Where do I start?

[Ozziegirly]

Hello there,

I'm pregnant at the moment and am keen to try reusables when the baby arrives in August.

So, really, the question is in the title - I don't know where to start really.

1. How many nappies will I need?
2. Are all in ones better than ones where you put an extra bit inside?

I am a first time mum and would like as little faff as possible as I won't really know what I am doing.

1. Which are the best brand for non leaking/lasting well. Ideally I would like to get ones that go from birth to potty training.

1. Would you buy nappies before the baby arrives, or would you buy a small selection and try them out and then buy more once the baby is here, and has tried them out?

I don't want to spend a fortune but equally don't want to waste money on not so good ones.

Anything else, other considerations I should be thinking of?

Oh, and I'm in Australia, although I think we have most of the main brands here, we might not have more obscure ones.

Thank you!

I guess babies in Australia c**p the same amount of poo as up here..!

I'd definitely have at least two packs of 24 ready and waiting - although the hospital should give you some to come home with. At least they did when I was in maternity here in the UK.. I'll have to check with my midwife colleagues.

We used the all in ones and did ok. Less fiddly but probably not so good for teh environment. We used pampers and they were excellent.

Tips - small new born babies get lost in a nappy if it is too big and often the first few weeks poo is rather looser in consistency so can leak out of the sides - as the elastic doesn't fit as well as when baby starts to plump out. So make sure you have small enough sizes. Conversely there is nothing more frustrating as when baby gets bigger and the nappy is on teh limit.. You try to stretch them around and when you stick down the sticky tags - it lasts all of 10 seconds before popping open.. So don't buy an industrial box of hundreds too often or you may find them wasted as you move up the sizes.

It's been a while since I changed my youngest but I guess we would get through 6 - 8 nappies per day and maybe around 3 during the evening/night time. It gets hazy and you don't remember all the nappy changing if I'm honest. Brace yourself for the smell of the first few mind and when they move onto solids...!!

Hi, hope I can help a bit before the proper nappy experts turn up in the morning!

1. I think I started with about 15 nappies before DD was born, which was enough so I could wash every other day to start with.

1. I've always used 2 part nappies, so you have a waterproof wrap over the actual nappy. I have heard that all-in-ones are more likely to leak, but no real experience of that myself. Definitely had a lot less up the back poos with my 2 part reusables than friends in disposables though. I suppose if the baby is going to be changed by other people used to disposables (eg at nursery etc) it might be worth having some all in ones to make that easier, but you'll change so many nappies yourself you'll soon get used to whatever system you choose.

1. I think different brands are best for different babies, what suits yours might not suit someone else as it depends a bit on size and shape of the baby. I would recommend seeing if you can try out a few different types to see what suits you. Either buy some cheap 2nd hand ones to get you started or see if you can buy a trial pack with different types of nappy to try.

Hope that helps a little bit, I'm sure the real nappy experts will be along soon!

Hi Treesa - sorry, I think my post was not all that clear - I'm actually keen to find out about reusable nappies rather than disposables.

However, thank you anyway, because I am also sure that I will use some disposables as well, especially at first when I am in a fog of tiredness and can't face scooping poo. And the 6-8 per day is good to know as I guess for reusables that means having about 20 nappies in total if I'm planning on doing a wash every other day....

greensnail, thank you, that's very helpful.

Maybe I will try to buy 10 second hand ones and then 2-3 types new to test them out. It'll be me looking after the baby at first, but s/he will be going to nursery after that, so ease is probably a good thing!

I'd love to find a place that does a trial pack with 3 or 4 different makes in it - do you have any suggestions as to where would do that? If it's in the UK it's ok as I can get it sent to my parents' and they can forward it on.

The UK seems a lot more sorted for reusables than over here, although they're not terrible here, and certainly catching on.

I would recommend 20 nappies - a mix of all in ones and two parters - itti bitti are australian and very popular - have a look on cheeks and cherries website - she sells a lot of aussie nappies. Also join Cloth Nappy Tree which is a UK/Aus site - they will be able to tell you good places to buy and any different brands over there.

There's a really good web site that explains about washable nappies really clearly for beginners. It's www.thenappyline.co.uk. I find it really helpful anyway!

I've found thenappyline to be utterly confusing and fairly useless, I'm afraid.

I would go for Kittykins, Twinkle Twinkle or even The Nappy Lady.