Failed cloth nappy user - want to try again

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Hi there nappy experts,

I tried using cloth nappies with DD when she was about 3 months - I was told that muslin squares were a good bet for tinies, but I found they got very wet very quickly and DH found handling pooey nappies quite unpleasant. We were using paper liners, although I've since read that its not really worth bothering until they are on solids.

I'm now pregnant with DD2 and really want to try again with cloth nappies, I just can't bear the thought of how many disposables we've put in landfill. I have tried a few shaped nappies and really liked the Motherease Sandys (I also tried totsbots, bumbles and another one I can't remember..). However I don't want to buy two sets of nappies for DD1 (now 15 months) and DD2, so I'd like some birth to potty. I'm thinking about the Motherease ones.

However, I don't want spend £250 and find that we're not using them again. I would really value any advice. My priorities are absorbancy, ease of putting on, quick drying (is this compatible with absorbancy?) and if possible the minimal dealing with poo! (I have half a dozen Airflow wraps from the failed experiment which I figure I might as well use again, so I haven't really considered all-in-ones etc.)

Really grateful for your help.

Hmmm well the wraps will only go over fitted (sized) nappies and I'd say that you should go for Sandy's as you really won't be disappointed. Having BTP nappies so that both DCs can use them is a good idea, but most BTPs are massive on a newborn. I would suggest steering clear of Wonderoos as they aren't good (IMO) for small babies. I really liked the Modern Baby (Close Parent) Pop-Ins. They're nice and easy to use, the inserts just 'pop in' using poppers. There's no fleece pocket so no stuffing, but this does mean you'd have to use a fleece liner, but this means you can just flip the poo off (from the older DC) as proper poo doesn't stick to fleece, and for the newborn then whole lot goes straight in the wash, no poo handling needed (although you will want to un-popper the inserts but you could always do this after the pre-wash/rinse if you were really disliking the idea).

Oh, and microfibre dries very quickly and is absorbent so yes you can get a quick drying yet absorbent insert. If you wanted to do that then Pop-Ins aren't for you as they are bamboo and take up to 36h airing to dry (indoors and no tumble). On the plus side you can buy night boosters so you can use them day and night.

I think some people might suggest Bumgenius but I don't have any experience of them, but don't believe they're good for nights.

Bumgenius are my personal insurance that DP and/or mil will use disposables when I'm not looking! Really -- Bum Genius are like a disposable as one doesn't need to faff around for nappy and wrap...

Or any other all in one (pop ins, bum genius)

Sandy's are reliable. Not glamorous but a good workhorse of a nappy.

I think you need to think about why you didn't carry on using them the first time.

I have a terrible confession to make. I really wanted to love cloth, spent ages on here both before and after DD was born, spent the latter half of my pregnancy building up a nappy store etc, and then really did not feel the love. So far I have found cloth okay, but the days when we use disposables I breathe an inward sigh of relief and am then wracked with guilt over the landfill issue, amount of chemicals involved etc etc. We have been using a mixture of Lollipops, Totsbots, Sandys and Motherease BTP up to now and I just can't be doing with the faff of nappy + liner + wrap. I am now expecting to be marched off into a quiet corner of MN and shot

However I really wanted to persist with the cloth thing so got a bundle of Bum Genius yesterday and am loving them so far. They are so so easy (and so much more adjustable than the ME BTPs - which we only got DD into at about 16 weeks (and she's big)). We aren't on to solid poo yet so not sure how that's going to work.

If you don't want to spend £250 then there is always the secondhand option (my first bundle of ME BTPs, Sandys, Lollipops and a few randoms was £40 for about 20 nappies, wraps and all the paper liners I will ever need). Plus if you do spend the £250 then there is the resale value (eventually) so you will get some of that back.

Hope some of my random ramblings are helpful (though have to admit that the Sandys are my least favourite so we are obviously after different things). I may also have some ME BTPs and Sandys for sale ...

I've used cloth nappies for 4, with disposables for when we're out, etc. But they are more work. If you didn't manage with one, I think you need to think why things have changed. You are not a better parent if you use reusables. So don't put unnecessary pressure on yourself. Just for the record, I don't use my reusables for the first couple of months anyway.

Thanks for your thoughts - its a good point about why it didn't work last time, I think it was because we had a rotten first few months of DD's life, horrible feeding problems, reflux, family bereavement - just awful. I think the cloth nappies were just a bit ambitious for our fraught mental state at the time! Hopefully (fingers and everything crossed!) we won't be facing the same stuff this time round.

BUT I do think its important to get something that DH and my mum are happy to use. We don't tumble dry so it is important that they dry quickly. The bum genius do look interesting and cheaper than the ones I've been looking at.

Its not that I think using cloth will make me a better parent, its just that we are pretty green in most areas of our lives and I really think that if we get the right ones we could cope with a bit of extra work.

Any other thoughts?

Hi, I aim to use washables (just a boring terry square with a throw away if too disgusting fleece liner thing in a wrap) when I am at home. I aim for one a day - not too much pressure and I often do more. Now ds is slightly bigger, I can try to avoid the pooey ones but they all get chucked in the machine with everything else.

Perhaps don't adopt an 'all or nothing' mindset. Some people use eco disposables combined with cloth.

I think finding the right system that is going to work for you and your family is the key point.

Also, do disposables for the first week or so. Some people are gung ho at the beginning, find it too much work and go to disposables.

Lastly, try not to buy too many before your DC is born. I made this mistake, and DD was super skinny, so the lovely Tots Bots were useless and ended up forking out for Sandy's Extra Small....

I don't think I would recommend Motherease one-size. I haven't heard great things about them.
I use a combination of nappies. For you I would suggest some microfibre nappies (eg: Little lambs, Bambinex etc) along with some slower drying ones (sandy's are great)
I don't think there's much way of minimising dealing with poo, but IMO that's the same whether you're using dispos or cloth.

Unlike AnnVan - I would definitely recommend Motherease one-size - we've used them since DD1 was about 3 months old, and they are much better than anything else I had tried (admittedly second hand terry squares and prefolds which I didn't get on that well with). I know loads of people who use them round here. We've managed to get by with only 18 nappies and about 4 wraps in each size - so definitely didn't amount to as much as £250 - probably nearer £100.

Don't put pressure on yourself though - use eco disposables when you need to - and definitely would recommend it for the first few weeks, as that is when life is completely chaotic - so change over after a month or so perhaps.

sjcmum is that 18 nappies with one baby or 2?

I will definately be on the disposables to start off with I remember those early days!

I've found a friend of a friend who does demonstrations of real nappies so I'm getting her round to show me a load.

Thanks again for all the help.

I'm new on here, but www.thenappyline.co.uk is really helpful. There's a brill question and answer session you can start, which asks questions, and you email the answers, and then get back more questions. It's a real person, not just set answers and tick boxes!

Could you look into using a nappy service? We use one (admittedly it was a present, paid for by my aunt) and it takes all the hassle out of it - I call it cloth nappies for cheats

The service we use provide fuzzi bunz with microfibre inserts and they are fab, not too buky and just as easy as a disposable. I put 2 inserts in overnight and it means it doesn't leak too. We use fleece liners rather than the paper ones (will get some big wooden tongs to sluice poo off in toilet once DS is on solids).

18 nappies is admittedly just with one baby... think you would need more if you are planning on using for both kids

i just bought ots of cheapo 2nd hand nappies until i discovered what i liked and sold on what i didnt. i love bambinex and sandys. have some pooplini btp but not keen omn applix nappies myself!

Some local authorities give you financial help towards using cloth - you can either buy a set of nappies all the same brand or a selection of different types to try out and see how you like them. I remember the voucher I got was £45 per child so was a big help.

Having said that, I went over to the dark side and started using disposables ages a while ago for various reasons, and have never quite managed to switch back to my cloth (One Life) nappies. Am determined to do so very soon!

link here to the real nappy campaign - at teh bottom of their home page is a tel no you can call to fnd out if you are entitled to £30 off real nappies...