Cotton bottoms, am I using them correctly!?

[marlou]

Can anyone help? I have just started using cotton bottoms as my 21mt old ds seemed to be going through disposables like they were going out of fashion! I thought I would try these as had read that they were pretty good but I am sure I am doing something wrong! Everytime ds wears them they leak around the leg edges and so I am now doing more washing than ever! Also when using the liners they don't seem to contain the poo as they should do!! Very messy incident this evening, has nearly put me off continuing with them!! I can't however give up as I have nagged dh for ages about how we should be more environmentally friendly when it comes to nappies!!! Where am I going wrong?

[hatstand]

hi marlou - are you using the prefold ones? ie the square ones? I found them difficult as my two got older - leaked a lot. There's a brilliant website - thenappylady.co.uk all about cotton nappies that might be useful. I think the motherease ones are good but again, didn't quite seem to work once they're older, so we spent last few months in green disposables

[misdee]

totsbots work well on older children i find. tho makes them have big bums

[SenoraPostrophe]

haven´t used cotton bottoms, but with tots bots you need to make sure that the nappy is on tightly and the wrap is not too big/small (also that no nappy is sticking out).

liners don´t always contain all poo if you don´t get toit quickly but if nappy is on tightly, it gets most.

Please ignore this if cotton bottoms are nothing like tots bots! (i.e. elasticated nappy with wrap).

But is your ds big for a 21 month old? is it possible you should be using the next size up?

[Amanda3266]

Hi marlou,

Do these come with waterproof wraps or is the wrap integral? If they come with an additional wrap it could just be that the wrap is not quite right.

Also check that none of the nappy (as mentioned by the last poster) is sticking out under the edges of the wrap.

I use Motherease wraps and they are brilliant - get a very rare leak with them but that's all.

Mandy

[marlou]

My ds is quite small for his age and they seem to be quite snug when I get them on him. Don't know if prehaps I need to change him more often than I did when I used disposables?

[mummyhelen]

Hi marlou. I switched from disposables a few months ago for the same reason. I tried several nappies, cotton bottoms being one of them. I had exactly the same problem and it really put me off too. I now use Rainbow Bots and Bumbles with a Mother-ease airflow wrap and we haven't looked back. They are much more reliable than our disposables were and although they do work out more expensive than cotton bottoms they are really worth it. Once use have finished with them you could always sell on ebay as there is a very good second hand market for them. Good luck

[misdee]

try a large wrap. that could work.

[CarrieG]

I use the large cotton bottoms wrap with totsbots & it seems fairly accident proof...you do need to make sure there is no nappy sticking out round the leg or it wicks pee straight onto the trousers - ugh. & need to change them a bit more often than disposables or they will leak whatever you do...

[bloss]

Message withdrawn

[marlou]

Thanks for all the advice,bloss I think you are right about the binding on the leg of the wraps, every time I change DS that part is wet and I have to change the whole thing. Am going to have a look at totbots and see if they would suit ds. Yes he still is at that pasty poo stage. Thanks for the link. I will continue!!!

[Jimjams]

marlou- do you have the coton wraps? You may like to try the polyester ones. I have never managed to stop leaks with cotton wraps (and I'm on my 3rd time round now)- no problems with any of the waterproof wraps though (and that's true for prefolds or shaped nappies).

[Maisiemog]

Hi Marlou,
I've only just started using cotton bottoms on my new baby, who is thirteen weeks. He has runny breastfed poo, so may be similar to your little one. I use a nappi nippa to secure the prefold and use the newborn style of folding, which is on the leaflet you get with the cotton bottoms. That link from bloss shows the Angel Wing, which is the same thing as the newborn fold. This seems to contain the poo inside the wrap for the majority of the time.
If you use the newborn fold and the nappi nippa, and make sure the nappy is on tightly enough round the legs, you will find there is a kind of pocket formed at the back of the nappy to catch the poo. I've got to the point now where I don't even have any poo on the wrap - I think it's just practice.
I also tend to add a kushies booster pad, you can buy these in big branches of Tesco, they absorb lots more and make the nappy last much longer. I have found them far superior to the Pampers New Born that we use occasionally.
However, the boosters do make the nappy more bulky, so you just have to choose between more frequent changes or bigger bums. At least you have the choice with prefolds, whereas I think nappies like Tots Bots mean you can only have high absorbancy/bulk.
Also I have made some fleece liners which keep the baby bum dry.
I second what Carrie said that you have to check there is no nappy poking out of the wrap, or there is a kind of osmotic effect and all the wee goes on the clothes.
I'm thinking about using a velcro to hold the nappies in place, instead of the nappi nippa, but I don't know if this will work. Anyone?

[Maisiemog]

Oh yes, and like bloss says, the more they are washed the better and the drier they are the better as well - I've started piling them onto the radiator for a final bone dry. I just remembered to add that you shouldn't use fabric conditioner on any nappy, as this will affect the absorbancy.

[Maisiemog]

Sorry, I'm being an airhead. The other thing I just remembered was that Cotton Bottoms tell you that the disposable liner is not good to use with newborn poo. We tried them initially and found this to be the case, so we have abandoned the disposable liner for now.