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?

We use an unscented ecoegg too. Really good for sensitive skin and recommended by the eczema society. Also helps to stop detergent build up.

Re the oils I see coconut oil was mentioned but im confused as its solid?
Secondly I may be being thick but what do you do with these oils?
These reusable wipes sound good and we have almond oil, wheat germ oil and argan oil at home anyway.

Guyropes: I had some bamboo socks that fell apart after a few months and I have since read that Ecover isn't recommended for delicate fabrics and isn't gentle enough to use on bamboo nappies so I'm assuming that's what ruined my socks. Having spent a bit more on nappies than I do on socks I don't want to take any chances.

And thank you for the laundry suggestions. I've never tried ecoballs/ eco eggs but have wondered about them and will give them a try.

The Eco egg is really cost efficient also. One egg comes with an average of 3 year supply of refills ( for the average family, whatever they say that is). About £20. So less than £7 per year instead of buying washing powder/ liquid

ChickenMe - I think the OP is planning on using them instead of baby oil and Vaseline as they're petroleum-based. I have fractionated coconut oil, which is liquid (I think!). I bought a few smaller sized carrier oils to try out when I last made an order. Haven't tried this one yet though, sweet almond generally does such a good job.

As far as I can tell, the aromatic oils go in with the wipes mainly for fragrance. Tea Tree might have some additional antibacterial properties too, but I personally would be a little wary of using it around small children and babies.

Teeste - you don't use tea tree on the babies. You put a few drops in the fabric conditioner drawer to help sanitise the nappies.

I'd still be a little worried, probably irrationally, that it wouldn't all wash out! Both DH and I have such terrible, sensitive skin (eczema, psoriasis etc.) I wouldn't want to risk it. Probably fine for most folks though.

We all have sensitive skin and have never had an issue, but obviously each to their own. I like it because it avoids the need for harsh chemicals like napisan in the wash, or washing at high temperatures (which can knacker the elastic and the plastic coating on the wraps/outsides).

Mind you, I have never found any need for Vaseline, or baby oil, or any other oils of that nature either. Unless you want to do baby massage I'm not really sure what you do with masses of oils. Their skin is generally best left well alone IME.

So try cloth nappies - we asked the nappy lady and used the same bumbles that she suggested for all three of our DC. I did use disposables for the first few weeks of PFB when you are all up in the air, but clith is so easy. Nappy nippers are brilliant, all done in a jiffy.
Youngest is 3 now, feeling quite nostalgic for that round cloth nappy bottomed look.

I once tried witch hazel on my face - within hours I looked like a leper. All my skin flaked and peeled off! Natural isn't always good. But it does seem I can tolerate certain oils and they help with my rebellious dry skin :)

Before pregnancy, I was on about 5 different steroids, creams and gels to tackle my many and various skin problems, so I can imagine any baby of mine is going to have awful skin too, which may need moisturising and soothing. If I can use the oils I already have for that, bonus.

Obviously won't know till we get there but I do have 5 months to think about it and it's a big factor in me wanting cotton and not plastic next to their skin as much as possible when it comes to nappies. It may well turn out I'm fretting over nowt and it's all a bunch of PFB-itis.

Thanks Teeste
I had bad eczema as a child and still get scalp issues now! The thought of using disposable wipes on a young baby makes me wince.
I wish I could link on here, obv not allowed but my Mum makes homemade soap, all natural and just essential oils, properly certified etc. I've commissioned her to make an unfragranced one for my LO when he's ready for soap!
People have bought us loads of Johnson stuff. They mean well but just looking at it makes my teeth bleed. Don't know what to do with it really! Maybe use it to clean the toilet.

Hmm, so I'm trying to get DH on board with cloth nappies and wipes, but he just doesn't seem arsed

He seems to think it'll be a lot of work that we don't need. I don't think he's ever changed a shitty nappy so I doubt he has anything to compare to anyway!

He seems to be under the impression that we can mix and use disposables and cloth, which is fine from time to time I guess (if you're out and about), but surely it defeats the point a bit? Why would I go to the effort to buy a load of cloth nappies for me to use, only for him to use disposables? (I feel like it might confuse the baby as well, the different sensations).

Argh. Sorry for the rant, I'm just really at a loss with this. I think I'm going to pull together some research for him to read. I might also have him feel the inside of a disposable sanitary towel and a reusable one (I know they're not the same as nappies, but similar enough surely) so he can see what a difference there is.

Avocado - they really aren't a faff after first few weeks.
Both times we used disposables the first month to give time for baby bowels to settle, us get used to having a baby and so the nappies fitted better ( if a one size adjustable type). So by then baby was on around 6-8 nappies a day. We bought 30 so plenty to wash every x2 days, plus have whole day left clean, plus some in bag to go out.
In eve after work we would put nappies on wash around 8pm, by 9.30pm they were washed and hanging up to dry. Next day stuff inserts in 5 mins and put nappies in drawer to use.
By 6 months baby was on down to around 5-6 nappies a day.
By 15 months we had x2 in nappies! And promptly potty trained eldest

Does anybody know how many nappies is a good amount to have for 2 in cloth? I'll have a newborn and an 18 month old. I use BTP so intend to use the same stash for both. I have 24 day and 7 night nappies at the moment which means I can do a wash every 2-3 days without stressing about running out of nappies. Won't bother with the night nappies for a while with the newborn though.

Nature we had 30 nappies for x2.

But only used a few weeks with both as ds1 was 15 months when ds2 newborn. Used disposable first month with ds2 for newborn poo, then ds1 was potty trained by 18 months in the day so only used one at night with him.

Have you considered trying to train your elder child? We started around 9/10 months putting him on toilet at each nappy change, and he gradually used toilet more and more between then and full trained at 18 months. Saved a lot of potential nappy washing!

Just curious, has anyone used cloth wipes and/nappies with twins or is that too much to deal with?

Thankyou Artandco, that's really helpful.

I've had my Nappy Lady recommendation through so I'll show him that, and pull together a few other bits too.

I figure it can't hurt for us to try it, even for a little while!

One thing you could try is just over night/ in eve to start with so when indoors. So buy say 10 nappies and then add more during the day if you like

Testee

I have never used witch hazel but I understand it is an alcohohol alternative used for astringent purposses. I dont know if it should be used in pure strenght. You might look into hydrolates, which are gentle waters obtained from plants, I have used loads of those on my face.

mswibble, I used bambino mio smallest size (ds was tiny!) but any wrap would work. I have a motherease rikki xs wrap for sale on ebay www.ebay.co.uk/itm/321646954871?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649 if you're interested. It's a nice slim fit over a muslin