Cloth nappies

[LondonRoo]

I'm debating whether to try cloth nappies.

Baby is due early next week and I have a good supply of disposables to get us through the first week or two. After that, I'd quite like to try cloth nappies.

Anything I should be aware of?

I like the look of the little lamb ones and was wondering if anyone had thoughts on getting the one size fits all versus the size 1 and then having to buy new ones later. Also poppers or Velcro?

Anything else I should be aware of?

FTM and clueless so advice welcome!

Roo

I used bum genius with both of mine and the Velcro is not starting to go, but can be replaced. I've also got some bambino ones which are nice.

Depending on the size of your dc you may need a little longer in disposables as some come up a bit larger for tiddlers.

Is starting to go...

We used the Mio range with separate cloth inserts and outer nappies, you need nappy liners too with these.... and a nappy bucket - or a bucket with a lid, doesn't have to be a special nappy bucket. The smaller size of Mio lasts until the baby is 9kg and then you just buy a bigger outer nappy but you can use the same cloth ones. The cloth inserts may seem expensive but my daughter is 21 months and they're still in great condition, they wash really well (no staining at all) and they're lovely and soft.

There's a website called the Nappy Lady - link below - which has a wealth of information and you can make the right choice for your family.

We did half and half - we use cloth nappies if we're going to be in the house most of the day and disposables if we're going out for any length of time. I find they're not quite as absorbent as disposables so I change her more regularly if she is in a reusable.

Another bit of praise for the Mio is that they have always contained messy poos - only very minimal leakage in the most extreme of conditions!

Sorry forgot Nappy Lady link:

www.thenappylady.co.uk/

The nappy lady does an online advice thing, and a hire kit so you can try before you buy.
We used bumgenius free times during the day with DD1 and will use same stash for DD2, we got them with poppers and they still look like new despite 2 years use!
We used little lambs sized nappies for night time with DD1. The size 1's can be reused, but we had to throw away the size 2's as the velcro perished. I was really disappointed, we've switch DD1 over to tots bots bamboozle stretch for night now.
Where possible I'd pick poppers over velcro for nappies after our experience!
Love using cloth, saved SO much money! And I can count on one hand the amount of poo explosions, they all happened in disposables.

I have a bunch of all in ones, but DS is only 13 days old and isn't big enough for them on the smallest size yet. In the meantime I've been using newborn size Bambino mio, which are working well. He doesn't like being wet so we change him regularly, but it's not a big deal. I will transition him over to cloth full time (maybe not at night) once he's big enough for our main stash, but for now I'm just sticking him in cloth at home.

We started using cloth when DS was about 5 months old. Got a nappy trial from a local nappy library, which let us try out the different types. We went for the birth-to-potty ones, as he was 5 months by then - they seemed massive at first, but he seemed comfy enough!

Have only had 1 leak, I think, compared to disposables where we had loads! We still use a disposable overnight as he wees a lot, but use cloth most of the rest of the time.

We went for poppers as we were advised they were harder for toddlers to remove! DS has never been one for trying to take his nappy off, but I definitely think we'd be glad of our decision if he was!

Washing etc has been fine - extra washing of nappies, yes, but less washing of clothes after poo explosions.

Definitely worth giving it a go.

We used the little lambs two parters and they were fabulous. Velcro is easy (but loses its stick eventually - not yet an issue with any of ours - and you need to try make sure you do up the nappies before washing otherwise they snag eachother). When the babies get older they can sometimes undo velcro, but you won't know that till later, and it's unlikely to be an issue in size1. We found the wrap velcro was sticker anyway and he never tried to undo the wrap, only the nappy when he was being changed and even then very occasionally. If you get the two parters the nappy itself still has velcro but you can buy poppered-wraps for over so that isn't an issue.

Loved them. I used Itti Bitti's but I think they are hard to come by these days.

If you're going to buy new though wash, wash and wash them again. The more they are washed the more absorbent they are. And steer clear of fabric softeners.

I was like you OP with my first - started off with the best of intentions to cloth bum from early after birth, but I was so utterly overwhelmed by all things newborn that my best intentions got ditched. I tried cloth again when he was about 7mo, very gradually - I got a pack of Tots Bots and used one here and there. Eventually he was full time cloth at home and disposables at nursery.

I knew what I was doing with DS2, so he was cloth pretty much full time from birth. Since DS1 was still in nappies at that point, I took myself along to a nappy library found out that Tots Bots are an absolute load of shite compared to other brands and got a whole new stash which I'm still using 2.5 years down the track - Issy Bears pocket nappies if you're interested. I send him into nursery with them as well - poor girls probably wonder at which point between DS1 and DS2 I turned into a complete hippy DS1, now 4yo, is still wet at night and I'm still using the Issy night nappies on him, as well as DS2.

Use poppers not Velcro - they're fiddlier, especially when trying to get a thrashing toddler into them, but the fit is far better. DS1 had perpetual builder's bum with Velcro, no matter how tight I thought I'd got them.

Size 1 little lambs are brilliant for newborn and by the time baby grows out of them, baby will be a great size for birth to potty options (which are not really suitable from birth).
There are lots around second hand on the Facebook selling groups so your outlay can be small, whilst you decide if it's for you.
There is a whole section on mumsnet related to nappies with some threads on cloth nappies.
Your local nappy library is likely to be helpful too.

Thanks for this thread, it has been really useful!

I was recommended Tots Bots Bamboozle Stretchies by the Nappy Lady. I'll admit that I am a little disappointed with them. I am preserving with them during the day but use disposables at night. @ElphabaTheGreen what did you dislike about the Tots Bots nappies, out of interest?

We use tots bots and have a combination of Velcro and poppers. My bargain was getting cosmetic seconds at the baby show and they were half price! Being used on dd2 now and still going strong. We don't use them at night though because I don't want any excuses to wake her up. Also think about reusable wipes. Didn't use them with dd1 but they're amazing. If your already washing nappies then you might as well wash wipes.

They are great- we used tots bots with DD1 and bum genius with DD2 (got the bum genius initially when DD1 was about 2 as she has outgrown the tots bots birth to potty- wish we had had bum genius from the off I think).

People always say that a downside of reusable is that they can undo the Velcro, but you can get poppered ones which I like and the ones we have the worst problems with DD2 opening are disposables as they are the easiest.

If you are doing reusiable nappies I reccoment reusable wipes. Reusable nappies do the same job as disposable ones. Reusable wipes so a far better job than disposable. You can buy kits- like cheeky wipes- or even just make your own.

Good luck!

TwoDogs The fit of them was terrible for both my boys - builder's bum from here to breakfast. Their absorption was also awful, even with all the washing/strip washing in the world. I assumed that watching the clock for two-hourly nappy changes was just something you had to do with cloth nappies, then I discovered decent nappies and realised that definitely wasn't the case. My two year old wears three nappies a day - two during the day and one at night, unless there's an extra poo in there. It was at least double that with Tots Bots.

I did use Bamboozles for night for quite a long time after I stopped using the day AIO Tots Bots as they were leak-proof for night wees but again, I accepted that all-round soaking wet underneath the wrap was OK. I found a decent nappy which is virtually dry against the skin day and night and think it must be so much more comfortable to wear.

Tots Bots also have some highly questionable small-print. They're only 'guaranteed' for a year of wear, if you don't use their overpriced washing powder don't come complaining to them if the nappy falls to bits, don't use the nappies on more than one child at a time or, again, they won't listen to your complaint...my nappy librarian won't recommend them because she thinks their ethos is at odds with many of the reasons we use cloth nappies, plus there are far better brands out there which have been buried by the Tots Bots marketing.

I remembered that I also highly rate Bum Cheekss* nappies. They literally are birth to potty, massively absorbent and really slim-line.

I second reusable wiped with nappies - it's easier to just be able to chuck them all in together with the nappy into the bucket. Cheeky Wipess* are the shizz as others have mentioned.

@ElphabaTheGreen I too am very disappointed with the poor absorbency and that is on a newborn so it's only going to get worse as he grows 😞 The booster pads for nighttime use are FAR too bulky to use until he's much bigger hence why I resort to disposables at night. That is really awful what you say about the small print - I paid a fortune for these nappies and all the associated paraphernalia. Just wanted to do the best for the environment and my baby and almost wish I hadn't bothered 😕 Strange because they seem to get really good reviews online

TwoDogs Resell them on eBay and get better nappies. You'll actually get loads back on what you paid for them witha big brand like Tots Bots. You're not technically allowed to sell used cloth nappies on eBay, but I've done it three times now with great success. You can only check the 'new' box under item condition, but then state clearly in your description that they are used. I haven't had any complaints or a ban and part-funded my re-stash very tidily.

As far as reusable wipes go, I just bought a pile of 29p face cloths from Home Bargains. Sorted.

@ElphabaTheGreen really? When I've looked at used ones on eBay they don't fetch very much at all. I've just done some research and apparently fleece liners are very good?? I might try them.

You can resell nappies on Facebook groups - there are several about. Not sure on the resale value as I've not looked for a while though. We used the Little Lambs fleecy liners with the Little Lambs nappies. Another vote for cheeky wipes :)

My exceptional selling skillz TwoDogs I made sure I sold them in a bulk lot rather than individually, advertised them as a 'starter pack' and made sure they had a really good photo. I got back at least half of what I paid for them, I'm sure.

Liners are utterly pointless - fleece or disposable. With a pre-solids baby, poo is a non-issue anyway. Post-solids, you're going to be scraping shit whatever you do, so just give yourself one less thing to wash. And get decent nappies.

I found that (after the initial starting weaning poo which was gross) that we didn't need to scrape if we used the fleecy liners, as solids didn't stick well to them. Intend to use disposable liners for the first few weeks of starting solids this time around though!

If you have an Aldi near you, I love the bambino moo solo all in ones. They're £8.99 each, easy to wash and have fit ds fine so far. I also have some wonderoos pocket nappies which are good, but I prefer the bambino all in ones (and they're cheaper).

Get a few extra absorbent inserts for night use. I was pleasantly surprised with how easy reusables are! I do a long 40degree wash every other day, with half my usual washing powder and occasionally wash at 60degrees.

Another vote for the Miosolos on offer in Aldi at the moment. They are some of my favourites from a fairly diverse stash. They are also some of the cheapest you can get new.