Questions about liners and wraps

[slummymummytobe]

My lo is now 3 weeks old and I'm thinking the time has come to move to reusables. Problem is when I try to put them on I realise I?m clueless about liners and wraps and need some advice before I try them out properly.

Really I need some advice on how the wraps should fit - I know they should cover the nappy completely but does it matter how tight they are? Can they be a bit baggy?

Also, I was planning to use disposable liners but these look quite big and would hang outside the nappy. Should I just fold these to sit inside the nappy or is there a better way to do this? Also some of the nappies (tots bots cotton) have a sewn in fleece liner which when laid flat would hang out the back of the nappy - is it ok to fold this inside or will it rub on my lo?s skin?

baggy is fine, pref snug round legs though.

Liners can be good if they hang out a bit (stop poo getting caught up in the elastic), but folding is fine. The tots liners normally fit perfectly inside the nappy, so you may be folding it strangely (or I may be remembering wrong )

I wouldn't worry about the disposable liners yet as newborn poo isn't too scary but is a bit runny (we tried the paper liners for about two days then gave up and are saving them for weaning). Apparently you're supposed to fold them around the sewn-in liner bit (I didn't realise this and we just folded them, which is fine as long as they're not poking out the sides anywhere).

The sewn-in liner is designed to be folded - to the middle for a girl and to the front for a boy (took thenappylady for me to realise this ).

You might also want to use a fleece liner if you're using the cotton Totsbots (can buy them cheaply off ebay or just cut up a fleece blanket) as they act as a stay dry layer and will keep your LO a bit happier.

Finally, when we made the change to cloth we were amazed by how wet cloth nappies can get compared to disposables, so don't let that disconcert you too much, and we also kept forgetting when DD was crying to check her nappy as well as whether she was hungry/hot/etc

What wraps are you using? Some need to be on tighter than others to work but you'll work it out by experimenting.

Disposable liners usually shouldn't be folded or they repel the water and cause leaks - better to cut them in half if you want them smaller but I do the same as flame and let mine hang out - as long as they are inside the wrap you're fine.

Anglepoise is thinking about the booster inside the tots I think and that should be folded. The fleece liner on mine doesn't stick out of the back - you shouldn;t need to fold it. What you are supposed to do is slightly fold it forward them lay it back so it covers a large part of the nappy. hope that makes sense - Ideally you don't want to fold a fleece liner - it can make it repel water to much. but again you can leak it outside the nappy and inside the wrap with no issues. Fleece shouldn't rub at all.

thank you ladies! feel a bit more confident to give them a go now

I think my tots bots must be different to everyone elses as they have a booster and a fleece liner sewn in Anyway, I'm going to fold them as suggested and maybe have trial run tomorrow.

If I need to pre-wash the nappies, do I have to use detergent or do I just wash them in plain water?

the old style size 1 totsbots do have a booster and a fleece liner 'tongue' sewn in - they don;'t make them that way any more.

I never found they hung out the back - the excess seemed to get taken up inside, iyswim. I never folded them but for a boy havign the extra layer at the front migth be handy

you only need to prewash them if they are brand new - use a tiny bit of detergent

wraps - baggy doesn't matter so long as they don;t gape at the waist letting the nappy poke over

ah, that will be it MrsBadger - the tots bots are second hand. they feel like they have been pre-washed too so I won't bother doing them. I have got a new pack of Bamboozles though so I'll wash them through with a little bit of non-bio. Thanks

I'd definitely recommend fleece liners rather than the disposable ones inside your bamboozles. My DS went nuts when I switched him to cloth before some wise MNetters recommended fleece liners to keep his bum nice and dry.

Second the shock in realising how wet cloth nappies were after using disposables. I think the first day I wash changing him every hour. Not any more thank goodness!

Hadn't thought about how wet they would feel in comparison to disposables

Would the fleece layer still wick the moisture away properly if I use a disposable liner over the top?

No it wouldn't - the disposable liners stay wet

If you like your orginal or rainbow totsbots get over to Amazon sharpish - when last I looked there were organic size 1s for £2

Oops sorry BBM I did mean booster, not liner. Doh. I also re-read the OP after I posted and noticed the bit about fleece liner and was going to post again saying that I was probably talking nonsense and to ignore me (my TB don't have the fleece bit) but we were rushing out of the door to see granny

bah - had hoped to use a disposable liner to minimise my handling of poo but if it is going to make baby wet and grumpy maybe best not

what do I do with the poo on fleece liner? do I need to rinse off in toilet before adding to the nappy bucket or is there a better way?

I just chuck mine straight in the nappy bucket. I started off by rinsing in the loo, but it was a bit of a faff, didn't make much difference and I always ended up with the pooey, wet, liner dripping all over the bathroom floor.

Dont worry to much about handling of poo, my DH was traumatised at the thought of it and now he handles them like a pro

with runny bf poo just sling straight in backet and thence itno washing machine - I did a prewash (no detergent, just a rinse) to get rifd of the worst

solid toddler poo is easier to shake off the fleece into the loo

Ooh I'm in the same position here - DS is five weeks and I'm starting to make the transition to reusables now. This thread is really useful

I'm using Motherease OneSize and just have a couple of questions:

When do you change the wraps? Obviously not every nappy change, is it just when they seem to get manky or is there a better rule?!

Reading the thread above, with Motherease nappies and an exclusively BF baby, am I right in thinking I don't need the liners then? I did wonder, as his poo's still runny so there's nothing solid for them to 'catch'.

I agree with the shock of how wet they get! Do they need changing more often then, or will DS be able to cope with the build up until he's changed at his feed (currently three-hourly)? And will this mean changing him more often at night? (at the moment he doesn't often poo during the night, so I've been lucky in not having to change him much, just pick up, feed, put back down!)

Thanks!

Rhian DD generally lets us know that she needs a change, but I guess it depends on your child. Because of this, we're still using disposables at night (and DD can pee for England!), though there was one night when a communication breakdown meant that she went to bed in a cloth nappy and stayed in it for seven hours without any of us noticing (including her) I'm guessing you could see if it bothers him/he gets a rash or boost for night (depending on bulk - but then I'm impressed you have a MEOS on a five week old as DD is only eight weeks and they still look too big for her!).

I'm interested in the answer re wraps - I think I would use a new one each day (unless they got poo on) but DH changes every other change I think, so they get refreshed more often than they would.

Don't think you need a paper liner yet, but a fleece one might be good in a MEOS as it acts as a stay dry layer

Thanks for the tips DS is about 10lb, when the nappy was all done up it did look huge and bulky, but it actually fitted well around him when putting it on, and it wasn't on the smallest popper settings. The bulky appearance I think was just shock at how much bigger than disposables they are, going to have to rethink some of his clothes I think!

Slummy - Have you used the Totsbots yet? I have the same nappies and yes it does look like the tongues are longer than the nappy, but when you put it on the elastic stretches making the nappy as long as the tongue so they don't hang out at the back at all.

Anglepoise and Rhian - On a two-part system you don't need to change the wrap until it has poo on it. What I do is either give the wrap a wipe over every now and again or I leave it to air, but I don't put it in the wash until it is actually dirty.

Re: paper liners, complete waste of time imo for bf babies, they only come in to play when there's something solid for them to catch.

thanks for the info on tots lollipop - I haven't tried any of the reusables yet think I will plan to have a go on monday

DD is ff so will probably try disposable and fleece liners and see which is easiest / which DD prefers.