Cloth Nappies #144

Queen - i get asked if bilbs is alot younger than she is, purely cos she's so darn short! I've stopped looking at those childyouthhealth charts to check her weight and height, i suspect it's all based on FF bubs anyhoo, and i was sick of feeling like a failure about her size. I reckon, as long as your bub is healthy and has good skin tone, who cares about the kilos bit? i only refer to the scales so i know what size MCN to put her in LOL. She looks healthy to me, has chubby cheeks and a roll on her thighs, so she's sure not fading away to a shadow! but mainly, whatever size she is, and she has been
- miz chicken legs
- miz michelin tyre lady with THREE pudgy rolls on each thigh
- slimmed down after crawling started, so two rolls "fell" off, but chubby cheeks stayed

no matter how she has been, i always think she is lovely (Why? cos i'm incredibly biased!!!), and that's all that matters.

WOTBB: lotus nights with disana woolly pull up soaker

Michelle:
WHERE exactly are your Magicalls and BumGenius leaking?
- If it's from the legs, it could be a "fit" issue".
- If it's from the entire nappy outer, it could be that the nappies need a "strip" wash, to remove buildup of detergent. Have you read about how to wash the nappies in gentle detergent, and only use HALF of what you would use for clothes washes? Cos sometimes people wash MCN as they would clothes, and then the MCN gets this buildup of detergent, which stops it being as absorbent as it should be.

(for a strip wash? use a tiny amount of mild dishwashing liquid and hand wash your nappies in a basin. Keep rinsing until NO MORE BUBBLES.
or
put the nappies and a small amount of dishwashing liquid THROUGH THE DISHWASHER!!! Yes, it's true. i read this on a US site. I ahve no dishwasher, otherwise i would try it myself LOL.
- we have a front loader and i'm told not to do the dishwashing liquid trick in a front loader
- i have heard of people trying this in top loaders and it worked ok.)

re the inserts
the bumgenius OSFA pockets come with a microfibre insert - i doubt that would be sufficient absorbency for a 15 month old.

AJP's suggestion to use that microfibre insert in conjunction with your bamboo insert, is excellent, i would do that too.

What kind of a bamboo insert do you have? is it a shaped pad like thing? or a trifold? (like a rectangle several layers thick that you fold in three to use).

how do you stuff the bumgenius?
every pocket nappy has the pocket CAVITY, where you put the insert

your insert needs to be AS WIDE as the NARROWEST part of the pocket nappy (the crotch). If your insert is too narrow, PUL will be exposed and will wick (leak).

The Magicall - i know there is an old and a new style of these, i don't have any, so i'll let the people who do, fill you in on how to make these more absorbent.

For the future:
when you buy nappies, take the time to find out the FABRIC COMPOSITION of the nappies. Work out which fabrics work best for your child and stick to those.

Don't underestimate the value of a good number of trifolds/foldups in your stash. Not glam, but they sure do the job well. Having boosters (look like a pad) is good too, for the times when a trifold is not enough, but two trifolds is overkill.

And a word about your Baby Beehinds Bamboo. When Mr 15 month old starts wetting thru that, have you heard of OUTER booting? If you add absorbent material to teh INSIDE of the BBB, you will prolly get LEG GAPE, and that ain't good. However, if you put on the BBB as normal, but before you do up teh cover, slip in a trifold on the tummy side (and going under him), so you still with me, the EXTRA trifold is being put OUTSIDE the nappy, but INSIDE the cover. That's called OUTER BOOSTING. Nappy and cover only works if cover 100% covers ALL of the nappy, so if you outer boost, you may need to use the next size up in covers, for this to work. But i'm just mentioning this, to help you maximise your use of the BBB.

the baby beehinds website is very helpful too.

NETTIE: i missed you!;)

Gudi - what stores are you already got stuff from and are bored of, so i know which ones not to repeat to you!

Pink Palace and Jodi - i agree, you've worked out what suits your bubs, and you got heaps of them - if it ain't broke . . . . . . .

Hmmm, methinks Maz and Kazbah are dragging the chain re photos of their bubs in all this much mentioned BUT NEVER SEEN _ AHA cowprint MCN. how bout it gals????;) i need some awwwwwww factor in my day ha ha.

Beautrix - you ahve LOVELY bubs!! Many of our MCN that go from 8 - 16kgs, well i can't see me needing to buy 17 kg nappies, so i reckon they are excellent value. OSFA in the main, did not suit bilbs, so we went to those "sized" types pretty quickly. When i was pregnant, i HATED the idea of sized nappies, had visions of having to buy dozens of them in NB, S, M, L and XL.

the reality was
- prefolds and covers mainly for nb and small phase up to 8kg ,
- from 8 kg on, sized pockets and Ai2's next - and she's still in most of those still (at 22 months).
so, it's all worked out very differently to how i imagined, when pregnant.

Hi Nettie!!! I'm a rare poster as well, but don't worry we do get missed in time :p

Michelle... other than what Gigi said, sometimes I pop mine in the dryer (Magic alls, BumG, PUl stuff basically) on medium heat for 15 minutes to seal the PUL. My BB consultant told me to do that, so if I ever get a leak, I do a strip wash & then pop in the dryer to make triple sure. HTH!

WOHB: Shannon made Honeyboy

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DS is 15 months and I have BBB, BB magicalls and Bumgenius V3. The BBB gives him a bit of a rash so I have microfleece liners to keep him drier (which works fine) but both the magicalls and the BG are leaking (the BG really badly).

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I don't think you have an absorbancy issue there as much as the fleece liner and the fleece or suedecloth inner of the nappy are working together and creating a barrier and the wee can't soak through to the absorbant layer so it's just running out the leg. Try using disposable liners with the cream and see how that goes. They will protect the nappy from the cream but not create that layered effect of the fleece.
Seeing as the BBB's don't have a fleece inner it wouldn't be happening with that one.

want to buy some other nappies....

ooohhh guess what.. the bbb fitteds are available in BLUE for me to buy :D

Gigi - I usually shop at NN - but have done DD, Baby soft landings, cotton bottoms, wee wuns don't really have anything I want...ozebaby (which i usuaaly just shop at widdlewuns..lol) I need more stores...

Oh and DS has only just moved to 12kg .... he fluctuated between 11 and 11.5 for ages - started getting worried when I could see his ribs!!!! Plus he's not the greatest eater....so looks like we both have skinny ones that don't eat!!!

Thanks girls :)

Gigi - I knew your knowledge would be a help!! I do outer boost with the BBB, esp for nights with a wool cover and it seems to work well. I'll try the microfibre with with bamboo for additional wee collection. The fit seems to be ok still but it may be the volume is to much and leaking out. It could be a compression thing too. Or add the trifold - i have a few. If all else fails, I'll try the strip wash but I have used the half detergent since I bought them. Just wanting to get back into my nappies!!

Gigi - i just want to say. I love your posts. Everything someone has a question you are this wealth of knowledge and you never mind typing the same answers for all the newbies! *hugs*. You are wonderful!!

Katones - Yay for blue. I love the blue - wish i had bought more. Have mostly purpple, pink and orange... i think 1 blue :( it is a gorgeous colour :)

As for the strip washes - i am happy to say i dont have to worry about them with the soapnuts :) i am still very happy with the way they are working with my nappies. ANd confident knowing they leave no residue.

Well i tested out one of my prefolds i made (terry + microfibre) in a PUL pad folded on dd... lol she is now my new baby guinea pig. And they were great! held a lot more than i thought they would :) so excited about using them with bub!

Christy - at redlands... do you remember if they provide you with flats to use whilst in hospital.. i know they give you 6 x sposies but to save me bringing in my cloths.. i wonder if they have terrys and i can just take in snappis. I will have to ask them but thought you might know off the top of your head !:)

WOHB - mm not sure.. DH changed it.. perhaps a haute?

OK am going to sound like the DUMBEST BIATCH ever here....
how do i use a prefold???

Kat - I think there is a uk site - nappy lady - or something like that that tells you how to fold and use nappies.

PP - I love my prefolds with DD ..... but not as much as my IB's!!! lol

Sammi - good thinking 99... were would we be without you hon! Im gonna have to get some disposable liners now.

Christy - I wuv you honey!!!!

We're are all the oldlies gone???? have you been benched out girls?? pwease come back!!

Katones there is a pictogram on Nelles blog. Or there used to be. Hopefully she can get the link for you.

It's in my sig :) I think it's under nappy stuff?

I was thinking about this last night, I think I don't post so much because I've mostly stopped with the nappy buying...

I go through quiet spells too Nelle. Sometimes I don't have much to say and other times I feel like the conversation is passing me by.

It's not just about buying nappies here though is it? I didn't buy anything for almost 6 months and only broke the drought when I got that CK Aurial.

Actually I'm going to mention buying nappies now ;) I picked up my order from theweewuns just before.
I got a fuscia berry plush plus an extra inner,
2 blue berries one pink camo and the other huckleberry,
2 VB fitted, (Janie gave me one as a gift! How sweet is that!)
1 swaddlebees pocket,
1 packet of flushable liners and a bottle of gaia bath and body wash.

Thankyou all so much :hug: :hug:

I really don't need to be buying anything else as I also have some bamboo single sided toweling and some itti bitti boos on the way from bamboofabricstore so I think we're set. I'll be making anything else I might need now I think. (She did have a few more of the boos left in small and large if anyone is after one. IB won't be getting any in stock till late Oct so they told me)

I'm slack... :redface: Sorry.

Although if I were to post now, it would be complaints, complaints, complaints - we've been having leaky city ATM. BumGs leak, Berry Plushes leak, my night nappy leaked last night (luckily while I was feeding him so I didn't have to change sheets - whew)... Grrr. I've strip washed, so hopefully that will see an improvement. Otherwise, dunno what it could be. :think:

And now, at 3:30 he is finally asleep (yes, this is his MORNING nap), so I'd better go hang the nappies on the line otherwise we'll have none for tomorrow.

WOH(sleeping)B: wildchild daydreamer in purple minky. Mmmm, minky. If it leaks I'll scream.

ETA: Yay Sam!!!

Katones, don't worry, nothing is obvious, we are not born knowing stuff, we learn it.

i googled "how to fold a prefold" when i was new and that showed me - via a diagram.

Imagine you have an A4 piece of paper, sideways (landscape)
you fold it in three
it now looks like a pad
well, that's what you do with a prefold.

fold it the WIDE way if you want prefold to be shorter
fold it the LONG way if you want prefold to be longer

there are videos on youtube about prefolds
there are all sorts of refs on google about it

the US ones pop up if you type in "prefold diapers"

there are also line drawings on what to do, at the listing for Prefolds, sold on the booroi website - nice and clear.

i think the first year i did the nappy hunt, i found a nz MCN site where they show you, pic by pic, a prefold being put on a teddybear.

once you see it, you think IT"S SO EASY, but like anything, if you know nothing about it, well,it's a bit daunting.

so dont' worry, no DUMB questions here, just stuff you dont know yet.

From reading this thread, i learn something new everyday, i like that. We're learning EMPIRICAL knowledge - knowledge gained by observation and doing.

ozclothnappies and nappycino also have great educational threads - another way to learn about MCN.

Maz - do i not count as an oldie??? how many years does it take to count hon???? (goes away to eat worms).

WOTBB: sugarshot pocket we just swapped for, very noice.

SUSE - could it be that at nine months, Euan just needs MORE layers of absorbency now? How much absorbency do these nappies have? (layers, fabrics etc).
e.g what do stuff the bumgenius with?

do you have boosters? these can be useful when putting another trifold is overkill, but you need SOMTHING extra. I often stick a nb sized hemp booster in at the tummy side, or inside a trifold, for a bit of extra absorbency. So not big enough to cause a leg seal "issue", but enough to add extra absorbency.

well, that's my idea for you IF the strip washing doens't do the trick.
oh yeh, WHERE are the leaks coming from?
legs - fit issue? are you getting leg seal?
whole thing - absorbency issue? (strip wash, dryer to seal, increase absorbency layers)
waist - rise issue? (get higher rise nappies)

keep posting, we can't help you with the hiccups if you don't post sweetpea!

Thanks GiGi...

i think i have it figured now :)
Just got to get my preggy brain working properly :P

Maz - PM me your postal addy & Ill send you a pack of disposable liners, I have heaps

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Gigi - I usually shop at NN - but have done DD, Baby soft landings, cotton bottoms, wee wuns don't really have anything I want...ozebaby (which i usuaaly just shop at widdlewuns..lol) I need more stores...

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ok,
out of the BIG ones, that still leaves

• Baby blossom,
• beyond belly,
• ecobabe,
• sustainable hemp products,
• the nappy bucket
• nappyworks

places like that

then there's the WAHM based malls

• wahmnaps
• wahmania
• ozebaby (all the other stores there that aren't Widdlewuns LOL)
• minicuture

what are you after Gudi? maybe one of us will know where it is, if you say what you're trying to find?

MAZ - i THOUGHT i had read all the posts, but i've lost the plot where you talk about flushable liners? Are you going on a holiday? or is this for everyday convenience? Only asking, cos, if you are going on a holiday, WOOT! that would be wonderful for you! (has Jed made up for his recent misdemeanours???).

WOTBB: au la natural cos my little bilby is just out of the bath

Ah Gigi honey - you are a GODDESS!! You are right though - gotta post more - apart from anything I miss you guys. I do lurk, but it's not the same.

Mostly it seems that now that Euan is so active, it's inserts shifting inside the pocket. Either because he moves around so much, or because he is thrashing around on the table and it shifts while I'm putting it on. Short of staplegunning him to the table (and the nappy), I'm not quite sure how to solve this problem. The majority of leaks are in the wings or out the back and sides of a nappy. In a lot of cases the insert is barely damp. It usually happens when I put him down to sleep in a BumG or BP (am trying to only put him down in fitteds now), and when he wakes up he has a huge wee that just runs out the back or soaks the wings. I'm trying to identify if any in particular of my BumGs leak, if it's the dreaded leg elastic going. One seems a little less springy, but I don't know that it's that one that's leaked.

He is weeing more, but I don't think that it's an absorbency issue. I don't have fitteds leak on me (although he absolutely soaked the sugarpeas insert + a bamboo booster the other day and the outside of the cover was actually damp in a spot at the front). At night, he doesn't even dampen the shell of a night nappy (Lotus), but a Whizz Kidz is pretty damp come morning. They go on at about 10:30-11:00pm, and are off by about 8:30-9:00.

So far I haven't had a leak since the strip wash, but I've also been fairly vigilant about changing him before putting him down. I think I will start extra-boosting my BumGs though, if only to provide a bit more rigidity and stopping the inserts from bunching up when he wriggles around.

Thanks ma lovely - you're ace!

Gigi - I don't actually know what I'm after...lol.. I just want to shop!!! lol

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MAZ - i THOUGHT i had read all the posts, but i've lost the plot where you talk about flushable liners? Are you going on a holiday? or is this for everyday convenience?

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No babe you havent lost the plot...i just thought Sammi made a very good and valid point that was over seen. It was my way of trying to make others see that she was putting a good suggestion across too. Dont stress babe..all is good :) Vy's nappy rash is lifting (yay) and Mateauz little pea's arent bleeding anymore (yes they were bleeding)

Thank good for the warmer weather is all I can say!!! Never mind drying time for the nappies.....free balling time in this house is more important ;)

As for my comment about were are the oldies??? I miss EVERYONE when they are AWOL for a week. I may not say their name or ask were they are individually but I think of them and wonder were they are and if they are ok. We're like family in here so its natural to stress.

So girls - just to let you all know..I love each and everyone...shiaty and wet nappies included..I'll wash them for free :)...I love washing nappies...its a natural high for me (YES im insane atm)

Hey Mel...should I be letting you know that Ive been sewing beads onto something's :p

Oh OH....have to share...after 8 weeks of not BFing :( Mateauzx latched on for 15 mins in the shower and I still have milk..he had a big milky grin at me snuggled back in and went to sleep on me. Ahhh im so gonna miss this

WOMB - have no idea...Jed changed him
WOVB - as above!!!

Awww, that's gorgeous Maz.

wow, your milk is still there, that's amazing Maz. What a lovely moment for you and your M.

Suse
your leak description makes me think FIT, rather than ABSORBENCY.

we're having the same "Wriggler on teh Change Table" routine at our place, so i soooo relate to that!

I would suggest you put him in something with HIGH RISE for those naps. Or even a night soaker over his day nap nappy. But the fitted and cover for day naps sounds a good idea, i would favour the harry high pants ones.

Back to the fit isthoo, can you put the nappy on him, on the changetable, then let him stand up, look all around and fiddle with the closures more, once you have seen him stand up?

BUmGenius v3 have a 12 months warranty if you are worried about elastic. What is the rise like on Euan? DO youhave yourself a little giraffe there? Any tradies crack showing? And what do you stuff the pockets with? Trifolds? Shaped inserts? the bg microfibre insert only?

I'm intrigued about the pocket inserts moving around bit. Are the inserts the correct width for the pockets? I can only imagine inserts movign around, if the inserts were too SKINNY for that particular pocket. Like if you put Swaddlebees inserts (made for a narrow crotched pocket) inside a wide crotched pocket like the bumgenius. I can't quite imagine you doing that, maybe i have misunderstood what you are getting at.

wotbb: the KK aio i left at the front of the night nappies tray - i'll bet that's what dh would have put on her, he likes those Kester Kovers. I can't believe madame is STILL on the smallest snap setting for the medium long size - she's been on that same setting since July 2007! and she's gone up at least 3kg since then. I think she'll be in this size until TT-ing, for sure.

Gudi - you have a week at least, until the nappy hunt discount code runs out - have fun chickadee

Suse - i'm not buying much anymore these days either (i guess trainers will be the next step for us), but i like this group too much to stop posting. And as i will not be having any more bubs, i get my thrills hearing about other people's newborns - cos i would so much love to have another child myself. Love hearing about the newborns.

Awww - fanks Gigi & Christy... (feeling all warm & fuzzy now)

Ness - I got the last extreme last night ;) Now I'm eligible for all the prizes - yahoo! I've only got 3 regular ones to go. One of them is a personal quest for me now... I NEED to find this one!!

it's finally happened to me... I got the gray panadol staining on the Bubblebubs. Hope the sun will fade it!

WOHB: BBB & Wool cover (he's still awake!!!!)

Nettie - yah, I hate that staining. Sunshine, frost or frequent washing ;) Goodness Nettie, that's serious hunting!

Mama-mail sounds lovely, I was thinking fluffette mail :)

Speaking of which, DH now groaning at the mama-mail coming through!

Lovely drying day yesterday, right until I got the washing out of the machine and it started raining (grrrr).

Maz - how lovely!!!! Lucky little Mat.

Oooh, I got my twinkle lily order from the PO yesterday! Lovely organic playsuits and pants and shirts ... and a couple of nappies (hehe) - blue camo & pawprints. And some raw silk liners. Just need to prewash everything!

And more platinum panties mail ;)
Actually, better get them off the drying rack in front of the fire b4 the guests come!

WoHB - dunno, DH changed him, prolly a sposie.

Right nettie we need to msn!!!

lol


Hmm mumma mail just isnt something i can get into... :lol: not that i need to at the moment hehe still no AF

good morning ladies...

i think i shall go off to spotlight today sometime.. when i get out of my PJ's :P and get some material to keep me occupied during the week.. was thinking of making some prefolds :)

New thread time HERE