Reusable nappies

[Laura1348]

Hello all,
I am very keen to use reusable nappies with newborn- due 5.9.
However, does anyone have a guide how many to buy as a starting point?
I have some but don't know if it's too much/ too little etc
Thanks for any advice
👍

There are loads of Facebook groups that'll are cloth nappy orientated. Also cloth nappy companies such as The Nappy Gurus, The nappy lady, funky monkey pants and Babipur. Both sell and give advice re how many nappies you'll need and washing advice.

@onlyreadingneverposting8 great- thank you!
I've seen a couple of lists but just wondered if anyone had a 'real life' perspective.

I recently cloth nappied from birth.

In my experience you need about 8 to 10 nappies per day, and they take a day to wash and dry. How many you need depends on how often you want to wash nappies.

If you want to wash daily then around 20 nappies will do. If you want to wash every two days then 30 nappies etc etc.

I know you didn't ask for extra info, but ....

Breastfed poo can go straight in the machine, no need for scraping off. Just put everything in the washing machine, run a hot or cold rinse/short wash to get the majority of the poo/wee out (the "poo soup wash" in our house ) and then wash at 40 or 60 degrees for 2+ hours.

Also, several nappy systems say you can wipe out the wrap and reuse for several nappy changes. In my experience the wrap nearly always gets poo on it and so needs changing.

Also, Facebook groups are great for buying second hand nappies. This is particularly useful for newborn nappies, where they're not used for long and so are often in great condition second hand, and are expensive new as they're not used for long.

We wash every day at the moment and have 20 nappies. DS is 3 months old and we use approx 10/day. However, for the first month there were some days we used 15! By washing every day, I think we actually have spent less money on clothes as these get chucked in too, so only need a few vests and sleep suits etc.

Found the nappy lady great for advice about the type that would suit us best. We have a tumble drier, so have gone for more absorbent ones (which take longer to dry).

Also, if you plan on using them from birth most are too big for the first month or so. So you may need to consider using muslins or hiring smaller nappies

Depends on the type of nappy that you're using. For example we used the small Gnappies on both of ours. It's a 3 part system: we had 6 outers, 6 waterproof liners and 36 inserts - new insert every change, but only changed outer & liner if wet. Used between 2-3 outers/liners each day and they dried quickly overnight.

Your best option might be too contact a nappy library and discuss options, possibly hire a newborn kit.

Oh and 'birth to potty' nappies don't actually fit from birth. Depending on the size/shape of your baby you could be in newborn nappies from between 4weeks (if big chunky baby) to 5 months ( if very small, skinny baby).

Thanks all!
@HappyAsASandboy you've made my night with the poo soup wash! 😂😂😂 and thanks for the frank advice about breast feeding situation.
Is there a particular brand that people would recommend? I have bumgenius all in one, bambino mio all in one, tots bots easy fit/teeny fit and some of the bamboozle (size 1&2) for night.
Ideally I'd like to get the '20' before he gets here but worried I'll spend loads of money and hate the brand 😳🤷‍♀️
Did people use day/ night nappies or did you find it didn't matter?
Sorry for all the questions- thanks again.
👍

Also (sorry)- washing powder?! I've got fairy non bio and I've purchased some tots bots potion.
Anyone recommend anything or are these okay?
Sorry just want to get it 'right'🙈

I have tots bots and thirsties. Tots Bots are really easy to put on, but can take a while to dry. Thirsties are quick drying but I find they need changing more often

At the moment we don’t need night nappies as up 2-3 times for feeds, so change them anyway. Will definitely be needed when DS starts sleeping through the night

Most reusables need non-bio washing powder only, I find this is fine for washing them and haven’t had any problems with nappy rash or irritation yet

My daughter is 6 months and I have 8 totsbots peenut wraps, 18 peenut pads and 6 bamboozles. I wash every 3 days with those. We started using them when she was 2 months and washed every 2 days to start. The bamboozle particularly take a long time to dry, it's fine in sunny weather but slow indoors

I found cloth so confusing before starting because EVERYONE has an opinion about wash fit routines number type size brand blarhhh so I just bought a birth to potty bundle of 20 from Baba+Boo and followed their instruction and asked them my queries. We clothed from about 8 weeks and still going strong now at 12 months. I've never needed anything more than these and never had a leak, I think they're amazing

Thanks everyone
@CupcakesK have you been using the all in ones? Teenyfit?
I've not heard of thirsties. Can I ask where they were from?

Thanks

I’ve been using easyfit (next size up from teenyfit). I hired nappies for the first couple of months so I didn’t have to buy them - DS was only in them for about a month. I really like them, my only concern is if the Velcro will last - fine at the moment, but might not be for 2nd baby.

Thirsties all-in-one were from the Nappy Lady, although they are usually quite expensive, I bought them in the sale. I’ve got the ‘natural’ ones which seem much more absorbent than the regular thirsties. Although the regular ones dry very quickly (bought before I had a tumble drier). Also the patterns on the thirsties are super cute, which swayed me to buy them :)

The ones I hired initially were sandys - 2 part nappies. When I initially bought all the nappies I didn’t think I wanted 2 part ones as it would be more effort to put on. But it’s not much more effort and I think the separate wrap helps contain more!

Hope that helps, ask me more questions if needed

@CupcakesK thank you so much.
Where did you hire from?
I've got a few of the size 2ready (totsbots) but wondering how many size 1 to get as I don't know how big he will be.
I'm worried I'm going to get too used to pampers so I want to get using these ASAP.

When you say 2part do you mean peanut or bamboozle?
I'm really keen on all in one (lazy) but again concerned I'm going to hate them.
It's a real catch 22😬😬
Thank you

@Ceejay19 thanks
Do you ever use the all in ones or just the two parts?

[quote Laura1348]@Ceejay19 thanks
Do you ever use the all in ones or just the two parts?
[/quote]
I have one TotsBots all in one, but much prefer the two part ones. I find them easier for washing and take up less space. You can get a trial pack from Totsbots that has one of each type in, so you can see what works best for you. Think it was around £30 for one all in one, one peenut wrap and pad and one bamboozle.

Hi 👋 We have used tots bots ‘Pee nut’ system from 3 months. We have 10 wraps and 16 ‘day to night’ pads. I also have some Littles and Bloomz pads which I have doctored with poppers to fit the pee nut wraps so we have around 28 pads in total. I have 2x tots bots bamboozle stretch for night time. I wash overnight on 60 with Bio D non bio and Bio D nappy fresh (my machine has a time delay setting) and they get hung out in the morning. If it’s too wet for them to hang out I tumble dry on low setting as the bamboozles, in particular, take a long time to dry. I usually don’t use both pads in the pee nut wraps, but might when baby is bigger. I found that they leak (poop and pee) but no more than the disposables we tried. We also use washable wipes, which are very handy as you can use them wet or dry. They have been invaluable during lockdown as we don’t have to buy nappies! My husband loves the pee nut system too as it’s so easy.

FTM planning to cloth here too. There’s some brilliant Facebook groups for research/asking questions, like The Nappy Lady, Clean Cloth Nappies and Cloth Nappies UK. The clean cloth nappies website is great for washing instructions, lot of people swear by them.

We’re going for mainly Bimbles shaped nappies with separate Rumparooz covers for newborn (Bimbles direct from Easy Peasy Nappies and the covers are from Kingdom of Fluff) Bimbles we’re the ones most commonly recommended to me when I asked about newborn nappies, they’re easier than folding muslins as shaped and have elastic, but still not too bulky compared to other options We’ll then trial I few different ones for once they grow out of those, as different brands seem to suit different babies. But mostly staying away from all in ones as they take longest to dry and wear out quicker. Looking at a few different pockets and all in 2 types. I’ll probably end up with a range but you don’t need to, some people just get all the same if they find some they’re happy with. Birth to potty nappies are really too big for newborns, but it’s an extra expense to have nappies just for the first 8-12 weeks, I wouldn’t do it if we weren’t planning more children. If you think your baby will be big you might be alright.

Bambino Mio and TotsBots seem to be some of the most well known, but they’re not really loved in cloth nappy groups

I use Bamboozle nights with the PeeNut wrap.

I hired from the nappy lady - definitely do her questionnaire for recommendations if you haven’t already. For hiring, you do need to do this ASAP though as they get booked up really quickly (I did mine at about 16 weeks pregnant)

Thanks everyone! My brain is fried!! Some really good advice.

Just don't know what to do for the best! Need it all before hand but it may all be rubbish and it's so much money- I know not long term.
Will look into Facebook groups @BuffaloCauliflower I picked totsbots based on mumsnet reviews. Did want motherease but can't get hold of them.
I suppose a variety and see what works.
Thanks again all- really appreciate your help and advice.

@Laura1348 I’m a researcher at heart so don’t mind doing this kind of legwork, but the Facebook groups have been a godsend. I would say the biggest brands aren’t necessarily the best or only option. Maybe look at brands like Alva baby or Mama Koala which are cheaper, and you can change up the absorbent inserts inside (bamboo and hemp seem to be good) it might be worth not worrying about it for the newborn stage and then gradually moving over into cloth when they’re a bit bigger, so you don’t feel you have to have a whole stash from the get go?

We used bumgenius which were great but we didn't start using until about a week old ish once all of the black tar poo had completely gone.

With DC 2 we were in hospital for a couple of weeks so used disposable then too.

It’s fair to say that as a FTM we used disposables for the first 3 months as we didn’t really know what we were doing parenting wise and washing nappies would have added to the general chaos!