Planning on using reusables for first baby ...

[beaufies]

I am expecting my first DS in October and want to use reusable nappies. I have started looking online and reading up in magazines but to the completely uninitiated it all seems mind bogling.

All the talk of wraps, inserts, all in ones, bamboo/cotton, fleece, liners, boosters velcro/poppers/nippas Does one size fit all from birth to potty training ? Are some better for boys or girls ?

Can someone please help...I seem to be going round in circles and it's really stressing me out

Thanks everso

you can get personalised advice from people like Team Lollipop (advisors come round and show you nappies) or online from the Nappy Lady.

Not all nappies fit from birth to potty, and its generally down to the shape of your baby rather than gender.

A lot of it boils down to:

Washing/drying - do you have a tumble dryer or plenty of room to dry inside/outside

Cost - do you have a very limited budget

Ease of use - will your baby be going to nursery/childminder

Thanks cmotdibbler

We do have a tumble dryer and plenty of room for drying (will try not to tumble dry all the time for fear of the green police)

Cost is not a main consideration, rather comfort for DS and ease of use and convenience for me and DH !

If you consult with these people do you get genuine advice or are they biased by sales targets or even personal favourites

You do get genuine advice, but everyone has personal favourites, and everyone has likes and dislikes - for instance, in this house we prefer poppers to velcro (aplix) (it started as DH thought he'd never remember to do the velcro up before he put it in the wash, then we found that they didn't fit DS very well as they tend to be stiffer round the waist and he was chubby, and then as they get older they can whip them off)or nippas, and I think that a two part system is best for containing breastfed baby poo.

For a newborn you don't need to worry about boosters or liners, and unless your priority is ease of use, then all in ones aren't a great choice as they take forever to dry.

Materials - you have a choice of cotton, hemp, bamboo or microfibre. Bamboo and hemp are very eco as they don't need a lot of pesticides and weedkillers to grow, and are very absorbent, but do tend to get hard. A great choice for night nappies later. Microfibre dries very quickly.

I started off with xs Sandys and airflow wraps, then small sandys, then Motherease one size - staying with Airflow wraps. The Sandys are very cute on a little one, and you never get a poo leak. Mine did DS, a friends DD, and are now with a colleagues DS, then will get sold. Later, we've acquired rather a collection of pocket nappies, which are easier with an older baby who runs off when you are changing them.

My advice would be to lurk around on the nappy sales board here, join the Yahoo real nappy list and buy a selection of newborn nappies second hand - its no risk then and you can try them all out when your LO is born, and decide what you really like in a nappy, sell what you don't like, and buy more of what you do

.....or alternatively find out if there is a trial kit system in operation near you .

Don't forget to find out if your local council offers financial incentives for using cloth (many do). Have a look here to see what is in your area.

Where do you live? There are some very good shops who can advise you and let you look at some of the options - Born for example is in London and Bristol?

Basically as long as you have an absorbent part and a waterproof part and somewhere to stash the dirties until wash day, you're all set. You can go round and round in circles trying to have the latest nappies, the brightest colours and all that.
2 part just means an absorbent nappy part and a seperate outer. The absorbent bit can be shaped like ours, hourgless shaped, or flat. The outer can be wool, pul, fleece.
Pocket means a nappy you can stuff- it either is waterproof or needs a cover over it and you can stuff it with anything.
AIO is all in one. Just stick it on and go.

In my honest opinion as a parent of 5, 2 part nappies are more reliable as you have the nappy bit for soaking up and catching poo, and the wrap cover to catch anything the nappy doesn't and to protect clothes and bedding etc. But this is my opinion

Don't get bogged down, and try to remember that what suits one may not suit another.

Hiya,

Both myself and nappyzone do tailored cloth advice which can talk you through all the different types of nappies, work out what would suit you etc.

If you look for us in the small business section on here we can sort you out

Message withdrawn

chequers - yep. Thread here

Hi, I decided to use cloth nappies for DD2 after using disposable for DD1 throughout. My absolute favourites (and I've tried lots of different variations and materials) are cotton terry Motherease onesize with airflow popper wraps (DD2 worked out how to undo velcro at about 10 months and just LOVES that ripping sound.........). MEOS are very basic and un-exciting but just fabulously practical.

My main advice with a first child is (although I'd definitely recommend buying a selection of nappies prior to birth so you are ready to go) don't necessarily expect to have your baby 100% in cloth from day 1. I found with DD2 that she was just too small (at 6lb 1oz) and she didn't fit into the MEOS nappies until she was well over 8lb (around 4 weeks old) and they leaked prior to that (although I have never ever had single a leak with them, even v explosive bf poo, since then). Personally I didn't want to go to the added expense of getting a specific set of small newborn nappies that I wouldn't use for that long.

Even once I had DD2 in cloth during the day I didn't do so at night until she slept through (around 2 months). There is NOTHING more demoralising at 3am than fiddling with poppers on a pooey nappy in semi darkness as you try not to wake the baby up too much..... I ended up buying Ella's hous bumhugger nappies for night time (used with a ME airflow wrap) as they are really absorbant (if a bit bulky) and the fleece lining works wonders fo any redness.

Everything about a new baby can be a big shock, although I do my utmost to persuade all my friends to use cloth I usually say to those expecting their first, maybe to use disposables for the first couple of weeks until you find your feet with the whole baby thing.

Good luck. I really like two websites www.twinkleontheweb.co.uk
and www.treehuggermums.co.uk

Just don't imagine you are limited to the very small and paltry selection of cloth nappies sold in Mothercare (Totsbots honorably excepted).

There are lots of online and small business suppliers who have much better quality, better designed nappy systems. I get most of my nappy needs from a local nappy agent or from ebay.

if you've got pots of dosh, buy a few of each and see how you get on with them, then sell on if you want and buy the larger size after a few months when you also know what you want
you could try
a few pocket nappies
tots bots bamboo and cotton (not their wraps which are awful)
ellas house hemp (day nappies great for little babies, night ones good as well)
fluffles

any other suggestions everyone?

I bought a pack of mixed size 1 nappies from some classified ads (Nappy Lady, but she doesn't do classifieds anymore). I think I paid £35 and got ten nappies of different sorts and about four wraps. From this and a trial pack that the lovely flamesparrow put together for me, I then went on to get the next size up in the ones that suited us well.

We now use pockets (the lovely nappyzone has sold me some) as I find they are much easier for a wriggly toddler who doesn't like having her nappy changed.

There are second hand ones for sale on here, flame has a calssified section and there is a great used nappy auction site

beware though...it's addictive once you start

My advice is always to buy several different types 2nd hand, saves you money, saves you pre-washing them and preference and what suits your baby best is an unknown until you try them on your baby. I think everyone will be in agreement that motherease air flow (popper) wraps are the most reliable wraps and work with all fitted nappies (not prefolds though)

HTH

Things that I think are really important but often overlooked:

What kind of water you have
How are you going to dry them.

I had to get rid of all of my natural fibre nappies (cotton, bamboo, hemp) because our water is very very hard and in the winter I have to dry on radiators or a clothes rack. They all went rock hard and some became scratchy - so hard I couldn't bear to put them on her.

If you have soft water and a tumble dryer you don't have to consider this at all!