Reusable nappies - Help !!! Don't know where to begin....

[JoGehani]

Hi all,

I'm 32 weeks pregnant and very keen on using reusable nappies when the baby gets here
But I don't know where to start !! :( There seem to be soooo many options !!
I am hoping you can help me choose a brand.... Also do I need anything else apart from the basic kit?
A lot of my friends who have had babies scoff at the mention of reusable nappies and think I won't last for more than a week and will switch to disposable ones... is it really that hard !?!?!

Also any tips on making sure my washing machine is all clean from inside so that the nappies get washed properly?? My washing machine is at least 4 years old if not more...

Thanks in advance for your help !! :)

Jo

needles Have you looked at Motherease wraps? I'm not yet using them as my little one is still cooking but every review I've seen of the raves about their containment and fit... Recommended by the nappy lady too... Blueberry coveralls are gorgeous too but apparently not as good

I don't think you could use Motherease wraps with flat fold nappies. I could be wrong though. I think Mothercare smart nappy covers would work as they are a similar style, they might have been f discontinued though. I gave my Bambino Mios away, never got on with them.

I don't think it's true that you have to accept some leaks in cloth, DS's nappies hardly ever leak.

Was looking there at one of my fave nappy websites, Fill Your Pants and found really good comments about the Gen-Y Universal wrap, which is suitable for flat nappies as well as other nappies.

So hard to know which ones to get!

DS is near the age to be potty trained, so I won't need them for too long... but am 8 months pregnant with DC2 so anything I buy I can keep :)

We've decided to use reusables for DC1 (currently 36 + 3 ). I have done some research but most helpful of all was the baby show (we went to the one in the NEC in May) which enabled us to "get our hands on" the nappies and see what we thought.

We love gNappies. They are pricey though, so what we've done is pick up a batch of newborn reusables of a similar style from Mothercare (Mothercare smart nappy) that were discontinued and so a quarter of the cost (Lots of cheapies on ebay if interested). So we can try them out for a bit and see if we feel comfortable using them before investing - the whole kit cost a tenner so we thought it was worth a go...

As others have mentioned we are planning on using disposables at the very beginning, certainly until the meconium is gone and probably for a few more weeks after to allow us to get used to having a baby... Still undecided about night-times and will see how it goes...

celtic Just checked and the Motherease airflow aren't suitable for prefolds (but are for terry squares, but the rikkis are suitable for just about all types!

Wow...Thanks for all your answers !!! I now feel much better about using resuable nappies :)
Will start by looking through the Nappy Lady site and see how I get on :)

Cheers,
Jo

Gen-y wraps! Wow! Where have they been all my life? A tad pricy, but lush!

I am 6mths pg with DC3 and used washables with my first two for about a year. Am now on mat leave, so getting DD2 back in them (2yo) and plan to cloth bum DS when he arrives. I have fuzzibunz, and about to try little lamb bamboo nappies. Seriously thinking of selling all to buy Gen-y wraps or Wizard Duos.

Kelbells fair enough, I use both types with my terries but I thought prefolds would shift around too much even in the rikkis. Not my area of expertise though!

nor mine... It's all theory to me so far... Really hoping I can do this!

I used terry squares and these

Not the poshest nappy on the market, but they're cheap and I've found them brilliant and they've seen me right through to potty training. You simply stuff them with half a terry square (or leave them empty for tiny babies), secure with pins or a nappy nippa and finish off with your favourite wrap - I found Motherease Rikkis and Airflow to be perfect.

Never had ANY leaks with them and they dry much faster than more expensive all-in-ones.

Oh I used flushable liners and washable wipes

needles agree about the velcro bit, it doesn't work the greatest, especially when they're getting bigger. And the absorbency too - it has been fine up until now, but now DS also drinking loads more, and if anything off the normal drinks at meal times we seem to get leaks... Tempted to stop them until potty training which should hopefully be fairly soon after DC2 gets here!!

Useful reading all the suggestions!