Looking to make the switch to cloth and looking for advice.

[yourstruly10]

DD is 4 months old and I find we sound so much on diapers. It's a real pain in the bum. I am trying to convince DH to switch to cloth diapers. If I get him to agree i just need a little advice on what to lok for in. A cloth diaper or are they all the same? also when I change her I know you use a liner but do you have to change the diaper every time too? Does it really make your laundry that much more? When LO goes poo where do you rince the liner? Sorry I have tons of questions and just feel like I'm rambling. If anyone can offer any advice and help id really love it.also is it worth switching now at 4 months. I know she will still be in diapers for a while. She is 15 lb. Umm any advice on convincing DH lol.thanks in advance. Sorry for the messy rambling post.

 

[MiissMuffet]

I've just made the switch! Ella won a baby competition and won a package of cloth nappies so we bought some more. havnt recieved them yet. i tried her 1st cloth nappy on her yesterday and it leaked so i mustve done something wrong! x

 

[lynnikins]

DD is 4 months old and I find we sound so much on diapers. It's a real pain in the bum. I am trying to convince DH to switch to cloth diapers. If I get him to agree i just need a little advice on what to lok for in. A cloth diaper or are they all the same?No they arent all the same theres traditional flat diapers and prefolds which have to be fastend or folded and covered by a wrap, theres AIO which are just basicly a cloth disposible they go on and off the same way and dont tend to come apart to wash, theres Pockets which on the surface look similar to an AIO but have a pocket in them which you put the absorbant insert in then there are the new Flips, GDiapers etc.. which have an absorabant pad placed inside a waterproof wrap, And there are Fitted diapers which are shaped like a diaper but need a waterproof wrap to go over them and Night nappies normally fit into this catorgory
also when I change her I know you use a liner but do you have to change the diaper every time too? Depends on the diaper your using but normally you have to change the whole absorbant part of the diaper which for a Pocket, AIO, AI2 (all in ones but the booster snaps in and out) for a fitted , flat or prefold you can air out and reuse the wraps if they arent soiled and that goes for some of the Flip G-diaper style nappies
Does it really make your laundry that much more? I was doing a load most days anyway with my 2 boys so i just have one each day now lol i wash every 2-3 days so its not more work and i store the dirty ones in a dry bucket with a lid in the meantime
When LO goes poo where do you rince the liner?I use fleece liners and just tip anything into the toilet and hold the end of it while i flush and it cleans the liner then just squeeze out a bit of the water and add it to the nappy bucket Sorry I have tons of questions and just feel like I'm rambling. If anyone can offer any advice and help id really love it.also is it worth switching now at 4 months. I know she will still be in diapers for a while. She is 15 lb.Yes it is totally worth switching we swapped both our boys into cloth when the youngest was 4months old and havent looked back Umm any advice on convincing DH lol.thanks in advance.just google what the chemical components of a disposible nappy are and show him its nasty, um its cheaper in thel ong run if you consider your probably going to be buying disposibles for the next 14 months at least then training pants following that and the price of those keeps rising at the moment. you can reuse them for another child which saves you all the money you would have spent on disposibles for that child. umm better for the envrioment and for babys skin and babys hip development

 

[lucy_lu10]

I made the switch when my son was 4 months as well. I still alternate between the two depending on whether or not I'm working more often and therefore have babysitters (I find it easier to tell them to use disposables because I'm picky about my cloth diaper system! lol)

I started with pocket diapers where you have 1-2 inserts that you tuck into the waterproof diaper cover. When you change your babe, you take the insert(s) out and put both layers in whatever storage system you're using until wash day. You can use a wet bag, dry pail, wet pail, etc. I found these worked for awhile but when my son started moving around more, they bunched up and leaked around the edges. Now I use a 2 part system (motherease) which consists of a fitted cloth diaper and a waterproof cover. Sometimes I can use the cover all day because it's only the cloth part that gets wet and/or soiled. They're great and I haven't had a single leak but they take longer to put on since there's 2 parts. That can be hard when my son is wriggling around! lol

With solid poops, I just dump them in the toilet but with runny ones or just pee, I spray it down with baby oxy-clean to help prevent staining and throw the diaper in a pail (dry) for no longer than 2-3 days before washing. Then I do 1-2 rinse cycles just to get all the poop out, followed by a hot wash on the heaviest setting to maximize water. I change up my detergents but I try to use ones without too many additives, etc. Seems to work just fine! Then I tumble dry the cloth diapers and line dry the covers.

Sorry if that was completely boring to read lol, I just thought I'd share my system in case it helps you to get a more clear picture in your head. Most cloth converts tend to try out several kinds of diapers before finding one that works for their baby. What works for one person may not work for another. A lot of online stores offer beginner packages that include a variety of diapers, etc. for you to try. Definitely worth looking into!

 

[MiissMuffet]

I was wondering what a dry pail means?

 

[discoclare]

I was wondering what a dry pail means?

It's just a big bin or bucket with a lid. It means that you don't soak, just somewhere you store them until wash day.

 

[MiissMuffet]

I thought as much. i was just putting them into a bucket of cold water. Is that ok? Or does it need to be dry? x

 

[discoclare]

I don't think there's anything worng with putting them in cold water, it's just a bit more of a pain to clean etc or if someone knocks it over while their putting a nappy in or something.

 

[littlestar]

depending on the sort of nappies your using really.
if your using nappies where there iss a waterproof layer then you shouldn't soak as it will speed up deterioration of the the waterproof layer. also nappies which have elastic will also deteriorate quicker when soaked.

 

[MiissMuffet]

I have a bucket sitting in the sink in the laundry that i pop the nappies in once they are used and just let them sit in the water. So no dramas about tipping it over! Well I have only done 2 so far I'm just starting out! So should i give them a rinse 1st and then pop them into a dry bucket? Wouldnt they get mouldy or something?

 

[Rachel_C]

They'll only go mouldy if you leave them too long (more than a few days, although some people do leave them longer with no problems) or if you have problems with mould/mildew in your house or the bucket. Make sure you wash out the bucket between uses and dry pailing is fine and much easier, as well as being better for nappies.

 

[MiissMuffet]

should I rinse the nappies by hand first after i have just taken it off her? or do i put it straight from her bottom into the dry bucket?

 

[Rachel_C]

If it's a wet nappy just put it in the bucket. If you want to rinse dirty nappies you can, this will reduce staining, but it depends on your LO's poo really! If her poo is fairly solid you can just tip the poo into the loo and don't bother rinsing the nappy, if is very liquid I probably wouldn't bother but if it's gloopy poo I would!

 

[MiissMuffet]

cool thanks

 

[Rachel_C]

The only time I'd possibly rinse out a wet nappy was if it was a night nappy that really stank of wee and it wasn't going to be washed for a few days. I don't think I've done that more than once though and my LO is 16 months old now.

 

[MiissMuffet]

Do you buy special night nappies for night time? or can you use day time ones with 2 inserts?

 

[Rachel_C]

We use special night nappies but it does depend on your LO. If you have a fairly light wetter you might be ok with a day nappy and some boosters but that's not worked for us since LO was about 2 months old. We've always found that if we managed to stuff the nappy with enough inserts to last 12 hours, the nappy becomes really distorted and leaks, or we just can't fasten it!

 

[modo]

There are special night nappies. We use issy bears with the two inserts snapped together but for some people they don't work as night nappies. They have been working for us (except Monday night when I put the insert in backwards ) but I have bought some fleece soakers, they look like trousers or shorts, to wear over the issys for when he gets older and they start leaking.

 

[discoclare]

Yep, I rinse pooey nappies first (but I'm one of those people who is bothered about stains and wants to keep my nappies nice) and night nappies. Not day nappies that are just wet.

To the OP:
Here is a good basic guide to the different types of cloth nappies available:
https://www.babyandbump.com/natural-parenting/349794-beginners-guide-cloth.html

 

[lynnikins]

Andi, i find it so much easier to dry pail, with fleece liners that cover the inside of the nappy they catch most if not all the poo that gets held by the end in the loo and flushed then the whole nappy just goes in the bucket, means no dripping when transfering to the washing machine lol, for your nappys since i know which ones you have i wouldnt tend to soak them tbh id just dry pail them, if i havent used a liner or the poo has gotten around it , i use an old card to knock whatever i can down the loo then rinse with the shower head ( ours is removable ) into a bucket then that gets tipped down the loo as well and the nappys get wrung out and dry pailed. not had moldy nappies yet and once they have been left for over a week!