Re-useable nappies

Hi Ladies
I'm looking for a bit of advice and some real reviews on some particular brands of re-usable nappies. I had a cloth nappy rep visit me yesterday and to be honest, she was **** at selling her product. She showed me a few products, but she could only actually tell me how she rated one of them...the one she used...which was the most expensive! Hmmmm! Anyway, the two type of nappy that my OH and I liked were PopnGro and TotsBots. I like the idea of birth to potty nappies rather than the sized ones. Any thoughts from the mummies on here?! Thanks, Trish

 

I tried two types of bumgenius birth to potty nappies and they were ok. They didn't stand up to night time use for us and when my washing machine broke (LO was 11 weeks old) down I switched to disposables and never went back.
I think that if I had tried a wider variety then I might have found some that suited LO better and stuck to using them. Even now I know to avoid certain brands of disposable because they don't fit my LO quite right. I'd say try to get hold of a selection (some websites sell variety packs of birth to potty, pop ins, all in ones etc) and see which ones work best for you.

 

HI, I use re-usables and love them. We personally use motherease one-size, but that's purely because a friend was selling her stash about the time we needed them so we got everything we'd need right til potty training for £60 so it was a real bargain. We've been using them for just over 2 years now (about to try potty training though) and never had any complains about them. I have a couple of friends who use motherease too. We'll be using them again with the next baby who should arrive in October
I think another friend used TotsBots and she seemed happy with them.
The only ones I've ever heard bad reports about are the cheap ones from ebay, but I think some people would be fine with them. Sometimes it depends on the shape of your baby as some are better for long thin babies and some are better for fatter babies.
Might you be able to get some cheap ones second hand? www.clothnappytree.co.uk seems to be good for second hand bargains.

 

i didn't like birth to potty nappies as they were so big when poppered down to the smallest setting that they made my newborn's legs stick out at funny angles.
i bought a couple of various nappies. i like the separate wraps best as i found a lot of the all in ones a bit stiff. bamboo was softer and better at soaking wee than cotton.
i loved easypeasy microfibre ones - they were nappy nippa ones and adjusted so well around his little hips. after that it was tots bots bamboozles i liked the most. i didn't like pro rap, diddy diaper or birth to potty all in ones (although now he's 15 months i'm happy to put him in the birth to potty ones).
i really hated bambino mio. could never fold them right and they leaked every time i used them.

 

Hello

I use the totsbots birth to potty (easy fit) and the tots bots bamboozle.
The bamboozle with the motherease wraps are bomb proof. They just don't leak. As they are two sizes they fit much more snugly than the birth to potty easyfit version. I personally don't like the totsbots wraps though and the motherease are loads better.
The easyfit are now ok now my LO is 4 months old. They just don't fit round the leg area before then and wee and poo runs out. However they are easy to dry and super easy to put on. They are NOT suitable for night time use.
What I would suggest is for you to complete the nappy lady's questions on her site and she will direct you to the best nappies for you. She has been super with me and I love my nappies. http://www.thenappylady.co.uk/submitTAQ.asp
The best thing I have bought though are reusable wipes. They are fab and if you are doing reusable nappies you might as well save some more money and do these too. http://www.thenappylady.co.uk/productDetail.asp?productid=191&item=Bamboo/Fleece%20Washable%20Wipes

 

We use Bumgenius and love them. We have both the birth to potty ones and have recently invested in some size large ones. Both are great. Can't fault either of them. No leaks here. However, we didn't start to use them until LO was a few months old so I can't comment on what they'd be like to use with a newborn in terms of fit/with really 'messy' nappies! I'm expecting LO2 and am going to use disposables again in the first few weeks as i just couldn't face the frequency of changes/messiness with a newborn in washables (also LO1 is still in nappies and don't think the washing machine could cope ;-) )Seriously though they wash well and are so easy to use. My OH was really skeptical at first but now is more addicted then I am! All you need is a couple of lidded buckets (Wilko's), some Boots liners (highly recommended) and a washing machine/line. Oh and a dose of Napisan in the wash is good. I think we've saved hundreds of pounds so far in nappies and will save even more using them a second time. HTH

 

We too use reusuables and have done so since our baby was 8 weeks (she's 13 months now). I bought loads of different types, all second hand, to try - Motherease one size, Kushies all in ones and pocket nappies. However when baby arrived and I put the one size next to her, it just swamped her. I could not see how she could wear them properly. It looked ridiculous! Just by chance a friend bought me a Bambino Mio trial newborn nappy and I was hooked. They seem to have a bad press but I have had no issues at all! They're fairly slim fitting, have different sizes and keep her dry at night (with a booster).
I really advise buying some second hand nappies from ebay or thenappysite.co.uk and seeing what you prefer.
I also echo the previous comment about resuable wipes. However, don't waste your money on buying 'posh' wipes. I just bought a large sheet of fleece and cut them myself. £3 a sheet and still using them 13 months later Oh, shaped fleece liners are a good idea too - see ebay!

 

I second the recommendation for the nappy lady. Her website isfull of helpful advice, ratings and videos and her personal recommendation took on board current situation re. washing, personal preferences and future considerations re. childcare.

 

Swalllow's post abouve is great. I second all of that.

However if you are interested the nappy lady will hire some reusables for small babies meaning you could buy the easyfits and a few bamboozles for night time. I did try bumgenious too but they leaked on my LO so I guess it depends on their bodyshape etc.

here is the link to hiring nappies: http://www.thenappylady.co.uk/productDetail.asp?productid=192&item=Bimbles%20Nappy%20Hire

 

as a first time cloth user I used birth to potty nappies. I used bumgenius verison 3 and close parent 'popins'. I have then spread to tots bots too. For bump I am intending on using a mix of b2p and some sized nappies/two parts.
Birth 2 potty are great way of getting into it. Trial packs are excellent to have a go and see what works. Oh and ebay cheapies are pretty good too.

 

Do you need to use barrier cream? And can you wash clothes in with the nappies if doing a daily baby wash? Thanks

 

Our council used to do a free trail service, but then they stopped it as reusable are apparently less environmentally friendly than disposbale. But your council may still offer it, so why not try and ask if you can get some free samples?

 

Hello my winter baby friend. Yes you should use a barrier cream as little bottoms are not used to the wee and poo. Ensure you have a liner though as the barrier cream could reduce the absorbancy of the nappies.
I wouldn't was clothes with my nappies as I pre wash my nappies and wash them on a 60 with no softener and a few drops of tea tree. I so love my nappies FS, they are so cute and so easy.

There is a list of which councils offer a subsidies on the nappy lady site.

 

I only use a barrier cream with mine as and when LO has a touch of nappy rash - not often. And yes if you do it's important to use a liner as the cream can affect absorbency.

I don't. I save them up in a lidded bucket and then do a special nappy wash that entails a pre-wash rinse then a 50 degree wash with only a tiny bit of powder plus a bit of Napisan and no softener. I guess you could put the odd one or two in from time to time though. HTH

 

Thanks, SLC and La Mariposa. What barrier creams do you use? I started using my Bambinex teddies today! Mother ease wraps are amazing! The Bumgenius leaked yesterday and I've got Bimbles in him for bed now. I have flushable liners but no cream. The nappy lady said to use it only when teething so I should have some ready. Exciting times!!

 

I use miamoo cream from bootsand as my lo has nappy rash, sudocrem. I used it all the time at first but less so now. She has teething nappy rash but made worse by using disposables when my washer broke.

I tried those and they leaked (lo was only 2.5 months when I tried them). My friend loaned me them but she said she didn't use them until lo was 5 months. I'll try them again this week. I'm just starting to find my easy fits don't leak now at 4 months. They have skinny legs before then so everything escapes down the leg

Yes I love them. Again I borrowed some totsbots wraps but they were rubbish in comparison.

 

It's funny how different babies fit different nappies, it makes it hard to recommend good ones. I found totsbots terrible always leaked. I kept trying thinking now DD's bigger they night fit because I love the deign and quick drying etc. I loved bumgenious and little lamb bamboo nappy and wraps, they're especiallt good at nightime.
And nappy creams, I found CJsBUTTer spray was the easiest to use and you don't need a liner. You can get it on the fill your pants website. It looks expensive but you only need one spray each change and mine has lasted 6 months so far and still got a quarter of the bottle left.
Have you got reusable wipes? I was given a set of cheeky wipes and they're brilliant. One of the best and most useful things I have. And they are no extra work if you're already washing nappies.

 

I've been using cloth nappies on my little boy ever since he was born and have actually ended up writing a cloth nappy blog (that's kind of gone into other areas too now). If you want to have a look, the cloth nappy advice bits are the older blogposts - they could be useful .

http://daisytheclothbummum.wordpress.com

I found that BTP nappies fitted my little one from about 10 lb (even though they say they fit from 8lb). They do look big, but as long as you play with them you can usually get an ok fit. However, fitted nappies (such as Little Lambs) with wraps are great as they're sized, the wraps are virtually bombproof, and they hold in newborn poosplosions brilliantly.

I don't really use creams very much at all and my little one has never had any nappy rash. If I do use creams, then ones like Waitrose or Wilkinson's Bottom butter are great and very cheap. Avoid ones like Sudocrem (actually - most normal creams, avoid) as they clog up the fibres of cloth nappies and stop them being as absorbent. In a nutshell, you can utterly ruin your nappies by using creams unless you line them with fleece first.

I dry pail my nappies (don't soak) but I use wetbags (Rumparooz ones) rather than pails. Then, when I do a wash every two-three days the wetbag gets washed too, which is great. I used to hate having to remember to Milton the nappy bucket - I think it' was just a step too far when I was very sleep deprived!

When I wash, I use Persil non bio and put in about a third of what I'd usually use. I add a scoop of Miofresh sanitiser (you can get it in Mothercare or Waitrose, as well as other places) and then I wash on a normal 60 or 40 cottons wash with an extra rinse. My nappies have never needed stripping and I don't get leaks, which is fab.

Tots Bots Easyfits are very good nappies but you'll find that with all nappies, not every baby suits them. We LOVED Close Parent pop in nappies (the bamboo ones) when our baby was younger, but they don't seem big enough to see him through to potty training (they've just released a new version, so that might be bigger). Bum Genius Flips have been the nappies that we've basically used right from the start. Our little boy is now 23lb and they're still going strong. I love the fact that they're really slim and very economical.

 

Thanks everyone for your input. I need to do a wee bit of research and maybe try some samples once junior arrives. So many types/brands of nappy, it's hard to know where to start! T x