Muslin Squares. To Bother or not bother?

[TheScenicRoute]

What exactly are muslin squares? I imagine that very very thin material that you use to strain home made jam or cheese? If it is the same stuff, I fail to see how useful they could really be as what I'm imagining is not absorbent and has biggish holes in it.

I remember reading a post on here where someone suggested getting as many as 25 squares, but when I've gone to buy these they are really not cheap at all!

Are they really the be all and end all to new motherhood? I can't help thinking some of those super cheap thin flannels from ikea would be cheaper, or kitchen roll for convenience of not needing to wash and iron them.

I will duely do as you instruct as I really am a clueless first timer. To buy or not to buy... And how many?

Seriously, I cannot recommend muslin squares highly enough.. as others have said you can pick the basic white ones up fairly cheaply and they will get plenty of use. We always had one draped over a shoulder under the baby to catch sick, and now that my son is teething I use them to wipe endless amounts of dribble and bogeys. I have a clean couple out of the drawer everyday, they have been washed a million times and are still in great condition. I have never ironed them (but I don't iron anything tbh) and they are fine.

I think all you need with a newborn are boobs, nappies and muslins..

Sainsburys do a pack of 5 for something like 6 quid. Out of all the pointless stuff you will end up buying for your newborn these are definitely worth the money.

I should be on muslin commission

They're brilliant. For all the reasons above and more. DD used to have a cross patch moment late afternoon, only solved by putting a muslin under her bum and taking her nappy off.

They don't have to be dear though - the supermarkets do them quite cheaply and if you buy plain white you can boil them up.

I bought mine on a 2for1 deal at mothercare and was then given some nice JL ones. Until dd was about 1 I used several every day and had them dotted around. Most recently they have been used as blankets for her dolls!

When we eventually have dc2 I will invest in some big ones.

Great for hiding boob when bf,tuck in bra strap,

Put over shoulder to prevent you washing your jumper quite so often. Same for your mum, dh etc

Folded under baby's head in cot or bouncy chair or baby gym for sick

Hang over your headboard /sofa for when baby is suddenly sick on you/your bed /sofa

Soaks up sick better than a wipe

It's all about the sick!

It's possible to get by without them I didn't have a single one for DC1. Not sure what was used instead.
I discovered them for DC2 who had lovely organic ones as his nappies for the first month. He was also refluxy and I used loads in a day.
I found the cheap ones are poo and rough. The giant ones are better. Beautifully soft, won't sleep without his muzz. I got DS3's favourite ones in the TKMaxx clearance £5 for three, he won't sleep without them.

My first baby is 10 weeks old and I now have about 30 of these! I also bought about 10 of those ikea flannels but there not as big and there abit rough on DS skin now theyv been washed so for me Muslins are better, I have a few makes but have found aldis the best as they stay soft, sainsburys are horrible. I'd say buy a couple of packs and see how you go, baby wipes arnt absorbant and kitchen roll isn't as handy to transport out with you, also won't work out any cheaper in the long run constantly using kitchen roll to mop up IMO

They are great, and have so many uses -
Under baby's head in Moses basket/cot etc when small and prone to posseting, to go over your shoulder when winding, as a sunshade, hat, wiping their mouth/chin after a feed, a bib, under their bum when changing their nappy, so they aren't on the cold mat, drying their bum when changing their nappy, to help prevent nappy rash...

We still use them now, and DS is nearly 3! We use them for drying his face after his bath, for a bib/on his lap if he's eating something messy, on his car seat when we started potty training etc.

I bought a few different brands, but the john Lewis ones are the only ones that didn't grt misshapen and rough.

Definitely get some. I can get through 2/3 in a day with mopping up sick, lining cot/buggy, catching breast milk. They have saved me a lot of washing!

I'll bet you do with a name like that, CodPiece

aldi do lovely soft and large cloths. I couldnt live without them. DD was a puker and has now turned in to a dribbler

My youngest is 8.5 and I still have a few muslin squares. I use them to mop up condensation in my bathroom. They're never money wasted.

Baby wipes are shite at protecting your shoulder and back from a pukey baby, btw :o

V useful. Ask for a couple of packs as gifts?

Am still using them 10 years later - they are particularly good for drying/wiping mirrors, windows and shower cubicles without streaks - and of course for all the baby uses they were meant for. Definitely great value for money. We only got about 10 though.

My youngest sister is 32 and my mum still has some muslins from when we were babies. She uses them as dusters or wipes or hankies.

My DC are 6 and 3, and they are the best hankies for when they have a cold. They are softer than tissues and last so many more snotty nose-wipes!

They are probably the best baby equipment you can get - try ebay, or ask for pretty ones as baby gifts if people ask you what you need.

You can't have too many muslins! We get ours from Asda and Primark.

They get used for everything. Cover-all bibs for feeding solids, dusters, great for soaking and pressing against feverish foreheads, peekaboo cloths, DD uses them as cuddle blankets to get herself off to sleep, we use them to line highchairs in restaurants so that she doesn't smack her head backwards on those plastic highchairs.

They are SO worth it!

You have the muslin of a lady stuntedcodpiece
They are handy to have, for all the reasons above.

I used them last time. I agree they are expensive though so I am going to make my own this time (with some help from my mum)

I found them really useful for DS (sicky dribbly baby!), he also uses them as a comforter which is useful because if you lose one you have others at home! He's 3 now and still sleeps with one.

I only realised DD had stopped puking so much when I stopped having 10 a day in the washing! I bought 25 and my DH told me that was ridiculous. We could have done with more. I kept piles of clean ones strategically placed around the house. Now pregnant with DC2 and they will be the first thing to come out of storage!