cloth nappies - help!!

[Shelly679]

I need help, advice anything please. I have been using cloth nappies for about 6 months but then my dd broke out in a really bad case of thrush so on advice of doctor switched to disposables for a few weeks till it cleared up. I put all of her nappies through a 60 wash a couple of times with a little bit of washing powder and napisan then through with nothing. Everything was cleared up and I put on a reusable, by the next nappy change it was a bit red but then next one it nappy rash had broke out. Put all nappies through another couple of washes and went back to disposables. Yesterday I put cloth nappies on again and same thing happened.
I really dont know what to do as I really like using the cloth and don't want to give up. Any advice would be gratefully received.

They sometimes get nappy rash.Why would disposables full of chemicals be better?

Noone ever recommends cloth for when babies with disposables get nappy rash, do they?

I know what your saying but its everytime I put the cloth nappy on her the rash breaks out. What am I doing wrong?

Do you use apaper liner or fleeceliner?

Usually a paper liner that can then be flushed down the toilet. Would have occasionly used the fleece ones at night time

What nappies are you using?

Are you using liners? Fleece ones might help as they will help keep her bottom dry.

I would start using a fleece liner if you aren't already and, for now, change her quite frequently - some babies bottoms have to get used to being in a different nappy.

If you don't want to use a fleece liner then maybe consider a small bit of vaseline as a barrier cream.

Do you think she has thrush again or is it just a typical nappy rash?

x - post. sorry

Am using a mixture of easy peasy bumbles, wonderoos and bumgenius. Would already change her straight away if shes dirty and every couple of hours if she is wet.
Can i use vaseline? Does it not destroy the lining or something? The cream i was using was bepanthen or drapolene.
Its just nappy rash again because I put metanium on it with a disposable at night and it had cleared up by morning.

Is there anything else I should be doing with regards to washing etc?

I was once advised to sit baby in tepid bath with some salt in which worked well. Also, let baby go nappyless when poss.

It's the napisan!

It can be really really irritating!

She hates the bath - will cling onto edge for dear life until i get her out!!

I think my problem is with the nappies themselves as it only happens when I put them on her. What creams do you use with the cloth nappies?

I used common or garden anppy cream.
I'd do a90 degree wash and line dry, just in case.

I used common or garden anppy cream.
I'd do a90 degree wash and line dry, just in case.

My mil once used Napisan in the wet bucket, and after that, DD got a very bad diaper rash.

Agree with Moondog - do a 90 degree wash and perhaps a rinse cycle? You may have to do this a few times.

Do you have a friend who would lend you a diaper not washed in Napisan to see whether this is the problem or not?

Don't know anyone else that uses cloth nappies. Have only used the napisan once to get rid of germs ets but nappies have been washed a few times since that and always do a rinse cycle after.

Would a 90 degree wash not destroy the wonderoos?

I had this with dd for a while, her nappy rash always cleared up with disposables too. I used fleece liners with her washables and put sudocreme on her every nappy change, but whenever the nappy rash flared up she went back into disposables and metanium. I didn't like usng them but it was the only thing that worked, and she was in cloth 80% of the time. Make your own fleece liners by cutting up a cheap fleece balnket or cloth, you don't need to hem it, I used fleece wipes too.

Shelly679 - DS got nappy rash that seemed to be caused by reusables from about 15 months. It got worse over time - it was like he became allergic to his own wee. He was in fluffles and bamboozles - same problem with both. We tried hotter washes, vinegar, less washing powder, fleece liners, various creams on prescription - but the only thing that worked consistently was disposables.

It got so bad at the end that just putting him in a reusable for a few hours would turn his whole nappy region bright red. We ended up potty training at about 24 months to help his skin heal (I don't recommend that approach - it took months - we really should have quit!).

My point is - we were committed to reusables, believed the rash was because we were doing something wrong (and maybe we were), but kept trying for much longer than we should have. Disposables aren't actually evil ;)

Hope it doesn't come to that for you, though!

No do not wash at 90C.

Vaseline fine as is metanium with cloth but just use a small amount (as directed) and a fleece liner. Yes, you can use a fleece liner in a fleece lined nappy - it will save the fleece lining of your nappies getting coated by the water repelling cream. If your liners start to repel water then you can chuck them with little money lost. tbh I have used metanium with cloth without any problems

cornflakegirl - I think thats what caused her thrush in the first place I was determined to keep using the reusables.

bigbadmousey - will try the fleece liners with the cream, fingers crossed it will work.

Thanks for all the great advice its so fustrating trying to do the right thing and getting it all wrong
x

Ds had washables most of the time - when rash problems we used an evening primrose type cream with zinc and caster oil cream on top.

If you've got a rash problem I would be trying to change really regularly - we had both shaped and prefolds and would use lots of prefolds during the day unless we were going out so that he could be changed often without running out of nappies or causing drying problems - on a normal day when he was younger we would estimate on about 7 nappies during the day, but if he had a bit of a rash this would go up to 10 - 12, and we'd also try to leave nappy off a while when appropriate.

Good luck

Are vaseline and sudocream alright with Wonderoos then?

use a fleece liner in your wonderoo to protect the fleece of the nappy itself then apply cream.

DS1 had the exact same problem. I went through similar to Cornflakegirl - I was determined to use my washables but everytime he ended up with a bright red bum. I tried washing nappies with variety of powders, eco balls, soapnuts, lots of rinses, in the sun for days... Didn't make a difference. We ended up with disposables. I have to admit, they really aren't as bad as I had thought!

I've just been reading "life cycle assessment of Disposable and Reusable nappies in the UK" by the Environment Agency. The conclusion was that there was no significant difference in the impact on the environment of either system. Makes me feel a little better.

DS2 is currently in washables now but have been thinking about switching - mainly due to constant rain and lack of drying space in the house!

She is possibly somewhat allergic to the fleece in the pocket nappies - it's usually polyester and some people can be very allergic to it.

Have you ever tried any natural fibre nappies, cotton terry or bamboo? Bamboo especially has natural antibacterial properties.

The other thing to try would be silk liners. I've read of some amazing successes of babies with very sensitive skin who use silk liners

asur, I've heard that the Env't Agency comnparison was a bit flawed in that most cloth nappy users do not wash as frequently, or at such high temperatures, or tumble dry (as much) or iron (FFS ) their nappies as the report implied. Also cloth nappies are often good for 2 or mre children - as evidenced by the active trade in second-hand cloth.