Reusable nappies in newborn size for nappy rash

[NorthernDuck]

My baby is 3 1/2 weeks and has terrible nappy rash, he’s had it since day 3-4 and even the prescription cream won’t shift it - we’ve tried aldi, Morrisons, pampers, Asda and boots nappies. It improved slightly with Asda nappies but they leaked badly as he’s very skinny. I’m not looking for suggestions on how to improve the nappy rash as we’ve tried 3 creams, loads of nappy brands, change him every 1-2 hours and do nappy free time.
We saw a different doctor today who says there is no infection it’s just red raw like it’s getting a reaction to the nappies and suggested trying reusable ones. At this stage I’ll try anything because he’s in so much pain - we already use reusable wipes.
what nappies/liners would you recommend? He is still under 8lb and a lot of nappies are for over 8lb but we can’t wait for him to put on weight! I want everything to be washable or if disposable liners completely natural with no chemicals/latex/plastics etc at all.

We used terry squares since my daughter was around 6.5lbs. It’s bulkier but we’ve not had any issues with nappy rash and we never had to buy different nappy sizes, just change the nappy fold.

If you didn’t want Terry squares then You could try just using a fleece liner in a disposable for now as your baby is so small.

Thanks, I think we may get the terrys as they seem best for newborn even if we swap to others later on. We have taken the nappies off completely today and just wrapped him in a towel, not sure how we will do tonight - a friend is dropping off some of her old reusable nappies after work but they are for a bigger baby, we will have to see if we can tighten them somehow maybe with some safety pins. Borrowing hers was the soonest I could get some, buying them would take a few days once we have waited for delivery and we are pretty desperate as his bum is so bad.
I think she has fleece liners too, can you get the fleece to cover the whole area covered by the nappy, he is red sore (but not weeping (yet)) around where the waist band of the nappy touches his skin. Basically anywhere the nappy touches him is sore or very sore. My mum suggested the same but using a Muslin, have to say I can’t bare to put a nappy on him at the moment to test the Muslin because he gets so distressed with the nappies and I’ve only got 4 muslins so can’t afford to get them messy too early into the night!

I liked Little lambs pocket nappies. They aren't too expensive either (or they weren't about 5 years ago when we had ds)! I didn't like terries tbh, but I know a lot of people do

Thanks @DavinaTheDonkey id seen these, TBH the whole reusable nappies terrifies me but I guess we will get used to it and we can’t carry on as we are because his bum is just weeping underneath and I suspect it won’t be long before the other areas are the same, it’s so sore it’s really upsetting me.

My youngest could only tolerate Naty Biodegradable cornstarch nappies. Cloth nappies and all normal ones were really harsh on their skin.

My DD reacted so badly to cloth nappies, even with liners. She was so red raw that I had to switch to disposables on the advice of the paediatrician. That brand isn't around anymore, but she had perfect skin within days. It's worth persevering with different brands as cloth keeps the urine close to the skin and doesn't wick it away.

I know this is so not the point of your thread so feel free to ignore me but just in case it’s helpful… has anyone mentioned a cows milk protein allergy? It can sometimes explain bad nappy rash and GPs are notoriously a bit shit at recognising the signs.

@InTheRainOnATrain I had considered this but I want to rule out the nappies first and try to clear the bum up. I didn’t mention in the post as it’s not necessarily relevant but both my mum and I have allergies to plasters and also ingredients in a lot of perfumes, cleaning products etc so I thought that it was the more likely option for the reaction - and the reason why we are using reusable wipes because a lot of the disposable ones Im allergic to. I find it so frustrating that with food, companies have to list all ingredients but they don’t with products so we don’t know what the trigger is so we won’t know what to avoid.
He also doesn’t seem to have any of the other symptoms of a milk allergy, he’s a bit sicky but then a lot of babies are!

Have you tried Kit and Kin? They’re super eco (for disposables) and there’s a long list of what they don’t contain versus what regular nappies often do. The thing with reusables is that they’re never going to be as good at absorbing moisture away from the skin quickly, you often hear it quoted re potty training because toddlers in reusables know when they’ve wet so often train quicker and younger. So possibly the last thing you want with a bad rash, poor baby. Hope you get it sorted though! Good luck.

Could be the wipes your using (if you are) my GS gets sore with Aldi wipes

I used these for my second baby:

https://closeparent.com/collections/nappy-packs/products/newborn-pack-2020

They are lovely and fit well at newborn stage. People buy them secondhand (or at least they did, the market for them might not be the same these days) so you may be able to resell them. You could also try to buy this way too (perhaps someone has a pack that hasn't even been used; for your baby you might prefer to buy new though given the issues you are facing).

FYI I don't recommend this type if you continue using reusable nappies after these are outgrown. There are better options past the newborn stage. Loads of Facebook groups about reusable nappies for advice if needed.

Also one benefit of cloth nappies (if you choose well) - no leaks. I gave up taking spare clothes out, whereas with first baby (in disposables) we regularly had to change clothes due to nappies not containing the situation!

Is there a nappy library in your area? Might be worth asking on a local social media page/group or local parenting group. Or perhaps local health visiting service would know. They may be a great source of advice or be able to loan nappies of you are interested so you can trial them.

I didn't use them for the first few months but did have some tiny close pop in nappies and also some little lambs which were good for smaller babies.

You can use muslins on a new born. It’s easy as they can’t wriggle away. The Jo fold (YouTube video) and nappy nippas work a treat. I would change less rather than more. The skin won’t heal with all the constant washing so I’d leave for 3 hours if there is no poo. I’d use washable wipes as well. Helps to get everything lovely and clean and then use another to dry before cream. Both my boys got a bit sore with fleecy liners when new born. My daugher didn’t though. I’d recommend paper liners till the rash has healed.

The nappy lady website is great and sell perfect muslins for nappies. I used them up to 6 months although needed a booster for absorbancy after a couple of months. Motherease airflow wraps have been amazing for us - mine have done 3 children and are still in good condition. Weleda nappy cream is great and I use it a sa barrier all the time.

Totally agree with Lollopoped. I came on here to say exactly that: muslins, the Jo fold and nappy nippa instead of a pin. I used this for my second and third from birth. The muslins dry so fast. You'll need newborn mother ease wrap but you can rent them from places like the Nappy Lady.

I would recommend the nappy lady questionnaire and peer support Facebook group

We did cloth nappies from day 3 with my 6lber. We used muslinz all the way through to 2y9m when we potty trained over the years we doubled up and then added a booster. As a newborn we used rumparooz newborn wraps which are 4-15lb and Bambino Mio size 1 which went up to 9kg. We used bambinex and kijani in addition to rumparooz and Bambino Mio when I birth to potty. They all were good in different ways
We dabbled with shaped nappies and Terry's too. We used Terry's overnight most of the time. From my experience the two part systems where you have an absorbent bit with a fleece liner for the inner bit and a water proof wrap changed every 3 or 4 nappies depending on if soiled are the most bomb proof option. We did have some nasty nappy rashes anyway but this resolved once we went dairy free. She was pooing up to 20 times a day and I think it was always going to be a challenge to not get nappy rash in that situation. We never had a leaked poo on cloth and we probably would have identified her allergies earlier as I counted my daughter as better than my friend as we never had the poonamis they spoke about but it was due to the nappies.

Get some more muslins - primark sell them cheap, you don't need posh ones. Look up online how to fold a terry nappy- you fold it like a kite shape, with a safety pin or clip at the front, but use a muslin as a nappy to let his skin breath.

Also a small handful of salt in his bath to help the skin, no bubbles or anything else.

Let him lay on a towel with no nappy for as much time as you can.

Am sure you're using nappy cream, but check you're using it right - metanium in particular has to be applied so thinly you can see the skin.

Also no one told me about layering creams - you can apply a thick cheap barrier zinc cream on top, eg metanium (or whatever healing cream youre using goes on to treat) with a thick cream on top to make a barrier to stop wee getting to the skin. No one told me this, it was a game changer.

Good luck, it's such a stressful thing when they're so tiny too, but you're doing a great job.

We tried the nappy lady nappies and muslins, and eventually found these which can be used from 7.5 lbs.

They're all in two, very easy to wash, and go on like a disposable. No nappy rash problems or leaks.

babybarenappies.co.uk/collections/our-sale-items/products/ai2-nappy-with-love-collection?variant=42701654032551

They're on sale at the moment, would really recommend.