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Hi everyone, does anyone have any recommendation for prefold newborn nappies? I've always used pocket nappies with my son and I plan to re-use them when this bubs is a few months old and just use prefolds for the first couple of months.
I started doing some research but I've now read so many reviews/comments on the different brands that I'm hopelessly confused! Thankyou :)
hello ladies, just a question about flats, ive been looking into them for awhile and i have gotten soo much info im being pulled in all kinds of directions,
ok so DD is just over 3 months old, sos till quite small, i want to use flats as its the cheapest option and im only doing it for around home. just trying to save some dollars where i can.
at the moment iver got about a dozan or so ****ies terry flats (from big w) i was uing them for spit rags, and have washed and dried (in dryer) quite a few times and they are now no long square (not sure if they ever were lol) do i need to get new ones? or will these do? remembering its just for around home. also ive seen quite a few people mention something about flanellet flats? i have HEAPS of flanellet wraps that were given to me that i dont use.. would these do? or am i being silly? and if these do do, what would i sue to pin them up? just baby pins? i have those snappi things for the terrys.
if i have to get new terrys what and where would i get them? without buying online since i dont have a c card, i cant use paypal or anything like.
thanks for the help ladies :)
oh and what fold would be best and less bulky?
xx
You can most definitely use your BigW flats. I have some and still use them from time to time. If they're not square, it's not ideal but will certainly work. Mine were never square by the way. Yes, you can use the flanny wraps. You might be a little restricted as to the folds to use as they are usually not square nappy sizes. But you can always do a pad fold of some description and just use a good cover. I think nappy pins would be better to use than snappis on the flannies. But you could even just lay them in the coover and use no fixing whatsoever.
If your aim is to save money, be creative. you can use all kinds of things like old towels. I think there's a frugal nappying discussion around somewhere...
I used muslin wraps, too. You might need to boost your flats relatively soon as your child starts to wee more or alternatively just change very frequently. Diong lots of nappy free time especially now in summer will also help reduce costs.
Have fun!
Sasa
Thanks SS,
re: being creative i never thought of that, esp since it is just for around home!!
Stevie-ann, you can also see if you can find more old towels or flannie wraps at op-shops if you want to keep the cost down. Even better if you have a sweing machine or overlocker to hem the edges (if you need to cut them). Or if you freecycle, ask there...
Sasa
ill def keep my eye open at op shops.
Thanks heaps for your help.
At the moment, i have a whole bunch of NB dispoable nappies that if i dont use soon she will grow out of them so im using them up at the moment.
I bought some 142cm wide white nappy flannel from spotlight for $5/metre.
Out of 3m of material ($15), i got 10 nappies 60cm x 60cm and have a bit left over i think i will make wipes or something with.
If you want to make 70 x 70cm nappies, 3.5metres ($17.50) will give you 10 nappies.
I have just overlocked the edges.
Target sells a 6 pack of flannel 70 x 70cm nappies for $14, so not that much more if you just want to buy. Their terry flats were around $30 for 12 nappies.
and does flannel work just as good?
That's what I want to know too? I used terry flats for DS (and gave them all to my cousin, I think I had about 50 or so LOL).:
From what I have heard, flannies are a little less bulky, but also not quite as absorbant. Most people use them for newborns but change to terries later. The advantage with terries is that you can use snappies. Although, if the flannel is woven loose enough, you might be able to use snappis, too.
I have never used flannies, so don't quote me on any of this. It's just what I've heard/read.
If you do want to use pocket nappies later on with a more wriggly toddler, you can make the inserts out of your flats.
That;s what i'm planning to do, use flannel for the newborn time (along with prefolds), and later use combo of terrie flats and MCNs. I am also thinking of making some booster type thingys to go with the flannel (not too many layers though).
I can use snappies with the flannel too, with a cover over the top.
Hi everyone, I am so happy to have found this thread. I am planning to use prefolds and I have bought a couple of the BBH A12 side snap MCN's as well. For those of you that are also planning to use prefolds/cloth/flannies - what covers are you going to use? I bought a couple of the BBH newborn covers, but they still seem quite large? Maybe they are for cloth flats? And is everyone using Snappi's? They seem like the way to go? How many should I buy?
Sorry for all the questions, I am just so excited to have found this thread! The other cloth nappy discussion groups seem to focus on specific brands and when I look at all the different ones I just get confused :wall:
I didn't use Snappis. They dont work very well with flannel (not much to grip onto) and I was worried that they would work loose on the terry flats especially as my babies got older and more active. I used pins. I never stabbed my babies either ;)
I used flanellette nappies on DS while we were in hospital because they washed them and so I just kept up with the constant changes, they were great for not being so bulky but when I got home I found terry to be alot better esp when dealing with poosplosions. I still use terrys on my DS when we go to the shops (he gets very distracted) and I don't have a problem with the nappy staying up with the snappi, I'm to scared to use pins, they are only back up in my place (and for pinning together my loose clothes :p)
I do have a couple of flannies that I have had to use and the snappi done an ok job but the nappies would be wet through real quick.
Covers: I have Bummis Super Brights, Mother Ease Rikkis and Thirsties and I prefer the Thirsties, the Bummis come second for me. Many people love the ME Rikkis, but I don't. They seem to run quite large, too, so don't upsize too much.
I also have Wool Covers (Disana) for night time and love them. And a few home made ones for day time just cause they're cute. Am planning to either make or get my MIL to make some wool longies for winter.
Snappis: I love them with Terry flats and fitted Terries like Mandy Macs. I do now think that they kinda wreck bamboo terry, though. Not sure whether pins would do the same. I think 3-4 snappis will be enough for you initially. You only need a couple but they have a habit of disappearing temporarily so having 1 or 2 spares is a good idea. I never used pins as they seem more time consuming.
Flats: I used to rave about bamboo terry for the softness and absorbancy. I am now more dubious as I find they just don't last. Not sure whether it is just the quality of the ones I have or whether this problem exists across the board. I found they got very thin very quickly and develop little holes. I've only used them part time for about 6-7 months and I although I didn't expect them to last through multiple children, 6-7 months is not enough in my opinion, especially when considering the price. My cheap BigW cotton terries are still going great guns at a fraction of the cost. So i think if I did it all over again, I would buy good quality cotton terry instead.
will be using prefolds with this bub, and thirsties, I like the gussets on them, not sure that any other covers have them, and those newborn poops certainly need the extra help lol
Bummis Super Brites an mother ease rikkis have gussets, too. but the thirsties have a nice stretch to them, so i like them best.
The classic Bummis has no gussets but it has a really good fit (at least on my bub) so prevented Poo-splosions just as well as the gusseted covers and it is really cheap.
If you're after poo-tainment, I'd recommend either fitted nappies or flats with a really good fold and rolled up back and legs over the prefolds. But unless you have a once-a-week-pooer like my DD was, you should be fine with the prefolds.
I never did the prefolds with my last, but did terrys with my first two, so will be interesting to see the difference this time around.:
I am trying hard not to get caught up in the whole MCN hype again, as I really didnt see the big hype last time, yes they are cute, but I am thinking the prefolds will work just as well
Good on you Nuddle, you are stronger than I am ;)
You are of course so right, flats or prefolds work just as well. With a slightly older bub, I do prefer only putting on one layer (pockets) as it is hard enough fighting a wriggly 10 month old. But to be honest, putting the cover on seperately does not take that much extra time once you have a bit of practice. DH often loses the plot, though when there are no pockets left and he has to put a fitted and a cover on (he''d never even attempt flats), then the clothes over the top. But he doesn't change as many nappies as I do. And I have to admit that DS is extremely wriggly atm.
yeah, well mcn's never worked that well for me last time, they did for a short time, but not worth the outlay I found... lets see how long I last before I cave and try again lol
Wow, this is answer to my all of my ponderings of late!
I am an absolute MCN Queen. I have owned, or still do in some cases, almost every brand of Australian (and other :redface:) MCN that exists to date! lol. Possibly excepting WAHM nappies.
But you know what - AI1, AI2, pocket, snapin2, fold out... I am just so OVER IT. Over the strip washing, the stinky bamboo, bubbling PUL etc etc. Elastic on 'OSFA' cutting into little Milk Viper's thighs, waist etc etc. Paying $40 for a nappy that he pees through in seconds (yes, another HEAVY wetter here).
Time and time again I come back to flats. I only have 12 left from his newborn days! The rest have fallen victim to the polishing rag box... :shakehead: Thanks DH!!
recently I even started making my own nappies. I got a taste for it. I have made everything free pattern wise, and some bought. But you know what - same problem as the bought ones. They all have their design flaws. And again - back to the flats.
Now I have 18m of hemp fleece sitting out the back that I got at $3 a metre on super sale and I am starting to think, since I have sold almost all of my MCN (I'm down to 10 Green Kids and a couple of bumgenius organics that i hate but are too stained to get rid of considering purchase price), maybe I should stop making fitteds and turn the hemp into... dum dum dum... FLATS!
What do you think? I've read through the thread and the most common size seems to be 60x60cm.
You know, I even use flats on MV that my mother used on me. They are a really soft drill cotton and need pins, but I love them!
And I am going back to woollen covers. I bought a few jumpers and a few kilts from the op shop and I am cutting them up right after I get off this computer and making covers! I do have PUL covers I have made, side snapping ones like my motherease.
My only question out there to you all - should I double the hemp over on the flats in case it gets too thin and degrades? Or do you think it will make them too thick to put on properly?
Holly
I would say to double it over since it is hemp. There are flats out there that are quite thick but I have never found that it makes it any harder and I only used flats (DS is now FULLY potty trained :))
I tried doubling it over and made it 70x70cm - it's quite bulky! but will make an amazing night nappy. I will wash it a few times and see how we go :)
I just went out in my lunch break today and bought a 12 pack of big softies brushed cotton nappies at Target for $30 to see how I would go with them! I prefer them to terry for softness. I think instead of liners I will run up a number of hemp rectangles to add absorbency and also act as a solids catcher.
We have a little squirt so I'm not worried too much about the poo ;)
Congratulations on TT! MV is just about there, but we are hoping for another one soon, so more nappies are definitely still needed.
In the meantime I love part time EC with Mr MV :)
Thanks :) and yes I know what you mean, I'm TTC #2 atm :) I use terry myself but have never worried about liners, well I did for a little bit but they didn't seem to work for us. I love EC too :D I think that is what helped DS TT so soon, definately no complaints here lol. I managed to pick up a 12 pack of terries from Coles for just $10, I was thrilled to say the least.
Seriously? Fantastic! Was that recently? I am going to Coles this afternoon, hope I can get a bargain too!
I've trawled through the discussion (mostly... there's a lot! lol) but I can't seem to find anyone making reference to a sewing pattern for a cover that goes over flats really well. I'm crocheting madly atm but I would love to use up the four metres of PUL I've got lying around too.
I've sewn the free Chloes Toes side snapping pattern, which seems great, but I think I'd prefer something other than side snapping...
I don't seem to get a good enough fit using BBH PUL or wool covers (wing gape). Any ideas on make your own patterns for covers over flats???
And good luck TTC!!!
I also wanted to know, if you soak or dry pail the flats. If you soak them, do you still do a prerinse before washing in your machine?
It was a while ago now but you never know :D
I don't know much about patterns or materials but at Kmart ect they have these ones that have valcro. If you used them as a basis I'm sure that they would work, I used the store brought ones as i am no good at sewing, I liked them but there were a few improvements that could have been made and then they would have been absolutely perfect... like possibly some pvc and elastic around the leg area IMO.
Thank you :)
Sadly no luck :( but I'll keep a look out!
I think I'll try to cut a pattern off the pocket nappies I have, I actually used them as a cover today and it seemed to keep all the leg bits in :)
I saw some Eenie wraps in the baby shop today - they looked good. But I'll stick with what i"ve got - the whole point of rationalising is to cut back and save money! lol
Hey lovely ladies - can y'all tell me what size covers I should have over terry flats on a (probably large lol) nb? I have a couple of teeny covers from last time but can't even remember if I used them...?! I DO remember I had some of those dodgey covers from Big W - they were size 000 I think... *brain fart*
Hi, I love the Thirsties wraps over anything, flats, fitteds, contours,...
They have recently released the so-called Duo wraps. They are size adjustable and come in 2 sizes only, so you don't need to buy too many sizes, saving money eventually. They have stretch in them and gussets which make for a good fit. You can either get them with snaps or velcro. Velcro is great for newborns as it's easy to put on. But if your bub will be in just nappy and singlet a bit during summer, bear in mind that velcro can be a bit scratchy. At least my DH used to complain as he's frequently topless around the house and he hated velcro.
For older bubs velcro and no pants is just an invitation to give themselves some nappy free time...
I didn't use cloth on my bub for the first 3 weeks. But he wasn't a big baby (3.4kg). He put on weight really quickly, though. By the time I started him in cloth, I used the small (sized, not the Duo) Thirsties and the Small Bummis SuperBrite and also the Original Bummis in small. All without any problems.
I love wool soakers and shorties, too. Especially in summer. But it really depends on how explosive your newborn's poos will be.
Hope that helps. All the best!
Sasa
Cheers Sasa, I never tried Thirsties, might have to give 'em a whirl!
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
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.
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.
Hi all, newly registered soon to be(blood) nana :D 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 :D
Kez
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.
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").
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.
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
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!