Cloth nappies

[GemLooper]

Due my second in March and considering cloth nappies but know absolutely nothing about the practicalities of them. What are peoples experiences with them? Can anyone suggest any good online resources to read? Is a tumble dryer a necessity for cloth nappies?

I’m still doing my research but someone recommended www.thenappylady.co.uk/ which helped a lot. I was also told to not to buy too many of one brand until you see how you get on with them. I’ve just bought a couple from Aldi and I’ll get a couple from another brand as well and see how it goes.

I've got a 2 year old and have used cloth nappies almost throughout. I would say:

-You don't have to commit 100% from day 1. I bought a few - 4 I think - initially, it took me until she was 7 weeks old to start using them as having a newborn was such a shock to the system! Gradual introduction worked well for me. I gradually bought more nappies and by about 4 months we were on 100% cloth nappies.
-No tumble dryer needed, in fact they are not recommended as they can damage the nappies. If you're short on drying space go on the Nappy Lady site you can filter so it shows you the nappies that dry quickly. The only slow-drying ones I have are the overnight Totbots ones.
-You do need a laundry routine, I do a load of nappies every 48 hours and do other laundry on other days.
-If you're on a budget you can get them cheaper secondhand or sometimes seek out less popular brands. I've got some unfashionable Mothercare ones that are no longer made that have been fantastic.
-Second the Nappy Lady site for info although I found it a bit overwhelming to begin with and only got my head around what I needed to do once I started using them.

I highly recommend them though, I've saved a fortune overall even taking into account the washing costs, and I actually find them less leaky than disposables (which I do still use from time to time if we are away for a few days).

Definitely less leaky than disposables. I had three in them so saved loads. Get good wraps- motherease were good years ago. I had mostly totsbots but then with the second and third actually preferred terry squares and a nappy nippa- cheap, dry really quickly, can fold to fit any stage ( not hard to fold at all). Didn't use a tumble drier, the sun, even in winter bleaches the stains out and helps freshen them. Giving them a good shake before hanging up fluffs them up a bit. You can do loads of research and spend hundreds with lovely designs etc or keep it simple, up to you.

There's lot of information on both the nappy gurus site and nappy lady's. You can take a quiz on one of them about which nappies to use but I wouldn't bother as this will make you think that only one type would do.
Agree with previous poster, don't commit to one type of nappy, see what's out there.
Check if your local council does a nappy library or any other incentives.
There's a nappy lady Facebook group that has some super helpful people on it.

I cloth nappies both of mine and help to run a nappy library.

Find out where your most local nappy library is and hire a kit when the newborn days have settled down. Find out what works for you.
If you can find a demo session or a shop that sells them it'd help - I read up all sorts on line but couldn't equate what it all meant in my head! A very helpful shop owner went through what everything was and meant - made it a lot clearer.
I brought a bundle from that shop, which in theory ticked all my boxes. They were good, but they weren't great for my child's body shape. I sold it all for pretty much the same as I brought it for and reinvested in a type I knew suited us better (having already brought 1 out of curiosity) I'm now using my nappy stash on my second child.

We've had brilliant value for money.

There are a lot of cloth groups on Facebook with heaps of info. Don't pay attention to mentions of 'clean cloth nappy' routine which advocates bleaching nappies. A good wash routine is important, but bleach is not necessary.
Mine is:
Short cycle 30 degrees for 30 mins with half powder.
Long cycle at 60 degrees for 2 hours with full powder.
This works brilliantly and my nappies have never had stains or smells.

Using cloth nappies can affect the fit of some clothes - h&m is a good high street place for clothes to suit cloth nappies. The vests are roomy in the bum. Apparently their baby clothes are designed in Sweden where cloth nappies are far more common.

There are also lots of selling groups for pre loved nappies. Also eBay is a good place for picking up bundles of nappies, I had some in great condition.

also second the motherease wraps!

I was really intimidated when I first started using cloth nappies, but it's allot of fun to geek out over textile technology once you get the hang of what you are after. I didn't have a tumble drier and I am also very lazy but putting an extra wash on a day didn't bother me.

I really enjoyed using cloth wipes too- lovely to mix essential oils and makes changing time into a bit of an 'event' rather than something to get through

Definitely a nappy library. I inherited some little lamb Terry nappy, which were great to start with but over night at six months she was out weeing them. I was using prefolds during the day (rectangles that go inside a wrap), but since she hit one she wriggles too much so we're using bambino mio aios, with hemp boosters, which do three hours comfortably and bells bumz hemp nappy over night. For nursery we can use the bambino mio, but I still like the prefolds. We wash every two days, have about twenty nappies, and they are dry by the next wash. Regarding washing, I do a cold wash for 45min first, no powder then the cotton wash with a scoop of powder (about three hours), and line dry

When she was small we were getting through up to 15 a day even using fleece to help feel dry, prefolds were great then, she just didn't like being wet, now it's 4-5