Flat nappy discussion

[QueenMab]

Cheers Sasa, I never tried Thirsties, might have to give 'em a whirl!

[sconeonamission]

So... Where do I get flannel flats? And prefolds? Do I *need* to do the flannels up with something or can I jut fold them around baby and put the cover on? Prefolds just do up with a snappi? Are flannels absorbent? I have some Terry toweling flats, but from the sounds of things, Terry toweling ones are bulky

I am solo confused

[HotI]

Target sold Flannel flats when i was looking. I ended up buying 'nappy flannel' from Spotlight and hemming it myself.

I got prefolds from Maz-a-licious (there is a link in Maz's signature thingo to her store). I used a snappy to hold everything together and then a cover over the top.

Some people do use terry flats from birth, but i reckon they are too bulky.

[~clover~]

Flats are bulky, but good for at home/back up. I haven't tried flanellette yet.
I use prefolds & terry flats. Got my prefolds from Maz also.
All my fleece covers are from Maz, the others I mostly made myself.

[nanakez]

Hi all, newly registered soon to be(blood) nana Mum of 5 ranging in age from 20 to 31. Have 4 grandies from my partner's children, all use disposables.

Found your site while googling "old fashioned" cloth nappies and will be recommending it to my daughter & my partner's families, as well as friends. It is a wealth of information...thank you.

Nicole (daughter) decided before she was pregnant that she wanted to use cloth nappies but we are having trouble finding them in stores (flannelette ones).

Does anyone know anywhere in Melbourne's east/SE we could purchase them?

I used flannies for all 5 of mine, with pins, folded kite style, with plastics over top (at first) , then discovered PULs & fluffies which I used from then on. The nappies I had were very thick when new & lasted all 5 of my babies. Wow, the choices now are incredible. I could spend all day sitting here researching your suggestions lol

One thing I have noticed while browsing this topic is that you don't seem to soak the nappies any more. Do the pooey ones not stain if not soaked?? Or do the liners used prevent much from getting on the nappy eliminating the need for soaking?

I do agree that the sun is a wonderful sanitizer/stain remover but I used to soak my nappies.

Thanks for a great site.

Have a wonderful day
Kez

[HotI]

NanaKez, I have seen flannelette flats for sale at Target, or you can buy Nappy flannel at Spotlight and hem it yourself.

Sunlight (due to the UV light) can break down the stains and so most people don't soak anymore (save money and less chemicals).

My little one has just started eating solids but poos are still pretty wet and so even when i do use liners they don't contain everything and some gets on the nappy. NOt sure if this will change, but either way i don't soak and nappies don't have any stains after 9 months.

[sunshine_sieben]

Hi Nanakez,
Yes, Bellybelly is a wealth of info. Welcome to our little community.

I have no idea where to buy flannel flats. I used muslin & terries.
Soaking really is not necessary. Just rinse off the solids and dry-pail them. Then wash every second day or so with a cold rinse first, then a wash (I do warm) with half the regular amount of detergent, and an possibly an intensive or extra rinse at the end to avoid detergent build-up.
I don't even use any liners. I have never soaked and after more than 2 years of 2 kids in nappies, I don't have a single stain. They are all bright white.
Every now and then, for example after DS has eaten lots of blueberries, I might get some stains. If they are not bleached out after drying in the sun, I leave them out for an extra day and the stains are gone. That goes for all kids of materials: bamboo or cotton terry, cotton flannel, microfleece, suede-cloth, etc. I didn't even get the dreaded Panadol-stains (apparently baby Panadol can cause bad staining).
But if you are still worried about stains, you could get some dark coloured micro-fleece and cut it into liners for the nappies.

My son is like what the previous poster said. Even at 18 months, he still has very sloppy poos, so liners are useless. Some days I feel like giving up on cloth. It seems so unfair that I am one of the minority who is prepared to use cloth nappies, yet I am cursed with the never ending sloppy poos. They often leak (unless I am using a really well fitting cover. But pocket nappies and All-In-Ones are hopeless), they often happen more than once a day and are a pain to clean off the nappies (even though I do have a "Little Squirt").

[luna moth]

Just a quick thread reviver to say All Hail the Cone Fold!

I have been pad folding for all these months, and today I decided to have a play. It's so lovely and trim, trimmer than some of my MCNs! It is love.

[UntoldAngel]

Audax - a fold I found really good on my DS was the corners fold... it's a bit tricky to get use to, but it was good at containing and being quite trim. You just adjust to bub's size (DS is quite tiny). There's another fold I use, but I can't find the name of it... similar to the cone and it is really trim too, and creates a leg gusset

[luna moth]

Corners looks good! I'll give it a go. We used to use the cone fold at work, but I'd sort of forgotten about it. So easy and good though!

[CrazyLady]

lol, I'm sticking to the one I know. I was looking at some diagrams and they were making my head hurt trying to nut them out!

[blingy]

After 17 years we're having another *surprise* baby and I can't believe the amount of MCN choices out there

I've decided to just use terry towelling nappies as it just seems easier ... and cheaper!

I can't remember how I used to fold them although maybe it will come back to me when I get them in front of me

Do people still soak nappies in a bucket before washing? All I've read it about 'dry pail"

[luna moth]

Dry pail is the business! Easier and much safer - those nappy buckets were a horrid hazard. Hot wash (warm if you have any MCNs in there) will kill the nasties, and sun will banish any remaining bacteria or stains.

If you did want to go down the MCN road, blingy, GreenKids pockets are an excellent complement to terry flas. The pocket can be stuffed with a folded terry flat, to make a dad-proof velcro all in one nappy. Works a charm here

[blingy]

Thanky Audax

I'll have a look at those pockets ... I'm not adverse to change, just couldn't be knackered wading through all the sites of all the different types

[StrawberryFields]

Hi ladies!

We're going to be using flats for the twins, but we know they're going to be really small babies and I'm having trouble finding covers that are going to be small enough for those first couple of months, as well as climate appropriate for the tropics. The only ones I've seen small enough are at Target and are a 0000 but plastic and something tells me Townsville + plastic + coming into warmer months = bad idea. Wool would also be too hot for up here, so I'm just wondering what my other options are?

We're going with flannies for the early months - once again due to probable size constraints with terries being too bulky on tiny babies - but will be switching to terries after once they're bigger.

Should I even bother? Can I scotch guard some muslins or something and wrap them over the top of the flats?

Also what do we think of the big thirsties terries from Target? I love how brightly coloured they are but are they any good?

[emc2]

I read not to get coloured ones as the colour can run or fade.

I just got one pack of terry nappies from Big W, and then picked up a few at the op shops, then I ordered the Bamboonies flats as they are seconds on sale at the moment. I got Snappis from Coles, BiLo, usually on a bottom rack in the Baby aisle. Pilchers I got a few plastic ones initially, and then I have just been using BBH ones and slowly buying those.

I have bought some multifit hemp MCN's from BBH for when he gets a bit bigger for night time, again they are on sale, otherwise I wouldn't have bothered.

I started in disposables as I had an emergency caesar, and I was comp feeding. However the bamboo flats fitted Jim at 6 weeks.

Also I got some bargain cloth wipes from Beautbots on eBay. Fantastic for poo.

Liners I am just starting to experiment with.

I soak the nappies in plain cold water, then do a plain cold water rinse, then a long hot wash.

I am in Brisbane so I hope that helps, he's my first bub so hopefully this will work well in the summer too.

Can anyone help with good folds for boys??

[luna moth]

SF - have a look for Bummis covers in the Newborn size. It's 2-4kg, we had one or two, but with a 4kg bub they didn't fit over flats, and only fit for 5 minutes. But for small bubbas, they'll be good. Also, maz-a-licious covers in the nb size are brilliant over flats. From birth we were on the second last setting, so again, for small bubbas, they would be good.

We use the coloured Big Softies. We haven't had any colour runs, and only slight fading. They've been in use for nearly 8 months, although not full time use. In fact, it's very part-time use.

Fold for boys - That one with the absorbent bit down the middle and the gussets. I don't know what it's called, but we used it up to 6 months, until DD's bum crack got too long. If your little guy is 2 months old, that should work for him. Or the kite fold with the front down for later. My mum and I had an argument over the difference between the cone and the kite. She can't see the difference. Shape is the same, but the distribution of absorbency is different.

[damprye]

Hi all.
Decided to join since I'm due to have my second soon and will be going cloth again.
I love the flats from BigW and picked up heaps of plastic covers and snappies from Target on sale

I seen a fold for boys Q but can't see very much else using this croddy phone. I used the same fold for my DS the whole way through, adjusting slightly depending on his size and to also put a quick stop to explosion seepage lol. Now lets see if I can explain it... You fold tthe nappy in half to make a rectangle and again so it is a square. Gently pull the corner that is the corner of the square as well as the actual nappy. You will see one side of it begin to unfold so pull the corner across the nappy and past it. Should now look like the square it was, plus a triangle that extends from one corner of the square, along the top of the nappy and past the end as far as it is on the nappy (pics would be so handy right now lol). Then you flip the nappy over and it should now be a square combined with a triangle. Start folding the square across into rectangles, fold 3times for lil bub, twice for older boy. Should now look like a rectangle with a triangle either side.
Now for the prevention of explosion seepage. Simply fold the end of the trianges furthest from the triangle up so that once done up on bub, you'll provide lil pockets. Alternatively, you can tuck the sides in after placing the nappy on bub. After using it a few times, you'll know what works best for you. Will try and find a vid of pics and link them when I go to the shops and use a real computer