Anyone considering cloth wipes and/ or diapers?

[Zahrah5]

I think Im already sold on the idea of reusable washable baby wipes.
There are 3 main reasons:

1. i am conscious about chemicals in common wipes and cosmetic.
2. looks like they clean much better than disposables
3. financial, of course

The Cheeky Wipes set looks really neat.

Not sure about cloth diapers yet, looks like overkill but it would make sense to run one wash together for diapers and wipes.

I would probably combine with disposables when conveniet- out of the house?

Anyone else considering and pondering over this?

Teeste- Almost everyone who uses cloth nappies uses a disposable liner. This is more of a disposable inner, which is why I don't get it. A liner can be bought on rolls and binned (have a look on Nappy Lady). NO need to scrape poo. Also, nappies are nothing like the folding ones our parents used.

I guess I just don't see how gnappies are a good compromise. I feel like something is passing me by rather.

Saintly - despite what I just said, I use fleece liners too

I used disposable liners with ds1 (no choice really then), but I found the fleece much better for poo just dropping off into the loo and keeping the baby dry. I had big fleece liners - they were fab :) And so cheap!

I use the gnappies washable inserts mostly but I add a disposable liner at night which means I don't have to change her. I compost the liner if it's just wee but bin it if not. I guess I throw about one liner away every 10 days or so.
The only time we have leakage problems is if we need to go up a size. I think they're great!

Oh right Penguin - I'm clearly not aware of all the options! I'll do some more research.

4 DC all went through cloth nappies and wipes with disposable liners for easy poo removal......
It is not hard
It is cheaper
My very sensitive skin didn;t react...neither did my Dc but DC1 and 3 both did with disposables every time we tried (for convenience on day trips etc)

For newborns we used muslin squares folded (I like a bit of origami!) until they settled...dried really fast and recycled to mop ups and dusters eventually! (had different colours for bottom and top for baby though!)

my nappies are now with family number 3, have mostly done 7-8 children.....except the smallest size, a few wraps have been replaced but otherwise still fab.....my oldest is 13 now!

Nappy liobraries are great as you can discuss the pros and cons of different systems with actual users and try before you buy.
MNappy lady is also brilliant.

PS fleece liners are fab! and if you do have nappy rash then silk will sort it.

I would recommend trying some out when your baby is born rather than buying a whole set now. I was really keen on cloth nappies but never found a brand which fit well enough on ds. Had to eBay them all .

It's a long time back but I used reusable nappies and wipes for my dc (they're now almost-15, almost-13 and 11).

It really didn't seem to add to the work, used fleece pocket nappies with terry liners. For dd2 it was essential - every disposable we tried, including ecos, had her skin breaking down within days (though she's got no skin problems now!).

My "washable wipes" were 2 packets of IKEA face cloths (I think they were £1 for 10) and a spray bottle of water with a drop of lavender and tea-tree oil in. Out and about - I just carried a fleece/waterproof bag and put them in the dry pail when I got home.

People used to go on about the "work". It was literally bunging on a load of nappies at bedtime, and hanging up in the morning. I had enough for 2 days (maybe a couple of extra washes a week when they were tiny).

Saved us a load of money, and as I used minimal detergent (we were in a very soft-water area) I don't think they were ever more polluting than disposables!

Try the nappy lady website Teeste. She's lovely and there are lots of options.

Essentially, as well as the old fashioned folding squares there are:

• shaped nappies and wraps. Closest to old fashioned, but no folding. Made of things like cotton, bamboo or microfiber. The wraps are plasticy. Very cheap and reliable;

• All in ones. Just like a disposable to use. Bung in a disposable liner and chuck the whole thing in the washing machine. Can be slow to dry. Some have poppers and some have velcro

• Pocket nappies. Washable outer and washable inner but you stuff them together. Very like a disposable to use if you assemble them after washing . Dry quicker than all in ones cos they are in bits, but very similar to use and in appearance.

The others are all variations on that basic theme. Some come in sizes. Some are birth to potty and adjust (but realistically will be too big for all but the chunkiest newborns, especially with their tiny chicken legs! It's not a bad idea to use disposable for the first few weeks anyway).

We use pockets, with shaped little lamb bamboo nappies at night

Oh, and my area has a kit of washable nappies that they will lend/hire out for a nominal fee. Great if you want to try things out . Check your local authority website. They may also refund you some of the cost of buying or offer a voucher to buy a trial pack. Some areas have promotion schemes and some don't.

I liked terries because they are flexible... If they started leaking, you could change the fold.

I have heard a few mums comment that their shaped nappies leaked. And I guess if they do, there's not much you can do to change the fit.

When our ds1 was a baby we used cloth nappies and disposable wipes. It was 8 years ago and I don't recall ever seeing washable wipes advertised anywhere. When ds2 was born 2 years ago we naturally went back to our stack of lovely cloth nappies (used with fleece liners which, as others have mentioned, are great) and also discovered washable wipes. I wish they had been available for ds1. They are brilliant. So much better than disposable ones and I just sling them in the machine with the nappies. We use ones that are bamboo on one side which is quite grippy and good at lifting poo and the other side is super soft minky or fleece which is super gentle. I don't soak mine in any special solution. When I need to change his nappy I grab 3, run them under warm water (so they aren't icy cold but no wipe warmer required) add a little squirt of baby wash to one then I wipe the solid off with a wet one, clean him with the soapy one and finally clean off any soap with the last wet one before patting dry and putting the nappy on. When he was little and the poos were bigger and messier I just used more wipes at each change but they are SO much more effective than disposables. Definitely recommend them!

They are easy to use after first few goes

The cheeky wipes are good as they are thinner than regular flannel so dry quicker. Also thinner to take a pile in bag out.

We never stored ours wet in box. Just used a top and tail bowl, one side with clean warm water in. So clean wipe in water, use, and put in empty side. Dirty nappy also put in empty side. Then everything in one place whilst you add clean nappy to baby and put baby somewhere safe, then can go to toilet and empty nappy/ put in nappy bin/ pour water away and wash hands.

When going out would just rinse some wipes so damp, then put in small waterproof bag.

We used reusables all the time except when travelling. Or on long days out we would take say 5 reusable, then add a couple more disposable just in case stuck in traffic/ etc

Flannels in Tupperware

Another vote here for the Nappy Lady whose advice we found very straightforward and easy to follow. Although same disclaimer as above - our baby isn't due till April so the proof will be in the pudding. Cutting down on waste is really important to us, so hoping it all works out.

Thanks Penguin, I've just submitted the Nappy Lady questionnaire - interested to see what she recommends! I am amazed at how reusables have evolved since my mum's day, such a range to choose from. This isn't something I really considered before being pregnant (obvs), so it's all new to me :)

ThisToo - that sounds really bloody sensible! I saw someone mention wipe warmers on another thread somewhere and thought they were being sarcastic. Turns out they're an actual thing. The things they try and get you to buy...

We are doing cloth nappies.

Tesee
thats what I am thinking. My mom can sew flannel squares for me. I sort of think Cheeky wipes kit is overpriced. I have collection of essential oils already and will have more as I am planning to use only oils for baby skincare.

Its just that I like for things to look neat and be matching in details etc.

As far as I know aromatherapy experts do not recommend to use essential oils for first couple of months anyway so I will be sticking to some nice carrier oil. I have seen other girls recipes for wipes solutions and really like water/coconut oil combo. Also Calendula migh be nice.

I have asked about the wipe warmer because I have seen couple of youtube videos where people were showing their cloth wipes set up and most of them stored the soaked clean wipes in wipe warmer.

Agree it is ridiculous appliance for disposable wipes but wonder if the cloth wipes soaked in water at room temperature will not be uncomfortably cold. I will do experiment on myself. Disposable wipe can warm up easily by the warmth of you hands but cloth its thicker.

I can not run it under warm tap water as that is too far from changing station.

I also like the idea of keeping the clean wipes dry and just dipping in the water/ solution when needed to wipe.

Lots of stuff to think about. At least its great that in these 9 months we have time to ponder over all thse details to find the best solution. :-)

a question for those who have been using cloth nappies for a while, since you cant use nappy cream is there sonething else you put on babys skin if they do get nappy rash? x

Why can't you use nappy cream - because of staining? We use metanium, maybe it stains, but tbh nappies are for pooing in, I'm not bothered about the stains as long as she's comfortable.

Note - it's been shown that fleece next to the skin keeps it drier than a disposable. So recommend them for babies prone to nappy rash.

Cheeky wipes are great, we were given two sets three years ago. 2 children later & still going strong. Big savings compared to normal wipes & much better for cleaning & comfort.

For nappies - you can buy second hand so cheap on FB groups. I bought 6 for £20 the other day. Tots bots all in one, look like new, you can't argue with the savings v disposables. And the washing is not a faff at all. The drying is a consideration though...

Ruth - I think some creams you can. Tbh I think it's quite unusual to get nappy rash from reusables if your changing often and keepng clean.
With reusable wipes they are getting a proper clean also instead of a basic wipe, and then I used a dry wipe to dry bottom before clean nappy

Ruth you can use creams if you are using a liner. You just don't want cream on the actual fabric of the nappy. Disclaimer: I have no children but sister has used cloth for over 4 years and I've asked her loads of questions.

If any does get on to the nappy you could do a strip wash to remove, same as detergent build up. (?)

We used cream with washables - the one we liked best doesn't seem to exist now (was called 3 Bees, a wax based barrier cream). Never heard of not using cream with washables, though we stayed away as much as possible as I have a lanolin allergy and lots of creams had me out in hives!

We use cloth part time, DD's nursery provide nappies and we use disposables overnight. We put less in landfill but the washing is minimal. Win win. Also DH isn't a big fan so he just uses disposable.

Ime, newborn skinny legs and cloth nappies are a bad combination and disposable liners turn into a soggy disgusting thing. Definitely buy a few here and there to try out.