Cloth nappies - confused!

[bunny85]

Hello,

I'm thinking of using cloth nappies instead of disposable ones, but am absolutely clueless and confused, given the huge variety and choice! Which ones would you recommend? How many do I need and in which sizes? Which brand is good but affordable?

Many many thanks

I agree washable wipes are brill and so easy if you are using washable nappies too. I have Cheeky Wipes but I know people just use old flannels cut up.

Okay, we are expecting first baby anytime this month and the following is from 9 months of research hanging out with cloth bum mums online in free time-

1. Most newborns might not fit into the birth to potty nappies very snugly. For the very diddy newborn stage there are newborn nappies like Tots Bots teeny fits, bum genius newborn, Little Bloom newborn, fuzzibunz small or extra small, easy peasy bimble nappies. BUT it's pointless buying these new as they will outgrow quickly (most last till about 12 lbs) - I suggest joining the Facebook group "preloved newborn cloth nappies and accessories" and hanging about for a while, seeking advice from experienced cloth bummers and buying preloved newborn nappies off there. I just bought 10 newborn nappies for £13 including postage and they are lovely when they arrived.

1. Most people seem to find that two part nappies (an absorbent nappy, and an outer waterproof wrap) are best for the nights. The most popular night nappies are "bamboo" nappies. These include Little Lamb, Tots Bots Bamboozle stretch and Lollipop bamboo. You'll need a wrap with these. Remember there is a dedicated Facebook selling page for Little Lamb nappies which will give you fanatic bargains. The Little Lamb bombproof wrap, and the Blueberry coveralls are popular, pricey but cheap preloved. Remember these two part nappies are sized, there's size 1 for upto 16 lbs ish, then size 2 up to 35 lbs ish and if you need then there's a size 3. You could use sized wraps with these like the Motherease Rikki Wrap, Airflow wrap or the ones above. Or, you can try new birth to potty wraps from Tiny Nippers, Natural Baby Accesroies or TJs nappies.

1. For the daytimes you have two options. One is the all in one nappies which come ready to use with a booster inside. Examples are tots bots easy fits, wonderoos, close popins, bum genius. Or you could use pocket nappies which you can stuff yourself depending on how heavy a wetter your child is. "Cheapie pockets" off eBay, little bloom, dudes baba, TJS, etc are quite popular. They're about3.49 each new, or even cheaper in preloved bundles off Facebook. There is also the option of using prefolds or terry nappies but I don't know much about that.

1. Liners and boosters - liners go next to baby's skin. Fleece liners are popular as they keep skin dry, and you can flick poo off. You can also use disposable liners. eBay does dudeybaba paper liners for cheap. There's also rolls of paper liners going cheap on Facebook. Boosters are what makes your nappy absorbent and never touch your baby's skin. They include - microfibre boosters (quick to absorb, but may leak if compressed) charcoal (a variant of microfibre with antibacterial properties) bamboo (very absorb any, slow to absorb, slow to dry), zorb and hemp (extremely absorbent). The combination of boosters varies as baby grows, and by day and night, bad across babies. Again, you can buy these cheap off Facebook. Be warned - zorb and hemp boosters are like gold dust and disappear within a minute of bring advertised.

1. Washing laundry and drying - a lidded bin with a laundry bag inside it will do fine in your bathroom to store dirty nappies. Do not soak them, just dry pail them after discarding any poo. You're fine to wash every 2/3 days. Best to use a washing powder, not liquid, as liquid can build up in the nappies. Non bio is best. You should do a detergent free cold rinse first so you don't set any smells in, then a 60 degree wash with detergent. If you are adding a sanitiser Miofresh or using a special nappy detergent like Rocking Green or Tots Bots potion, then you won't need a 60 wash, a 40 would do. Tumble drying is only okay for bamboo nappies, on a very low setting. Others will line dry just fine.

1. Not all clothing lines suit cloth bums. HM, frugis are all suitable. Try and see. You will do well to get some vest extenders to get the most out of your vests :-)

1. Coconut oil, raw, cold pressed version is excellent as a balm for preventing nappy rash. If not, Weleda Calendula nappy cream is good too. Metanium is effective for rashes once you have them, but remember may stain nappies.

That's all I can think of from my research. Here's what my stash includes. The fact it can be sold off easily is despicably comforting :-)

Focus, that was the most comprehensive guide on cloth nappies ever! Thanks so much. All much clearer now!

Can second the nappy lady - it was a good place to start from and helped me see the wood from the trees.

As did Focus's post!

So glad to have stumbled across this.

I'm impressed by that detailed post, especially from someone who hasn't even had a baby yet!
Thanks for sharing what must have taken hours and hours to gather.

Went to the nappy lady's house for a fitting :) she's lovely, good option if you're local (Surrey).

we use mainly Charlie Bananas which are great for my long skinny boy as so adjustable, and totsbots easyfit v4 which I loooove! Just bought loads of well used preloved ones from eBay and they're still amazing quality and so absorbent! Also use little lamb BTP pockets for their lush prints, not the best fit for my DS though. Use tons of terries at home, LL wraps are great but also like blueberry coveralls.

Clothnappytree.com classifieds are great, so cheap.

For night time you NEED some wool shorties. Incredible!

Just started using prefolds for boosting, love them! Really looking forward to CPing the next baby from birth, only started with DS from around 2 months old (didn't want to buy a newborn stash before I knew I liked it, plus moved house when he was 7 weeks old so washing would have been a nightmare!)

I also second/third/fourth cloth wipes... DS is on laxatives and only poos maybe once or twice a week, so when he goes, he GOES. I still only ever need maximum 4 wipes (I find terry the best), whereas would need 8-10 disposables plus a bum dunk in the bath.

Pooey nappies - DS isn't weaned yet so his poos are unploppable so can't put them down the loo v well. I might scrape some off with loo roll and put it down the loo, but mainly blast the poo off with the shower, into a dedicated poo bucket, then pour that down the loo.

And I repeat: WOOL FOR NIGHTTIME!!

Another good reason for buying preloved is that they'll already be up to full absorbency so no blooming pre-washing required.

So much useful info, incredible! Thank you all.

Few questions:

1. Bree, when you say wool, what exactly do you mean (sorry for being so daft), you mean special nappies made of wool? Of some wool inserts?

2. If I wanted to buy used nappies, but new inserts, is it possible? As I understand, insert is the part that goes next to the baby's skin, right?

3. What are the disadvantages of all-in-one nappies, except for the cost? Am I right to think they are they best in terms of convenience and absorbability?

4. Am I right that all cloth nappies are chemical-free? (The only reason I want to avoid disposable ones is the chemicals in them)

Many thanks to all!

2. insert doesn't necessarily go next to baby's skin. With pocket nappies, the insert goes inside the pocket. Pocket is generally made of fleece, and that is next to the baby's skin. Fleece keeps the baby's skin dry :)

3. So, I am a new convert to wool, but my god, it is incred. Wool allows moisture to evaporate, so where PUL/waterproof, plastic wraps keep all the moisture in the nappy and keep clothes on the outside dry, wool allows some moisture to evaporate and therefore the nappy gets less saturated. Miraculously though, anything outside of the wool (baby sleeping bag, for example), remains dry. It's magical. It sounds so the opposite of how you'd imagine wool would behave, but it's great.
   At nighttime DS wears a bamboozle stretchy, prefold booster, then wool soaker (basically wool pants instead of a plastic nappy wrap), then baby sleeping bag. Long sleeved vest to keep arms toasty :) You can get full length wool covers, like trousers, but I haven't tried them, we just use the shorts/pant-style ones.
   His nighttime bum is hilariously large, but it was before we used wool anyway and before wool we were having to change him in the night, and getting leaks and all sorts.
   Also wool is anti-microbial or something, so you only need to wash it about once a month. It's always bone come the morning too.
   People explain it much better here!: www.clothnappytree.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=50&t=122840

*bone dry come the morning

I used Eco disposables for the first weeks (mainly because of meconium and also we were in hospital for a week) and then I had a month's trial of different cloth nappies for £10 with Fill Your Pants.com to see which nappy/ies fitted my baby best/dried quickest/suited our lifestyle etc etc.

I carried on using these Naty eco disposables until I'd decided on which cloth nappies to buy. I use Charlie Banana cloth nappies and they're brilliant, plus they come in fab designs!

Bought the Bumgenuius V4 and also the Bumgenius Flip before baby was born and couldn't get on with them at all and cursed at spending money on something that didn't work. That's why being able to try the different nappies actually on the baby made a big difference. FYP were a brilliantly helpful company.

The Nappy Lady also sells brilliant double sided reusable wipes, I have the ones that are terry one side and fleece the other side. Cheeky Wipes are another make of washable wipes that come with a comprehensive kit. But if you're cloth nappying anyway then you don't need the dirty wipes kit, just sling them in with your dirty nappies. I just dampen my wipes with water before use, up to you if you dry them and dampen before use, or just pop straight out of the wash into in a Tupperware of water + lavender oil.

One thing I would def recommend though, don't go for a dirty nappy bucket, buy two 'hanging pails' (waterproof bag for putting dirty nappies into) then you can just turn it inside out and put the whole thing into the washing machine, and no stinky bucket hanging around.

Oh and I use fleece liners in the nappies, you can get flushable disposables ones but they're not as good at wicking moisture away from the skin.

Agree with claire about the nappy bucket, I've just been considering getting an xl wet bag as our bucket isn't big enough even for 2 days worth of nappies - by 2nd afternoon the lid doesn't stay on as too full.

Another fan of the Nappy Lady and Fill Your Pants here.
On the Nappy Lady's excellent advice I went with birth-to-potty Charlie Bananas for day (so cute!) and Bumbles for nights, with Motherease wraps over (totally bomb proof- only one poo leak in 2.5 years!). All brand new because I am a spendthrift.
At 2.5 years in, we are teetering at the potty stage, and the Motherease wraps now go over the Charlie Bananas too, as they are not quite as waterproof these days as I might like, but there you go.

We also have an ongoing problem with soap buildup since we got a lovely modern washing machine which only uses just as much (or little) water as it thinks you need- we are now on 30ml of Ariel bio powder per nappy wash (you can use less bio than non-bio, so less likely to build up), and adding 12 or so extra rinses (! Fortunately five at a time, but still!). Miofresh is the worst for buildup- I much prefer BioD Nappy Fresh. Charlie Bananas want you to wash them at 40, so you do need to add something.

For the first 20 months or so the Charlie Bananas were ACE, some if the PUL lining is beginning to go now though, and I think the soap buildup and the massive toddler pees mean that we do need to pop a wrap over (which is not really a problem). Also, we use disposables for travelling, and tend to pop a wrap over those too, just for belt and braces.

We also happen to have a bidet douche in our bathroom, which is just the best thing ever, as it is basically a shower head by the loo for sluicing poo down the toilet. If you happen to be redoing your bathroom, its well worth it.

Also worth it is making sure that your washing machine allows you to use extra water in your rinses! (might have a super-rinse button, or anti-allergy, or similar. Mine is a good machine, but too clever by half with the water saving)

If you are worried about hygiene 're the bit next to babysitting skin, use a liner- either new fleece ones or disposable, though disposable will likely have chemicals in.

Cloth nappies will have as many chemicals in as clothes do (dye, bleech, softener etc) plus whatever you wash them in, so fewer than disposables and they have no silica gel in them or fragrance.

We use a mixture of tots bots easy fits, bambino mio prefolds with milovia wraps and eBay cheapies. Pg with #4 and nappies have been used on them all so fantastic investment. Cheeky Wipes are brilliant and so much better and more efficient than baby wipes. Everyone has a preference, what works for one doesn't work for another so just try a few different ones pre loved and see what works best.

Some really useful advices! Already made my mind to sign up for a £10 trial with fillthepants - really great place! As is the nappy lady, but haven't heard but from her yet. Can't order the trial pack now though, as its for 30 days and I'm 33 weeks only. And ordered a wet nappy bag too, xl, from eBay. Really loads to take in, but I have a feeling it'll be worth it. What would I do without MN!