum (probably longer if little one didn't like to get up so much!).

I use fleece liners, too. These I got from the nappy lady website, but you could make your own using a fleece blanket.

For the reusable wipes, I got the nappy lady's. I love using reusable wipes but wouldn't recommend these ones as they have come out all bobbly ever since the first wash. So I would just either try cheeky wipes or pick some cheap flannels or towels up and cut them into smaller pieces, as they would work just as well. I soak about 10-20 wipes in camomile tea each morning and they last (sometimes don't need to do this every morning, just depends how many he got through and you don't need anywhere near as many of the reusable wipes to clean up explosive poos as you would wet wipes as my husband as now admitted and has been converted 😂).

I've loved my cloth journey and would recommend it to anybody who asks. It is a learning curve and you do have to persevere with the fit and which inserts to use to get the best absorbancy for your baby, but it has been completely worth it.

Sorry didn't realise that was such a long post! Just wanted to add that if you have facebook you could join the cloth nappies uk group as they have so much good advice

Been using cloth (muslins+terries) and Cheeky Wipes from birth. Not once has the baby pooed through or peed through (never in 8m). Zero leaks. Zero hassle. Zero waste. He is now 8mo. I agree with pp on the FB group, they will give you amazing advice and support.

Cheeky wipes are great. 50 will be plenty and you can buy extra oil if you want but we just use plain water and it seems to do the job just as well.

In terms of nappies - we used all in ones (miosolo) with DD1 but did quite often get leaks. With DD2 we are using a 2 part system (bamboozles) and find them much more reliable and easier to adjust. She has been in them since about 3 weeks old, but we do use disposables at night.

Another thing to consider is the bulkiness of the nappy under clothing. We found when she turned 3 months or so and started wearing outfits rather than just sleepsuits, the nappies often dont fit under.

Not sure if anyone else has mentioned this already but if getting extra cheeky wipes and the mucky wipes box, remember and get an extra wash bag. That way you can put one bag in the wash, and pop the empty clean bag in for the next lot of wipes.

I have done 4 months with 1 bag and kept having to pick a few pooey wipes out the box to put the washed bag back in so just ordered another.

Like other posters, I tried reusable nappies and I found them to be hell on earth.
I've just sold all mine. Now my baby has a dry bum rather than sitting against wet material.

If I knew then what I know now, I'd have never ever bought them.
I do have wipes and use them for face, hands and bum. They're ok.

I used reusable wipes but disposable nappies.

I found this is a really good comfortable balance

Thank you everyone this has been really helpful!