oh Raven, you poor thing. Heightened sense of smell etc in pregnancy. You poor love.

MELHAM - the longies DO replace pj pants. The longies are 100% merino wool, lovely and warm. You put them over a FITTED night nappy (one that doesn't have an waterproofing in it). The longies keep baby dry through you lanolising the wool. So many lovely places sell them, maybe have a look at ozebaby, wahmnaps, wahmania, minicuture, possums pouch and click on woollies or longies.

bilby goes to bed in a long sleeve tshirt (like a spencer) and fitted nappy with longies - i put a very loose cotton sleeping bag over that. We stopped using the polar fleece sleeping bags cos they made her sweat like she was in a sauna. Wool breathes so well, we've tested it out in summer (45 degrees) and winter, works all year around. IN winter we use the longies, in summer we use the soakers (woollies in the shape of a cover).

Nappycino have threads for DIY Knitting, where people discuss all the ins and outs of knitting stuff like longies - what wool is nice, which pattern to use etc.

NOniE - oh sorry hon, i have no washing/drying experience of the SEWN IN dlish, i'm sure someone else here will though.

FJ - my fingers are crossed for your parcel turning up! Your dh is sounding a bit MCN challenged. oh dear. Does this worry you regarding the time you might be in hospital having #4?

Mamakoala - it's really hard to know what you like and what suits your baby, ahead of time. I would suggest you buy a "combination package" from Nurture Nappies or Darlings Downunder - where you get to try a variety of styles, e.g a fitted with cover, an AIO, a pocket etc - so you can start to understand what you like, what suits your bub. I would avoid buying a complete pack of one brand, or one sort - that to me is quite a huge gamble, on something you have not tried before, and don't know if it will suit your bub.

What one person finds best for their bub, won't necessarily be best for every bub.

Not every MCN will suit every bub, or every parent either. Alot about MCN, you can't completely "get" from reading, i think it's quite an "experiential" thing to get your head around all of the concepts, e.g drypailing. I didn't totally believe it until i did it, and proved to myself it actually works.

nappycino and ozclothnappies are two cloth advocacy sites that have a goldmine of info for anyone starting on the cloth journey - terrific sites to bookmark and refer to lots.

the best thing i bought as a newbie to cloth, was a little squirt. It's a watergun you attach to the loo, to get the poo off the nappies. It has made nappy clean up time so easy, i'm so glad we have one.

if you sew or knit, there are MCN items you can make too, free pattern links on nappycino and ozclothnappies.

welcome MamaKoala, and congrats on your jellybean

PINK PALACE
for rash, few things to consider
- are you using a sensitive wash powder?
- are you using HALF the amount you would for a load of clothes
- what do you clean her bot with at nappy change time?
- do you entirely dry her bot before putting on next nappy
- does she have any nappy free time
- is she teething
- could she be reacting to ONE fabric? does it happen ONLY with synthetic lined / or liners in the nappies?
Well, that's what occurs to me, top of my head, for a rash situation. Maybe one of those might ring a bell - i hope so - it's awful when your darling is all sore. We had a dreadful nappy rash situation back in Jan, ended up having to change over to natural fibre inners and use woollies alot more - it's worked really well - but took me a while to figure it out. (lots of lovely people online made suggestions and i tried virtually EVERYTHING i read about!).

I actually put blueberries in bilby's weetbix, but we havne't had a change in poo colour - maybe i use less or something.

NELLE - all cows eat grass? wow, that's excellent! (new to me LOL).

Suse - try emailing Dragonfly Magik about a night nappy - measure Euan's rise - is the Lotus large night nappy 55cm??? and check that the DM is also a similar rise (if that's what you're starting from).

I would definately be working out the rise he needs, add a few cm and before buying ANYTHING from ANYWHERE, check with seller/maker that what you are considering buying, will indeed fit that criteria. Night nappies are an investment, you want to make as sure as you can, that it's going to be what you are after.

How many kg is mr chirpy now?

One front snapper night nappy that has a different snap configuration, thus eliminating the dreaded wing droop situation (those of us that have THOSE shaped bubs, know what i 'm on aboot), is the KKAIO by possums pouch. Worth a look Suse. Bilby is in the medium long (still on the smallest snaps although by weight range, she should really be in the middle). They come in large and XL too.

FJ - Nobody does it....... better
Baby you're the best
(channelling that James bond theme toon aka Carly Simon)
i love billie holiday, nine simone, so i am even more of a dork than you!!!

Queen - where did you get the leaks?
Did you do all the prewashes for the inserts?
what is the fit like on her legs?

Nettie - if you are learning the violin, can you play Twinkle Twinkle? I sing that so often, i often wish i could PLAY it instead! save my voice LOL.

WOTBB: Lotus night nappy large (which is still quite generous on her, despite bilby being 11kg now) and woollen longies, inside a loose cotton sleeping bag.