cloth nappies - don't get angry!!

[winegums]

right so i have a few questions about cloth nappies....... but don't want to start any arguments? i have tried to talk about it with people that seem to be fanatical about cloth nappies before and they all just got annoyed at me.
now don't get me wrong i'm not 'against' them... i am pregnant and i'm trying to work out if it will be cheaper by using reusable nappies with 2 babies than disposables........
so here are my questions...

• will i need seperate nappies for my two babies (obviously i mean one on each bum but can i swap and change etc or do i have to keep seperate nappies?)
• i currently do a load of washing about once a week. We have a lot of clothes so we don't need to keep washing all the time if that makes sense. How many loads would i be having to do with these nappies? my son does one major poo every morning but i remember when he was little it was like a constant poo machine, so i have to assume this baby may be too!
• i have seen some people say they wash using 60degree heat and others say they do them on a cold wash... so.. which actually is it??
• do you have seperate liners and outside bits or is it all one massive thing you throw into the machine at once?
• i have seen a lot about 'staining' and having to leave them out in the sun to get rid of the stains.. my garden is tiny and ALWAYS in shade its really secluded. I would have to drive to friends or families house to hang up nappies... which isn't really saving money or the environment?
• can't remember if i asked this one but how many nappies per baby? how many do you use per day?
• i have seen people talking about having to find the right one for your baby, a bit like disposables i suppose as we found the best brand for us was huggies (no leakage etc) but the thing is you get free disposables to try etc when your baby is borni have seen some cloth nappies for like £15 or other stupid amounts that's like 2 months supply of disposables for one nappy!!! and i can't afford to spend that just to 'try' them out!

please help me cloth bum mummies!!!!!!!!!!!! xxx

 

[anothersquish]

will i need seperate nappies for my two babies (obviously i mean one on each bum but can i swap and change etc or do i have to keep seperate nappies?)
You do not need seperate nappies, you can use any nappy on any bum no problems.
i currently do a load of washing about once a week. We have a lot of clothes so we don't need to keep washing all the time if that makes sense. How many loads would i be having to do with these nappies? my son does one major poo every morning but i remember when he was little it was like a constant poo machine, so i have to assume this baby may be too!
It depends how many nappies you invest in and how big your machine is. I only wash every 3 days, I can leave it longer but my nappy box is full by then! Dep on your machine you can put 20-25 nappies in per load (any more and they wont wash properly) that will probably be two days worth with two in nappies at first but would probably work out more like 3 days once baby is a little older
i have seen some people say they wash using 60degree heat and others say they do them on a cold wash... so.. which actually is it??
Any depending on preference. TBH I wash on 60 but nappies are the only things I wash at this heat.
do you have seperate liners and outside bits or is it all one massive thing you throw into the machine at once?
It depends what type of nappy you choose to use. Some have inserts, boosters etc others are all in one. So the answer varies! If it has something that comes off/out then it should be taken apart before washing really.
i have seen a lot about 'staining' and having to leave them out in the sun to get rid of the stains.. my garden is tiny and ALWAYS in shade its really secluded. I would have to drive to friends or families house to hang up nappies... which isn't really saving money or the environment?
Thats kinda funny. The only nappies I have that do stain are Flip Organics. You can buy a Vanish Bar and treat any stains with that, it works well. Also it doesnt have to be bright sunshine, just leaving a stained nappy on a windowledge day OR night will help.
can't remember if i asked this one but how many nappies per baby? how many do you use per day?
If it were for one baby Id say 20+ is a full time kit, with two id say 30+. How many I use per day varies. At the moment its about six per day.
i have seen people talking about having to find the right one for your baby, a bit like disposables i suppose as we found the best brand for us was huggies (no leakage etc) but the thing is you get free disposables to try etc when your baby is borni have seen some cloth nappies for like £15 or other stupid amounts that's like 2 months supply of disposables for one nappy!!! and i can't afford to spend that just to 'try' them out!
You can buy preloved ie used and try them out, if you dont like them resell them for exactly what you paid for them....no problem.
TBH I havent found too many nappies I didnt get on with but the ones I didnt I just sold on for what I paid for them, I tend to buy nappies I havent tried before preloved or I ask someone very nicely if I can borrow one from them to try out first.

 

[xerinx]

* will i need seperate nappies for my two babies (obviously i mean one on each bum but can i swap and change etc or do i have to keep seperate nappies?) You can get birth to potty nappies which will fit most sizes up till potty training. But you might need a few small ones for newborn.

* i currently do a load of washing about once a week. We have a lot of clothes so we don't need to keep washing all the time if that makes sense. .How many loads would i be having to do with these nappies? my son does one major poo every morning but i remember when he was little it was like a constant poo machine, so i have to assume this baby may be too! I wash logans nappies every 2-3 days. I think how often you wash is dependant on how many nappies you have.

* i have seen some people say they wash using 60degree heat and others say they do them on a cold wash... so.. which actually is it?? I wash mine on 50 and that gets them clean but otehrs may wash on different temps. I do it on 50 as its my shortest cycle on washer.

* do you have seperate liners and outside bits or is it all one massive thing you throw into the machine at once? It depends on what type of nappy you want to use. I use pockets so i need to wash the nappy and insert. But others have wraps but i dont have experience in them.

* i have seen a lot about 'staining' and having to leave them out in the sun to get rid of the stains.. my garden is tiny and ALWAYS in shade its really secluded. I would have to drive to friends or families house to hang up nappies... which isn't really saving money or the environment? I only hang mine out to dry when its sunny other wise i dry them on clothes horse or radiators. I havent had a problem with staining so far.

* can't remember if i asked this one but how many nappies per baby? how many do you use per day? I use about 5/7 nappies a day and i have a bout 25 nappies altogether.

* i have seen people talking about having to find the right one for your baby, a bit like disposables i suppose as we found the best brand for us was huggies (no leakage etc) but the thing is you get free disposables to try etc when your baby is borni have seen some cloth nappies for like £15 or other stupid amounts that's like 2 months supply of disposables for one nappy!!! and i can't afford to spend that just to 'try' them out! You can buy preloved nappies cheap enough to try out and there are some councils that offer incentive schemes and there are also websites that sell packs with different types of nappies in so you can try a few out and work out which ones work for you

 

[Lisa1302]

• will i need seperate nappies for my two babies (obviously i mean one on each bum but can i swap and change etc or do i have to keep seperate nappies?) if you use a birth to potty type then you can have all the same and change the size depending on who is wearing it, if you go for sized then you will have small medium and large and they will be in different ones ( i was assuming you have one baby already...maybe you are having twins though)
  

• i currently do a load of washing about once a week. We have a lot of clothes so we don't need to keep washing all the time if that makes sense. How many loads would i be having to do with these nappies? my son does one major poo every morning but i remember when he was little it was like a constant poo machine, so i have to assume this baby may be too! I have recently added more nappies, so I do a wash every 3 days, Izzy is the same she does one poo a day. If you have lots of pooey ones where non of the nappy can be used again then there will be more washing than if they did mostly wets and you used a flip system
  

• i have seen some people say they wash using 60degree heat and others say they do them on a cold wash... so.. which actually is it?? 30 is the most environmentally friendly....washing at 60 makes the Carbon Footprint much bigger and so if you do it for ethical reasons wash at 30 and line dry!

• do you have seperate liners and outside bits or is it all one massive thing you throw into the machine at once?depends what you go for, I used pockets at first now I use all in 2s - this is something you would need to look into personally to see what you prefer
• i have seen a lot about 'staining' and having to leave them out in the sun to get rid of the stains.. my garden is tiny and ALWAYS in shade its really secluded. I would have to drive to friends or families house to hang up nappies... which isn't really saving money or the environment? you don't need to - I rinse clean my pooey nappies before they dry - I very rarely have a mark even go into the washing machine! for me this works fine as she does 1 poo a day (2 is a bad day on the poo front!)
  
• can't remember if i asked this one but how many nappies per baby? how many do you use per day? when she was first in them and drinking lots of milk I used more, maybe 8 a day and 1 over night, now its 6 in the day plus 1 over night.

• i have seen people talking about having to find the right one for your baby, a bit like disposables i suppose as we found the best brand for us was huggies (no leakage etc) but the thing is you get free disposables to try etc when your baby is borni have seen some cloth nappies for like £15 or other stupid amounts that's like 2 months supply of disposables for one nappy!!! and i can't afford to spend that just to 'try' them out!if you need to try the best thing is to buy used ones at a fraction of the cost

as for money I did some quick calcs - when you include huggies/pampers nappies and wipes and nappy bags etc you will spend near enough £1000 a year (8*17p per nappy = £500 a year, wipes are 2/3p each - maybe use 3 per change plus a few for faces etc = £328 , plus nappy bags!)
You can halve that if you use supermarket brands.

 

[MummyKaya]

Don't see how this thread should cause arguements But here are some answers to your questions...

Nope you don't need seperate nappies they can both use them.

Depends on how many nappies you have to estimate washing. 25 nappies should easily allow you to wash every third day. That's just for one baby though.

I normally wash at 60 degrees but you can wash at 40 or 60.
Depends on the type/brand of nappy you buy - there's loads of different types. See Littlestars siggy for links to examples and more info. But it's always best to have seperate fleece liners whatever types of nappies you use.

You can always leave stained nappies on your windowsill, that works too

20 nappies per baby for full time use but you could get away with 15 or 10, but again, depends how often you wash. A newborn will get throughore than an older baby.

Some websites offer trial bundles and we have our very own nappy library in the sticky threads.

HTH x

 

[winegums]

thanks that helps a lot already!!! can i ask which ones are the ones you can use from birth to potty because that sounds spot on??

also for the ones that are in one and ones that are in 2 pieces what is the major difference? like, why the preference?

thank you very much xx

 

[enola]

Hello!

Congratulations on your pregnancy, and it's awesome to hear you're considering using cloth nappies!
I'll try to help all I can. I was against cloth nappies to begin with but now we utterly love them, and I don't have a smelly bin in this heat

To try them for almost free, try the cloth nappy library thread on here
There are lots of different types of nappy, as you'll see from there. Some are all-in-ones, which are literally just like a disposable and so all one piece, then there are stuffable pockets with removeable inserts (the beauty of which is you can stuff them with different materials and to suit the way your baby wets), and there are a few other kinds, too. There should be a guide somewhere, I'll try to find you a link in a mo.

You wouldn't need to keep the nappies separate for your babies, washing depends on the efficiency of your machine and which nappies you choose to use (I was at 60 which is fine for us, but some people prefer more economical temps).

Umm...what else...how many nappies to buy, how many used per day and how frequently you would wash are all sort of dependent upon each other. If you have more nappies you can wash less frequently. I personally wash once per day, but most ladies probably are around the every 2-3 days mark. As long as you pop the used nappies into a sealed bucket/bin until wash time there shouldn't be a smell (especially if you use liners for the pooh).

Staining - we use vanish bars which work a treat or sunshine when we get it - you can pop the nappies on the windowsill if there is literally any sun or moonlight and it should work (it works for brightening whites too!). The stains are purely cosmetic, though, and as really only you'll see the inside of the nappy, it's up to you whether it's an issue.

Hope all of this makes some sense!

 

[enola]

Hahaha whilst I was typing and shushing the baby to sleep I was beaten to it with far better answers!!!

Most of my nappies are BTP (Birth to Potty) as I'm anticipating having a couple of different sized babes in cloth! We love the Flips by Bumgenius, GroBabys (being rebranded to GroVia) and Blueberry One Size nappies best

 

[winegums]

oh also about the arguments i have brought this up on other forums (which i don't use anymore now!) when i was pregnant as my OH was interested in reusables and i didn't get a very helpful response like i have gotten on here! xx

 

[enola]

This guide is absolutely brilliant: https://www.cheeksandcherries.co.uk/acatalog/nappy_info_new_to_reusables.html

The comparison chart and 'Reusables as your baby grows' bits might help, too

 

[enola]

Hahahaha sorry I just saw the tags at the bottom here and it says 'Find more threads on: angry, cloth, nappies'...

angry nappies!!!!

 

[Lisa1302]

I may well be being daft - are you having twins or are the babies different ages? Everyone seems to be answering that you can use the same nappies on both babies - but that says to me you are having twins....but your tickers says you are 4 wks pregnant.

Sorry I just don't know if my answer is relevant cos I don't understand!

If they are different ages and you went for sized nappies you would need a bigger size for the older one, if you went for birth to potty they would fit both but need the poppers changed depending on who was to wear it.

 

[Dream.A.Dream]

I'm only new but will do my best to answer

will i need seperate nappies for my two babies (obviously i mean one on each bum but can i swap and change etc or do i have to keep seperate nappies?)
If you bought btp (birth to potty) or one size nappies you should have no problem switching between the two as they should fit both babies

i currently do a load of washing about once a week. We have a lot of clothes so we don't need to keep washing all the time if that makes sense. How many loads would i be having to do with these nappies? my son does one major poo every morning but i remember when he was little it was like a constant poo machine, so i have to assume this baby may be too!
Well, I'm only just starting out but from what I gather around 15 for one baby is a good amount to wash every 2-3 days.

i have seen some people say they wash using 60degree heat and others say they do them on a cold wash... so.. which actually is it??
I've just washed my first lot at 40 with no problems.

do you have seperate liners and outside bits or is it all one massive thing you throw into the machine at once?
Depends on the type of nappy you choose. All in ones (AIO) go in as one piece but tend to take longer to dry. AI2 are made up of an outer and an insert which snaps in. The separate to wash so tend to dry quicker also. Pockets have any opening, usually at the back which you slide an insert into.

i have seen a lot about 'staining' and having to leave them out in the sun to get rid of the stains.. my garden is tiny and ALWAYS in shade its really secluded. I would have to drive to friends or families house to hang up nappies... which isn't really saving money or the environment?
Can't help here, other than to say using flushable liners tends to minimise staining from what I gather

can't remember if i asked this one but how many nappies per baby? how many do you use per day?
I have 6 and that will last me one day, but realistically more are needed because they probably won't be dry by the morning.


i have seen people talking about having to find the right one for your baby, a bit like disposables i suppose as we found the best brand for us was huggies (no leakage etc) but the thing is you get free disposables to try etc when your baby is borni have seen some cloth nappies for like £15 or other stupid amounts that's like 2 months supply of disposables for one nappy!!! and i can't afford to spend that just to 'try' them out!

Buy 2nd hand, or buy them, try them and then sell them on. Resale value on cloth nappies is high For example Itti bittis cost around £12 new, and resell for £9-£11 even when used.

 

[anothersquish]

There are lots of birth to potty nappies out there. Flips are extremely economical and very good they may not fit perfectly on a tiny newborn so id get a few small sized nappies as well but generally once you get to 9/10lb you would be good to go on a Flip system.
I prefer All in one or pocket nappies for the daytime but I always use two parters (nappies that need wraps) at night time, the nappies I use for night time are much more absorbent and slightly bulkier so they last a full 12 hours of sleep (my LO currently sleeps at least 8-7am without a nappy change and I have no leaks and his bum is lovely and dry as I use nappies lined with fleece or I add my own fleece liner) I use wool covers over these nappies....it provides a VERY reliable system. I havent had a night time leak since I switched to two parters which is more than I could ever have said for disposables with my older one!!!

 

[Dream.A.Dream]

These are examples of btp nappies
https://www.cheeksandcherries.co.uk/acatalog/Onesize_pocket.html

https://www.cheeksandcherries.co.uk/acatalog/Onesize_All-In-One.html

xx

 

[winegums]

when this new baby is due my son will be 20months so no lol definately not twins!!!

do you think it's best getting some smaller ones for newborn baby and then when its a little bigger they can both wear them birth to potty ones you were talking about? because when my son was born he was average sized apparently but newborn cothes were massive on him even some of his 'tiny baby' clothes were big :s

thanks for everyones help you guys are amazing! xxx

 

[Lisa1302]

when this new baby is due my son will be 20months so no lol definately not twins!!!

do you think it's best getting some smaller ones for newborn baby and then when its a little bigger they can both wear them birth to potty ones you were talking about? because when my son was born he was average sized apparently but newborn cothes were massive on him even some of his 'tiny baby' clothes were big :s

thanks for everyones help you guys are amazing! xxx

Izzy moved into her BTP nappies at a few weeks old, cant remember how old but maybe 4 weeks if that?
Maybe if you want to use BTP you could use some sposies for that time as it would seem a lot of money for a few weeks use.

 

[littlestar]

we used sposies until Q was about 3 weeks old.
we then used sized nappies and kept trying our BTP ones for fit. The best fit with BTP nappies was def after he hit 10lbs, the fit continued to improve from then. BTP do tend to look huge on newborns.

We're a friendly bunch here!

there's some articles in my siggy which might be worth a read.

 

[Lisa1302]

we used sposies until Q was about 3 weeks old.
we then used sized nappies and kept trying our BTP ones for fit. The best fit with BTP nappies was def after he hit 10lbs, the fit continued to improve from then. BTP do tend to look huge on newborns.

We're a friendly bunch here!

there's some articles in my siggy which might be worth a read.

10lbs sounds similar to when the Bum Genius were right for Izzy, she was 9lb at 4 weeks and 10.7 at 6 weeks - and it was around the month old they fitted properly.

 

[anothersquish]

Personally I would get some small sized nappies preloved to use for the 2/3 months and then sell them and move both into BTP. My son was 9lb born and wore BTP pretty much straight away but they were massive on him. They tend to fit better from 12lb+. If you buy preloved smalls you can sell them on again afterwards...then you arent loosing any money, whereas if you use disposables you are literally throwing money in the bin.
Im quite strongly anti-disposables though so I wasnt going to use disposables full stop.