Tots Bots Fluffle..... help?!! Nappy novice....

[PollyPoo]

Hello

I'm hoping someone out there can help me! DD is 13 months old and I've finally gotten round to ditching the disposables in favour of cloth nappies. After much deliberation I went for the Tots Bots Fluffle as I'd heard good things about it, and especially like the fact they are so quick to dry. Although we have a tumble dryer its not so eco friendly to use and tbh its too bloody expensive to run!

Anyway... the Fluffles arrived on Friday, and I duly washed them all and couldn't wait to get DD into them...

But we've had some really bad leaks, both day and night. TBH, I've put her to bed this evening in a disposable as I can't face another morning being woken at some ungodly hour by a very wet unhappy cold lo.

At night, I've been putting her to bed in a fluffle with 2 boosters and a fleece liner but she is waking up early, and even her sleeping bag is soaked through.

Just to top it off she now has terrible nappy rash.

Even during the day with frequent changes she is still soaking and the PUL feels clammy and wet to touch (even on the outside). We've also had leaks from around the legs. I think the problem here is that DD has very slim legs (I'd like to be able to say just like me but unfortunately not true!). I find it hard to get the PUL done up tight around the legs without making it too tight around the waist. Maybe I need to try different wraps?

I'm still suffering with PND and thought doing something that I've been meaning to do for, well, the last 13 months would give me a sense of achievement but so far I am just failing. i feel like flogging the lot on ebay and crying under a duvet but I think DH will go nuts as we are broke and I have bullied him for ages about getting cloth nappies.

Has anyone else had any experience of fluffles and can give me some tips? Surely I must be doing something wrong... All suggestions welcome! Thank you :-)

PS. dd weighs 21lbs and in the size 2 fluffle and PUL.

I had the same experience with Tots Bots. The wraps leaked all the time !!!. When I needed the next size I bought some Mother Ease nappies ~ soooooooooooooo much better, didnt leak at all !
I did give up using cloth naps when DS was 1 ish cos he did get VERY bad nappy rash and had to go back to the oh so eco friendly (NOT) disposables
Bit of a sore subject in our house cos The in laws bought them for us cos we couldnt afford them and I sulked alot until I got my own way.........

Are you using Tots Bots wraps? A lot of people have problems with them TBH. It's definitely them that are failing, not you

Motherease Airflow would probably work a lot better for for you, they close with poppers so the fit is more adjustable. I'll find you a link.

What sort of boosters have you been using?

motherease airflow wraps, lots of places sell them.

YOu should be able to sell the Tots wraps pretty easily BTW.

second ditching the tots wraps and going for motherease

Hello Sneakpeeks and DeJaVous :-)

Thank you so much for your swift response! Yes, we are using the Tots Bots wrap and some terry boosters. (although I have just ordered some fleece boosters to try)

Funnily enough I have just been looking at the motherease airflow - I think I'll order a couple to try... I daren't give up as I'll never live it down

Thanks again for your speedyness!

Are they new fluffles that you have only washed once? They gain in absorbency after washing a few times (true of all cloth nappies I believe), so the problem should improve without you really doing anything.

I do, however, agree that the tots wraps aren't great (except the fleece ones, which you might like to try for night time), and would second the recommendation to go for motherease wraps.

Hey CantSleepWontSleep

I did put Boo in them after only washing them once, yes. I emailed the website I bought them from (twinkleontheweb) and they said fleece ones only needed washing once.

Maybe now they've been washed a few more times I might see an improvement.

I did order a couple of fleece wraps but they've not turned up yet.

Can I also pick your brains on this one... how many wraps/PUL's should you need per day ideally? (assuming no leaks of course!)

Thank you

Yes, definitely go for airflow wraps with your DDs shape but just one thing puzzled me....

Fleece boosters? Fleece is used as a stay dry layer - it doesn't absorb anything. If you need to boost on a budget then pop to your local tesco / asda and get some 'value' microfibre dishcloths (3 for 89p when I last looked). They make good boosters and are the same material as your fluffles so dry quickly.

In theory you shouldn't need a fleece liner in your fluffles as they are fleece lined anyway - stick any boosters inside the fleecey pocket - but another fleece liner shouldn't usually do any harm if you want to keep the built in fleece stain free or keep any rash creams away from the body of the nappy.

Airflow wraps are excellent as they are more breatheable. I recommend Metanium for nappy rash if you haven;t tried it yet. If you find you cannot get your fluffles to work at night don't dispair - one disposable in 24 hours is a huge saving on using them day and night. Fluffles are likely to have a good resale value for a while yet (because they are discontinued and were popular) which is more than can be said for any disposable . Well done for making the change you have been planning to make - I know from experience that even getting up to make a cup of tea is a monumental task when you are in the depths of depression! Hope things improve soon.

Fluffles only need one prewash to get to full absorbancy because microfibre works in a different way to normal fabrics such as cotton. With MF the liquid is held between the fibres so all you need to do is fluff the fibres up and get any manufacturing residue of the fabric and that can be achieved in one wash.

4 PUL wraps should be plenty at that age.

off not of (sorry )

DOn't worry, you'll get it sorted!

Boosting can be a bit tricky to master, but once you know which fabrics behave in which ways it's a lot easier to find combinations that work.

It sounds like your DD is a heavy wetter, so I'm going to give you the long version. It'll make it easier to try different combos until you find the right one!

YOu need to think in terms of providing both swfit absorbtion for big wees and 'storage' capacity...

Microfibe absorbs quickly but it holds moisture between the fibers (unlike natural fibers where the fibers themselves swell). Moisture can be squeezed out of very full Microofibre when it's squashed. Hence your leaks.

Cotton is the next quickest to take up moisture, but is significantly less absorbent (weight for weight) than bamboo or hemp.

Bamboo is relativly slow to absorb but will take up a lot of moisture.

Hemp is really slow to absorb but takes up almost phenomenal quantities.

Logically enough, the more absorbent a fabric is the slower it is to dry. Unfortunately

Hemp boosters between the nappy and the wrap are a Very Good Thing with heavy wetters IMO.

I use flufles for my DS and I love them. I put DS in one overnight with just the booster they come with and no liner he's in them for 12-13 hours and they never leak. He has very slim legs too and would recommend the motherease airflow wraps as others have said. I usually use 1 - 2 wraps in the day and another at night. I have also found the tots wraps leak too.

x (lots)

I've just re-read the op...

Are you using a fleece liner on top of the fleece liner that's sewn into the nappy its self?

One layer of fleece will let moisture through but two makes a waterproof layer.

My god... who knew nappies were such a minefield?!

Wow, thats loads of info DJV, hadn't thought of putting booster between wrap and nappy... thank you.

I think when I'm in tesco tomorrow will defo pick up some microfibre dishcloths and give them a go. I'm also going to go and order some mother-ease airflow and investigate hemp boosters while I'm at it.

And thanks for the tip on Metanium BBM I will look out for it tomorrow.

Damn, I'm such a novice... I'm sure I will look back on all this one day and laugh

Thanks everyone for all your advice - I'll keep you posted!

DJV - yes, I did use a fleece liner on top of the nappy's fleece liner - thought it would help (my thinking was more layers the better... ) :-(

Hi Alkar, thanks for post - how old is your ds? Would you say he's a heavy wetter?

(find it v amusing I am discussing 'heavy wetting' on t'internet... my, how my life has changed in the last year or so!!)

Sorry I haven't had time to read through the whole thread - over 2 children I have been using totsbots in various guises for 4 years now. The only leaks we have had were from fluffles, and they were really severe leaks. Not gradual ones but it was like whoosh! I thought it was the new-fangled fabric not being absorbent enough (they dry fast therefore I think can't be as absorbent) so I made a point of changing them more often - but actually after the first couple of weeks they settled and we haven't had leaks at all since. I think they just need more breaking in than most nappies - I have always washed new nappies 3 times before use but the fluffles seem to need much more. Perservere!

Just wondering... we don't use washing powder... just those eco balls... do you think that might have anything to do with the problem?

The eco balls are a Good Thing!

It sounds like a large part of the problem is the second fleece liner . Getting rid of that will help! In fact it's possible your DD isn't a heavy wetter at all...

I assume you are putting the boosters inside the pockety bit under the fleece. That is definitely the top feature of the fluffle IMO.

Don't let the nappy thing stress use, there are people who could write a thesis on nappies, but TBH it's perfectly possible to keep it simple

use you

Yep, the boosters are going under the pockety bit. (hoorah I got something right, lol!!)

I've ordered some motherease wraps from twinkleonthe web (thought s0d it, whats another £30 on top of the rest!)

Now i'm looking at hemp boosters... can anyone recommend? (Although maybe I won't order them until I've ditched the fleece liner and tried the mother-ease wraps... just encase DD isn't a heavy wetter at all)

Has anyone used Stuffins by Happy Heinys? They look quite good, very adaptable too....

Having information overload I think... brain hurts, bed is calling!

Please use washing powder for you nappies - ecover or fairy non-bio.
Metanium for sore bums.
Motherease wraps are best - I have some medium sized ones you can have for postage.

It sounds like you're doing a grand job, the extra-fleece-liner-in-a-fluffle thing is a common mistake. Paper liners are fine though, they really make getting rid of the poo easier. They are a bit of a marmite thing THB!

Definitely hold off on the hemp for now. They are a fantastic thing to have for nights but you might well be able to manage with what you've got already.

Oh, and I definitely second the Metanium recommendation!

Washing nappies is vaugely contoversial

I use washing powder (half a measure) myself, but a lot of people use eco balls or soapnuts.

IME ecover tends to make stuff stinky. Is it not Fairy that has (hidden) added softner? Can't remember...

I use Neutral but I don't know if you can get it easily in the UK.

Am off to bed too, will check back tomorrow.