Where to start - cloth nappies and re-usable wipes

[crazymuseummumtobe]

Hi all,

I'm 28+1, and starting to think about getting in the 'little things' as we're sorted now for nursery furniture, car seat, buggy, etc.

Is it reasonable to go with cloth nappies and re-usable wipes from the start, or would I be making a rod for my own back? If so, where the heck do I start? I know lots of companies do starter packs, but I feel so under-informed and there's so much choice! Any tips would be appreciated.

This is DC1, in case you hadn't guessed!

I would suggest using disposables for the newborn stage which can be only 1-2 weeks for larger babies, we switched at 3 weeks to reusable nappies, and used reusable wipes too

Quite a lot of councils offer vouchers for cloth nappies so this could help you decide where to go for them so that would be my first go to advice for you today. Then birth to potty are quite good for economic value etc all in ones too if you have good drying facilities. I made my own wipes with old cloth so can't help with that unless you give that a go too?

I no nothing about re-usable nappies but believe jojo manan Bebe now have some so might be worth checking their website for more info?

We used cotton wool and warm water for the newborn stage and now use cheeky wipes. They're brilliant! Admittedly we don't 'do' reusable wipes properly so no box with essential oils in it or anything like that but we just wet with warm water when need to use and throw in washing machine after. Works for us.

I went to the Nappy Lady website and did a quiz, then started picking up second hand and hand me downs from friends (amazing how many people had them lying around).

We used from 3 weeks with DS1 (used disposables before that as we were getting our heads round having a baby full stop). Used from birth with DS2.

My favourites for ease of use were the pocket nappies or all in ones. Favourites for bomb-proofing and overnight were shaped or terries with a waterproof cover. We had a mix of loads of different types, booster pads for overnight, etc.

For wipes we had a stack of soft squares and a sports bottle of water. Grab dry square, wet with sports bottle, drop into bucket with nappies.

The Nappy Lady website has lots of information on it and she does a questionnaire too that you can fill out for free. We're going with muslins folded like traditional Terry nappies until the baby is big enough for the shaped ones (having ELCS next week at 37+2) but I have bought some Eco by Naty disposables to take with me to hospital.

I am a cheeky wipe fan here (we already have some) and I am planning to use those from the off - I have a set of bamboo ones and they are so soft that DH said he wants to use them!

You can start off just using terry cloths or muslins with a nappy nippa and a wrap, that's what we're planning on doing for our newborn :) you don't have to use disposables at all if you don't want to, and it's really not making a rod for your own back...

I used reusables from the beginning with my DC2&3 but chose to use disposables until the meconium disappeared with DC4 which I think made things easier (especially following a c section).

You could always start off with disposables and switch to reusables when the poo gets more manageable, it’s like thick marmite to begin with which is rather nasty!

I've just started using cheeky wipes and think they're brilliant - can't speak for reusable nappies, but I give the wipes a thumbs up

The nappy lady is a great place to start 👍 things we have learned since starting cloth 4 weeks ago:

• Having lots of nappies and a system (basket to store nappies on changing table, bucket with laundry bag, wet bag for out & about, somewhere to dry them) is much easier than having just one or two.

• Learn how to fit nappies well so they don't leak. There are lots of tutorials on You Tube. Also an extra insert often solves the problem! 💦

• Try different nappies (brilliantly our council offered a free trial kit for 2 weeks) so you can find the nappies that work best for you. We started with Tots Bots easy fit star but after doing the trial found Little Lamb pockets with 3 bamboo inserts was a better fit👌

• We started cloth full time day time from 7 months & use a disposable liner. Solid poop is then really easy to take out and bin - newborn poop is another story and could get messy but people do it!! Others use fleece liners and scrape down the loo with a 'poo knife' but that's not for us either! 💩

• We have 12 nappies now and I'd say it's not quite enough, especially for the early days when you're changing much more often. Ideally I'd now have 15-18.

• We still use 1 disposable over night as she sleeps through (hallelujah 🙌) and I don't want to risk her being uncomfortably wet come morning. Doing some is better than none 🌍

I'm 29 weeks with my first and I'm planning on starting on using cloth from birth. I've not bought anything yet, but I'm hoping to get some terry squares with nappy nippas and wraps to start with. Depending on how that goes we'll evolve - I do like the idea of the 2 part systems so I'll probably also get some shaped nappies and wraps and inserts in size 1 / size 2.

Wipes I don't think you need anything fancy, just water to hand and a flannel/fleecy type cloth would do the trick?

I'm 30 weeks with a one-yr-old in cloth (we started late, around 9 months).
Planning to cloth from birth with baby number two - have muslins/prefolds with nappy nippas and wraps for newborn stage.
(Most birth-to-potty nappies don't really fit new newborns quite yet, and you can always use muslins after, and prefolds are good for stuffing pocket nappies or as extra boosters.)

I think if it's your first, have a few backup disposables at hand (you might end up staying in hospital for longer than anticipated), but start with cloth by all means.

I can also recommend facebook groups for advice and reading about others' experiences - there are a lot out there, just have a browse - as well as finding a good wash routine!

Hi everyone - thanks for all the advice. I've filled out the Nappy Lady questionnaire, and will do some research on her site this weekend. I don't know what all the jargon means at the moment! Cheeky Wipes definitely seem to be the way forward for wipes... But will I struggle with having no water supply upstairs? (Bathroom is off the kitchen.) Thank you!

@crazymuseummumtobe cheeky wipes do a kit that has boxes in it so you can have wipes ready in water (and essential oils if interested) so wouldn't need a nearby water source

I changed mine in the bedroom and just kept a bottle of water in there for the cheeky wipes so that I didn't have to keep trekking back and forth. Do you have a local nappy library? I borrowed a kit from them to try out the different types, narrowed down to a few favouites then bought whichever of those I could find second hand off eBay. I used close pop ins for daytime, which adapt for size so are birth to potty, and toys bots bamboozles and a wrap for night time (had to get more than one size). If you are using from newborn I would suggest using Muslims at first as I found that the nappys were so bulky compared to me little one at first that they tipped her up when she was lying down and she got reflux from having her bum higher than her head (she was premature though).

Have a look to see if you have a nappy library in your area. Most offer newborn nappy loans. Newborn sized nappies only fit for the first few weeks or months until baby is about 10lb. By borrowing you don't need to buy anything, and allows you to try out cloth nappies before spending loads.