really thick question from someone planning to use reusables - please humour me!

[eggybrokenoff]

I'm planning on using reusables on DC1 when he/she arrives. I keep reading that often the first size nappies are a bit big for a newborn and that people either use disposables (which I don't really want to do) or use muslin nappies. What are these? Are they literally the muslins you buy for other things used as a nappy? If so how?

Yes. Fold them up (lots of different ways of doing this - do a search for nappy folds or look on nappylady or similar. Or old threads on here asking for folds). Use a pin (or better) a nappy nippa to hold them together.

Iused them for my 2 as newborns and they work well. v soft too. (too long ago to remember folds v well though, sorry)

Yep, muslins are those things that get used for everything with babies. A friend of mine used them for nappies on her newborn, and you will need a couple of newborn or small size waterproof wraps.

There are various ways of folding a muslin, have a look www.thenappylady.co.uk/public/articledetails.aspx?id=140here, and then hold it all together with a nappy nippa - no need to mess around with pins.

Or you can hire/buy second hand some small sized nappies to start with. I think someone has XS Sandys for sale on here at the moment, and they fit beautifully down to 5lbs or so (I used them on DS who was born at 35 weeks)

If you can afford to get some then I really do recommend XS Sandy's for those first few weeks. They are a fantastic nappy and (IMO) provide the best for newborns.

The XS fits from 6-12lbs and the S from 8-20lbs. They take a while to dry so do bear that in mind. If drying time is not an issue then the bamboo ones are far superior.

tbh what is best for the first few days depends on the individual baby so it is really hard to say what will be best for you. My DS was a very heavy wetter and muslins were no good at all - he wet through a bamboozle in an hour when he was 2 days old. He was 8lb 2 and went straight to S and XS sandy's. Some people prefer to get past the meuconium stage before using cloth (becasue meuconium can stain and be quite hard to remove). How long it takes to pass that stage depends on the individual too.

I am a cloth nappy addict, but I would consider using disposables (like moltex oko if you don't want anything nasty near your babies skin) for just the first 2-8 weeks.

A newborn is such hard work , and when you are trying to feed, heal, catch some sleep, then the last thing you need to be doing is washing nappies.

Imo a lot of people who use real nappies from day one give up at this point because it just all seems too hard and the nappies are the easiest thing to change.

It's better to use disposables just for a bit to ease yourself into things, then start with cloth when the fog starts to clear a bit. Than to have to give up completely as you have made things a tad too hard for yourself.

This is just my opinion, and how I have always done it. Just a point to consider.

Happy nappying!

I second WTWTW - just existing was hard enough for the first couple of weeks but then I was ready to embrace my cloth nappies wholeheartedly without the washing being stressful.

I am in awe of those who have used cloth from day one.

I plan to use real nappies wanted to with dc2 but just couldn't afford the outlay. Have bought little lamb bamboo nappy kit and they are adorable really soft and just look so great, will still be using disposables at first and will probably combine the two when out and about

I love my dds real nappies and generally hate generating waste. But I did use disps for the first fortnight - and I would again! It's really worth making life as easy as possible when you've just had a baby. Also if you wait it might help your nappy choice as you will know the size shape of your baby, and you may want to buy just a few at first.

hello. i use cloth nappies but when my son was 1st born, we bought a pack of disposables. once the pack finished, which took about a week, we used the cloth nappies. we've got the bambino mio ones and i found the newborn size to be fine but it depends how big or small your baby is. my son is now alnost 8 months and we're still using cloth but i'm now on the large and extra large wraps. I use a disposable at night in the hope that it will help him sleep through. some nights it has worked but he's teething at the moment so his nights are pretty restless. good luck!

I use the One Life nappies and both my DS's were in them from about 8lbs.

I do still use Disposables at night and when out and about though.

we used motherease onesize from DD's second week, and from birth with DS (meconium was over after with one day with him). we tried night time washables but now use eco disposables at night and when it is torrential rain.

Hi, i am using Mothercare's smart nappies, i think they are great, i bought a few different trial packs to try different brands, but i think the smart nappy are the best, they keep my 2 week old dryer for longer, and were cheaper than others like tots bots etc, i also used disposables for the first week, till meconium stopped and belly button stump fell off, and i definately also agree that i was so in a daze too for the first few days, just getting used to the baby and lack of sleep, so it was so much easier to kick in with the nappies a few days later,

This is like a 'Cloth Nappy' addiction site. Just read back teh posts and it kinda reads, 'Hi my name's ..... and I use Cloth Nappies'

I think once you use CN it DOES turn into a slight obsession!

Definitely agree with what other people have said..... well worth using disposables for a few weeks as you will be totally shell shocked by the whole thing! (and we still use them now for holidays etc) We used Moltex ones for dd and they are pretty good environmentally etc. Although I was still shocked by the amount our rubbish increased. We then moved on to use motherease nappies which work for all sizes of babies - I have friends who have used them from a couple of weeks in.

Another tip - get some washable wipes (or cut up a terry nappy square into small squares of towelling). You can wash these with the nappies, just use water to clean up, and don't have to use endless babywipes or cotton wool etc.