what's the point of muslins?

[Brugmansia]

Dc1 is due next week and muslins are one of those items we've bought as they seemed to be part of the normal kit to get for a newborn. As we were sorting the baby stuff out last night DP asked me what they're actually for and I realised I don't really know either.

So what is their main purpose? Or is it just general bits and bobs of mopping up?

They are great if you use real nappies too as an extra layer of absorbency or as an actual nappy if need be.

I often use older stained ones when we have a cold, with stuffy nose. Dampen the muslin put a couple if drops of oblas oil on it and drape over a radiator over night.

We have some long pieces of muslin that were net curtains when we moved into our house so are slightly yellowish. Can you all please vote on whether it's fine/too grim to give it a good wash (or three) and cut it up for the baby?

They're good for cleaning the bathroom mirror.

Also read it as 'Muslims' !!

All the above uses and can also be used as a great exfoliator cloth for you when cleaning face. Just give gentle rub over when washing off your cleanser!

Is that true about cleaning granite surfaces with them? J cloths are rubbish at it! And yes yes to all the above posts about how useful they are! Even more so if the granite cleaning wisdom us true!

They are there as something you have to try and persuade your teenage sons they can sleep without now!

IKEA ones are cheaper .

Recommend the Aden and anais ones too. A pack of 4 should do as they aren't cheap. They are ginormous. I didn't know what all the fuss was about until I got me a pack. They are amazing. I have used them as a swaddle, a breastfeeding cover up, a floor cover, a playmat, a towel and also as a sick rag. A.may.zing.

Enjoy your baby!

For my 9 yo dd to still use as a comforter in bed...though she stopped carrying them around the place with her a few years ago when I followed through with a threat and threw one in the bin.

Actually they are a good distraction for the baby to play with in pram/on nappy changing table etc, play peek a boo, fiddle with in hands. As well as what everyone else said.

They are invaluable - I bought 24 (special offer on at mothercare) and got given another pack of 6 so have about 30 altogether. I thought I had a ridiculous number but I have them in strategic points around the house and in my bag and use them constantly to wipe up milk and sick, protect clothes, for modesty when feeding when out and about etc, etc. I also have a soft spot because they were my comforters when I was little.

Lay one on your lap when breast feeding to try to protect your clothes. DS always did a casual vom whilst feeding, usually down the waist of my jeans before I discovered this!

They are incredibly useful! Put one on your shoulder to avoid having to change when the baby pukes on you. Put one under baby's head on the changing m at or in the cot/crib/moses basket/car seat to avoid having to change sheets/clean upholstery 17 times a day. Sunshades over prams or windows. Lightweight sheets/swaddles for summer babies. Thousands of uses. We still have ours downstairs and I use one every day for a last-minute wipe of DS's face before he sets off for school and then put it in the kitchen to dry the work surfaces after washing up. They also get used as emergency bibs when I realise he's about to eat spag bol with a white school shirt on, dusters, screen cleaners, non-fluffy window cleaning cloths etc. etc. Every home needs at least a dozen muslins.

Didn't use them at all with dd and thought they were pointless. Then I had ds who vommed constantly and realised why people used them!

I tuck one into my bra when breastfeeding to catch any spills/leakage, also use for winding, mopping up sick, under the head when sleeping.

Ds is a very sicky baby, I already had 10 from dd and had to buy more as I was using them very quickly.

My LO is VERY sicky, (he's now 9 months, and shows no signs of stopping), so they're been ace for us. We have about 16 I think. Great for sick, mopping up wee when he pees on the change mat, wiping up after a meal etc.

What are they for? Well, ask DS2 who is nearly 7. He carries one round, has one in bed, and uses them to wrap his soft toys in, and for play-picnic blanket, and for all making "curtains" in his lower bunk and no doubt for all kinds of other mischief I am not privy to. That's apart from the other uses detailed in other posts.

We did have to get rid of the ones that had some other child's vomit in it, and the ones used as emergency bibs when weaning that were stained with bananas. They never come out in the wash.

to what everyone has said already. Also, I leave one on the changing still (baby is 13 months) to absorb any poo or wee incidents. Obviously I then put a clean one on there if it takes a hit!

I got mine off eBay and they were a bargain. Although i'm convinced I was sent the wrong pack - they were huge!

changing mat still

Clearing up sick (and protecting surfaces from sick when putting baby down), breastfeeding cover, milk soaker upper for messy feeder, emergency bed sheets when your little one has leaked through all sheets in one night, emergency pram cover in rain, willy cover during nappy free time, dribble catcher, putting on changing mat to make less cold, portable playmat for laying baby down at friends, making extra layers in cold weather that are easy to adjust if baby too hot... I'm sure more uses to come!

Last summer whilst on a playdate at an open air pool, one little toddler made a dash for the pool whilst fully dressed. The mum dried her off, whipped out four yellow muslin cloths and tied them together to make a new outfit for her DD. She used two to make a singlet type vest, one to make a nappy type pair of shorts and one to make a hat.

I was so very impressed. Infact most of the other mums were watching her too and they all seemed impressed. I'm sure Gok would have been impressed too. I called her super mum but my friend pointed out that had she been super mum she would have had a spare set of clothes in her change bag.

Multiple uses for muslins.

I had really leaky boobs. You wouldn't believe how leaky. So muslins were used for mopping up breastmilk and for ds's puking :)

As everybody else has said - multitudinous uses both whist dc are babies and long beyond.

However as well as Muslins, I also had a pack of old fashioned square towelling nappies from mothercare that got used in exactly the same way as muslins and were so much in use that i got another pack of 12 when ds 2 came along as well as another pack of muslins. They were useful as they were a bit more absorbent than regular muslins and folded up to be a bit thicker which was good as he liked to be wedged into his Moses basket when he was tiny we discovered. In fact the only thing they were never used as was as nappies :o

I also had some bigger squares made of brushed cotton that got loads of use and still do - they were handy when you wanted something a bit bigger or snuggly!