Which are the best real nappies?

[Sallie]

My sister is expecting in the summer and wants to use real nappies. She is cost conscious so what is the best value starter pack? And which are the best real nappies in everyone's opinion as I am tempted to use them next time.....

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I used Bambino Mio birth to potty pack for both kids and found it fab! (same nappies and wraps for both) but we did buy the most luxurious wraps etc they sold, maybe this makes a difference.
Actually I don't need it anymore and although it's lots of use it's still in very good nick!! Let me know if anyone is interested, it's a huge lot.

i am very tempted by the pink tots. must go see how many size 2 i have and if i need to buy anymore lol.

The nb wraps have gussets which does work well for some. Don't let me put you off. Why not try and find a second hand one on ebay. How cute would that pink gingham be under a summer dress?

dd2, summer dress??

the girl should've been a boy. she'll be charging around in the summer kicking a footbal she fights me if i try and put a dress on her.

Another one with a big girl (well a girl with big thighs at least). Anyway for stuffables Fuzzibunz are super both nappy and inners are alomost dry when they come out of the machine. For nappies plus wraps I found Bimbles (then bumbles) very good with Mother Ease wraps.

Oh - just caught a message about pink gingham wraps - used them last summer and not so good. They have cotten overlay I found wee wicked out onto edgings and then onto clothes. You can also only really use them once for the same reason - but they are cute!

I am glad someone else struggled with the NB wraps wicking/leaking. From what you say your dd has big thighs too. Thankfully dd has slimmed down but you could count over 5 rolls of fat on each of those thighs!! I adored it, but I was quite shocked when I looked back at a photo of her!

I have a pink and lilac rainbow tots and my pink has kept its colour FAR better. Does that help some of you?

I also have some wonderoos, they are ok but I prefer my slinki minkis for pocket nappies. Feel free to ask anymore questions about them though misdee.

Oooh one more question to all mothers of the chubby thighed...

Would it be better to set up a changing station:

1. In baby's room

2. In bathroom

3. Forget changing tables, grab a mat and do it on the floor

If you were designing a changing table thing, what features might you build into it to make your life easier ?

I am thinking for example:

Higher than normal 'drawer level' ?

Integrated nappy bucket holder ?

Heated wipe dispenser (seriously, it exists and as gadget freak it sounds good to me) ?

Integrated distraction machine: press a button for light show / soothing music etc.

Built in plumbing / basin ?

Roll holder for dispensing flushable liners ?

Any other wacky / sensible ideas ?

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a changing mat on the floor is what we use. always scared my kids would leap off. now that dd2 is bigger (weighs 40lb at 2yrs old) i have the problems when we are out as all changing tables seem to be screwed to the wall and she exceeds the weight limit so i live in fear of the changing table falling off the wall!!

for ds1 i used to use a changing mat on the floor. but when we moved into new house, the master bedroom had (has) fitted wardrobes/drawers in it. the drawers part goes right round the room almost, and is the perfect height to be a changing table. i call it the worktop area! i have a changing mat on it, a small nappy bucket and the wipes box next to it. there is enough space to also dump trousers etc after removing them. i keep the nappies in a nappy stacker which i hang of the picture rail thing. if i had to design a nursery from scratch, i couldnt have done a better job. the drawers underneath contain all the kids clothes, so everything is in easy reach. the worktop sort of goes on to become a dressing table area, where i keep things like vaseline hairbrush etc.
i dont thin i amdescribing it very well.
the only extra i would have included if i was designing it would have been easy access to a tap. but thats me being fussy.

the liners i used were in a sort of tissue box type thing, so easy to get one handed. i dont think the roll of flushable liners can be easily put in a dispenser. ?

stitch - am designing tiny room for new baby and this is the sort of info which is helpful - how everything is most ergonomically laid out, what you need within reach etc. Thanks.

Must admit the keep it simple, stick it on the floor sounds tempting but maybe you're all sprightly young slim things and I'm not desparately supple and not desparately thin.

Oh, Desperate Housewives in 55 minutes ladies.

I have two changing stations, one up one down. Up is fairly set out as we have more room but down is in a plastic box so it doesn't take over the lounge (unless DD finds it of course!)The first few months I did leave it all out ready though as was changing more often.

I had a 'changing unit' when I was in the UK (one of those with a bath underneath) which people had said would be a waste of time but I thought was wonderful!!! Just the right height to protect my back. Now I have moved I have a changing mat that I have put on the top of a chest of drawers. You do need an extra bit of surface for the wipes and dirty nappy though so I have a bookcase next to it with the wipes. The nappies are in the top drawer. I make up the nappy (ie liner in etc) before I start to change dd and put it on the bookshelf till it is ready. I HATE changing on the floor (do when I visit family friends etc and when dd seemed to want to throw herself off - phase didn't last) as I find it a real strain on my back and when I went to physio for it he was aghast I changed on the floor at all. I think a mobile over the nappy changing area would be a great idea if you can set one up esp for when they are about 12 months. I would have found it a lifesaver. Nappy bucket is in the toilet room perfect for when I have sluiced or got rid of liners. HTH

Chest of drawers is about waist height. My top tip for easy cloth changes is to make the new nappy up before you start changing ie liner in nappy and in wrap ready to go! Esp useful when you go out and about too. Just one 'bit' to grab from the bag.

Thought I'd revive this to ask what people thought of the use of fleece as a material in their nappies / liners / wraps...

I have contined surfing the insanity that is nappy world, and I found fleece liners for sale, fleece-lined nappies for sale, nappies made of fleece for sale and fleece wraps for sale.

1. Am I right in thinking that 'fleece' is the 100% polyester fabric used in sports wear etc. (Polartec being a branded example) ?

2. Now, from what I can tell of my own fleece garments they're soft, but and have a certain degree of water repellency, but they're not waterproof (unless perhaps if treated with chemicals or combined with goretex etc.)

I don't quite understand how they would function in reality:

• wouldn't explosive bf poo hitting a liner just splodge everywhere ? (Surely the aim is to try and soak up as much as poss... I'd have thought a terry liner would be best ?)

• I would have also thought that a nappy made of fleece would contain wee to a certain level reasonably well, but at the moment the fibres hit 100% moisture saturation, any liquid would wick through instantly (just did this test with water on a fleece jacket). Also, the fibre can't hold water (it's plastic), so it's only the micro loops / gaps holding the fluid as opposed to terry cotton which I guess kind of absorbs water by swelling of the natural cotton fibrous loops...

(Though on reflection, I guess Terry towelling is like this: a towel can only hold so much water before liquid in goes straight out.)

-Finally, wrt to a fleece wrap, I can see it doing its job for a little while, but on a saturated nappy surely it stands no chance, especially if the baby is sitting in a car seat or push chair. (Contrast that with PUL wrap, for example).

So: Are fleece liners / nappies / wraps just soft and nice to look out, but are actually a bit crappy ? Or have I missed something ?

i can only comment on fleece as a liner and have to say its excellent. it keeps the poo off the nappy and the baby dry of wee.

i bought a piece of fleece- 1/2 a meter and cut it up. i got about18 or so. just make sure its soft

Hub2dee - not actually used my real nappies yet (baby not due till June!) so this is all theory, but...

I read somewhere (think it may have been the nappy lady site) that the point of fleece liners is that they don't hold the wee. They hold the poo in one easy-to-clean off place, but all the wee goes through into the nappy, keeping it away from baby's bottom (thus avoiding nappy rash etc).

Anyone else who actually knows stuff, please feel free to correct me!

Hi cornflake, I am similarly endowed of nappy knowledge, with first due August.

I understand poop hits fleece wee flows through bum stays dry.

But my problem (and I'm possibly just being a tad thick), is that many nappies are lined with fleece, or made entirely from fleece.

That's what just doesn't seem to make sense.

If they're lined, then wee hits fleece > straight through > onto clothes.

If they're made of fleece then wee > booster / liner which reaches capacity > fleece nappy gets wet > onto clothes.

All in ones I understand. They make sense . PUL I get.

hub2dee, we've been discussing reusables on the august thread, please drop in and give us your opinions etc - you seem to have done FAR more research than me!

Hub2dee

I guess that the nappy is supposed to be wet - that's what the wrap is for. Fleece wraps - that's another thing! I've heard that they're not good on car seats etc - but better at night because they're more breathable...

Think we need an expert - I'll shut up and let someone else talk!

"I guess that the nappy is supposed to be wet - that's what the wrap is for."

Yeah, I guess so. Personally, I think I'd rather wet myself on a towel than a Polartec fleece, IYSWIM.