Help/advice on cloth nappies

[Dee3]

Hi Everyone,

I'm planning to use cloth nappies when my baby arrives in early 2021, but I'll admit, I don't really know where to start.

What does everyone use? And why?

Are there things to avoid?

And what's a reasonable price?

I don't want to invest in a system and get it wrong!

TIA x

Hey!

It can seem really overwhelming when first starting out, there's so many different types and don't get me started on all the terminology! Haha.

I would definitely recommend doing the Nappy Lady questionnaire, she will provide you with recommendations based on your priorities. I'll admit I was still none the wiser after my questionnaire to start with though!

If you have Facebook, the nappy lady parenting page is super supportive and helpful (and not just about nappies, there's general parenting chats going on all the time). I've learned more from the Facebook groups for various retailers (they usually all have a chat page) since I started than I did researching on my own.

My little one is 7 months old now, and we started out with little lamb 2 parters (that's a separate absorbent nappy and then a wrap that goes over the top), these can be really reliable but can also be quite bulky. Once our little one arrived and was a bit bigger, I moved onto different brands in the day, looking for a slimmer fit. My stash is made up of a variety of brands because I like them all in different scenarios. At nighttime I use Terry squares and a wrap, which I never thought I would before I started so never rule anything out!

Price depends on the brands you want to try, but the good thing is that a lot of brands hold onto their value and it can be simple to sell anything that's not working for you (a lot of people sell on Facebook selling groups). I sold all my size one little lambs for £100, and I bought them originally for £140, which I didn't think was too bad.

If you want to cloth from birth folded muslins and wraps can be a cheap way to get started and then to be honest I'd just buy a few brands to try (the ones recommended by the nappy lady questionnaire would be a good place to start) and go from there. I didn't start using our cloth nappies (bought pre birth) until our little one was 4 weeks old because she was tiny! I then used them and bought one or two different nappies until I built up a stash of what I liked.

Good luck!