Help for New Users!

[k4t]

Would you bother with MCNs for only 6 months?

I've been flip flopping on the question of cloth nappies a few times throughout this pregnancy and after having settled on all disposables a couple of months ago, a disapproving look from my mother-in-law this weekend has prompted me to reconsider yet again. (Probably not the best motivator I know.) I'm expecting baby no 1 in August (Melbourne winter.) I'm planning to take 6 months off work after the birth but then back to work full time with a combination of child care & nanny most likely. I'm sure some of you will say that's no reason to stop using cloth nappies but at the moment I barely manage to keep my own clothes laundered on time let alone adding caring for a baby and sleepless nights, so I don't think it's realistic to assume I'll keep using cloth regularly after 6 months. Cost is not a big motivator for me either - we can afford disposables and I don't think I'd be restrained enough in my purchases to come out very cheaply from a MCN perspective (there are so many gorgeous designs out there to try.) I'm more interested in just finding what works best on balance from a comfort, nappy rash, explosion minimization and convenience perspective while not being too big a hassle.

So would you bother even trying cloth in my situation? I figure it won't hurt to get a stack of prefolds and a few covers. At least I can use the prefolds as spit rags etc even if I don't stick with the cloth nappy thing. Then maybe just a couple of AIOs/pockets/AI2s to experiment with... (although I can see that being a slippery slope.) Should I just buy the cheapest prefolds I can find or are some brands better than others?

[HotI]

The first 6 months (pre baby eating solids) is the best, funnest time for cloth nappies. I love fitted nappies with a cover on young babies. easier than prefolds and they seem to contain poo-splosions better than aios or disposables. especially if you are only thinking of doing it for a short term, with a newborn, go for sized nappies (newborn/small) rather than osfm.

[Dot Face]

Subbing and also after some advice.

I'm 25 +4 weeks pregnant (first bub) and have decided a few weeks ago I want to go the MCN. Yo.
Now I'm wondering about a few things:

1. When is the best time to order a starter kit of cloth nappies? Is it too early to do it now? Should I wait until I'm 8-9 months or something?

2. What's brand/type is best for a newb like myself? There's a home business (I think) advertised on the main BB site a lady who sells MCNs and starter kits, I was thinking to just go with that? I'm happy to support smaller businesses as long as their products are good.

3. How does it work, exactly? My impression so far is that you get liners for the nappies so the poop and pee doesn't go on the actual nappy but on the liner and you throw the liner away? Then you wash the nappies if they're soiled? If this is the case what if the nappies themselves are fine not soiled at all do you still need to wash them after every single use? Is there such thing as reusable liners? If not then wouldn't buying all those liners still be nearly as expensive as using disposable nappies in the long run?

4. How do you deal with negative silly comments about MCNs? Like "eeeew why would you use MCNs they're GROSS!" etc? I've only had one such comment so far as I've only told a couple people I want to use MCNs but I anticipate many more when people see me using MCNs!

I'm sorry for the newb questions, especially if they've been answered before, I just don't have the patience for going through past pages/threads looking for the answers .

[Ca Plane Pour Moi]

1. When you buy the other baby things, buy the nappies. It depends on you. I bought nappies at about 5m pg, just before we bought the nursery furniture (from memory). That was just newborn nappies, I bought bigger ones a few months later when I really got into nappies.

2. I went for nappies you fold but not pin because I like making up nappies. But I also liked to try other ones - I had bamboo nappies for night time, AIO/AI2s made up for days out etc. Why not get a mixed starter kit for newborn and figure out what you like for the next stage?

3. Depends on the nappy. Some you have to shake the poo off before you wash, others have fleece liners so you wash the liner as well as the nappy and cover, others use throwaway liners that you can flush. Flushable liners were better for DH, but I didn't always remember to buy them so I preferred fleece ones. (I would have forgotten to buy nappies at all if I didn't have cloth, it was essential to my disorganised sanity!)

4. Why would you bag up poo and throw it away into a landfill and years later when archaeologists dig out our remains, looking for signs of culture, find your baby's dirty nappy? Ewwwwwwwwww. That's just wrong (and that statement converted a room of 15yo girls to considering cloth for when they did, eventually, have babies. Cloth nappies also look cute on (I think I uploaded a pic of Liebs in a cloth nappy many years ago to BB). Plus, in Australia, it is illegal not to flush poo so you're supposed to do it with disposable nappies too. Another bonus was when Liebs was in nappies, I was studying Chemistry at Uni. I could do all the ammonia-based practicals without a problem as I was very desensitised to the smell (which when you wash every 2-3 days is not an issue at all except for bending down at the washing machine to unload the bucket). I am re-sensitised now, bad luck me for ammonia-based work.

[~Kim~]

Dot face, if you have a look at the first couple of pages of this thread Nelle has posted some great info. It's a bit old, but the basis is still the same.
1. For me, nappies can be exxie so with DS I just bought some when I could. Instead of products/nappies every grocery shop, I bought an MCN. I am not a fan of having only one type of nappy in your stash (ie all from one maker). Different nappies work great for some and dreadfully for others. Having all of one kind would suck if they all didn't work for you. A few different kinds at least lets you work out what is best for you a bit cheaper.
There are a few second hand MCN pages on FB that can be good for a bargain, and there is also a nappy sale thread in here.

2. Ultimately All-in-ones are the easiest for a newb, but they aren't necessarily the best for NB poo. I second Nelle and many others in saying that fitteds with a cover are the best for NBs, however it's been a while so I couldn't recommend any currently.

3. I have only ever used a fleece liner for times when I need a heavier duty bum cream. I know others swear by them, but I've never really needed them. Fleece liners you wash with your nappies. The liner basically just protects the nappy and 'should' aim to draw moisture away from the skin. The nappy will always be wet and yes needs to be washed. However you can get All-in-2 nappies where the absorbent bit snaps out and if the shell isn't dirty you just snap a new absorbent bit in.

4. Smile and wave girlfriend ...pretty much like any parenting decision you make, someone will have an objection. Fluff on little bums is cute. Some people love it when they see it, and some can't get past it.

[Jennifer13]

I agree with Kim - I'd try a few different brands and options. I liked some AIO nb nappies (Rumparooz and Cheeky Butts minis), but others didn't work for DD2 at all. So glad I only got a couple of each to try! Fitteds with covers are always good, I alternate with them still. I started with some secondhand and some new.

When I remember to buy them, I use flushable liners. I'd wait until your baby is well and truly on solid food though, before that you still need to rinse the nappy anyway because bf poos are so liquid.

Good luck! There's no need to stock up on enough to get you to toilet training right now. Start with the smaller nb sized nappies and go from there.

[JLeigh29]

Absolutely brilliant thread, thanks! 14 pages later...and I still have questions!

Ok, so it looks like I'll get some prefolds and covers for Bub. I *think* I have enough info at this stage to handle the prefolds part ok... Still have to decide on covers though.

I'd also like to get some fitted nappies and covers. Any recommendations? I'm thinking that some of the previous posts might be superseded and that there might be new products available. Bub will be little if DS is anything to go by (just under 3kg), with skinny little legs.

And will I seriously only need 4 covers? If Bub wets thru the prefold/fitted, won't the cover be wet? And, if they're anything like DS, they'll be an 8-10 poo a day kid. Surely there'll be a few poosplosions daily necessitating new covers??!!

[Ca Plane Pour Moi]

For me, I found that with very messy-poo Liebling, five covers were OK. The wet nappies, the cover is waterproof so the wet is all in the nappy (saturated nappies mean that you need to change more frequently). The messy poos, you have to wash the cover. With baby-Liebs, I was washing nappies daily due to covers. But you don't want to just let poo sit there, do you? The sun bleaches out any staining, so even with a winter of drying nappies indoors, after a few times on the line they were lovely and white again.

(Can't comment on current brands as Liebs was out of nappies three years ago.)

[JLeigh29]

I don't think I changed a 'just wet' nappy more than a dozen times in the first six months! Lol, at least there was no nappy rash here!

A friend has recommended the Bummis covers and given me the name of someone who makes custom MCN's which are gorgeous... I love MCN shopping!

[luna moth]

JLeigh I like to have 6 covers, and err on the side of 8. I have never run out. My favourite fitteds are TotsBots bamboozles, but sadly no longer made. Other good ones are Motherease Sandys, SHP Daysies, Bubblebubs BamBams and bamboo delights.

Dot - flushable liners are about 1/3 the price of disposable nappies. I only use them on holidays. At home I use a nappy sprayer to wash away poo.

[JLeigh29]

Where do I get flushable liners? Have seen them at baby shops, but wondered if they can be bought cheaper online or whether there are other brands out there? I never used them with DS.

[Frangipani Lou]

Where do I get flushable liners? Have seen them at baby shops, but wondered if they can be bought cheaper online or whether there are other brands out there? I never used them with DS.

I like the peapods bamboo flushable liners. They are about $10 for 100. I buy them from a local supplier but I've seen packs of them on eBay for a good price.
Eventually I might work out what fabric I need to make reusable liners so I'm cutting cost and waste even more. I use them with my itti bitti's.

[JLeigh29]

Ok, stupid question...why use reusable liners? Is it to stop stains on the nappies? cos if it's supposed to make the poo easier to dispose of, surely it doesn't matter whether you're shaking it off a liner or a nappy? Isn't that just another piece of fabric that's the same as the nappies themselves?

[Ca Plane Pour Moi]

With wet tiny baby poos, it doesn't matter.

With toddler solid poos, they shake easily off fleece but can get squashed into the cotton/hemp/bamboo and that makes washing time really ick. Yes, you can rinse it off in the loo but it is a time-consuming job with cotton, whereas it takes about 10 seconds with fleece. So you have to think about managing change times: do you undress, then dispose of nappy, then put new one on? Change then dispose? What is baby doing while you dispose of the poo? That was the $64k question for me.

[Frangipani Lou]

I use a poo pail to put poos in so I don't have to try and hold DD while putting poo in the loo and handle a nappy too. It's just a small bucket with a lid that I empty into the loo as needed.

[JLeigh29]

DS was only in cloth part time from about 6 months, and I can only remember about three or four times that the poo stuck! But yeah, I remember those times being quite a chore! DS was, and still is, a clingon (much like those poos), so would scream at my feet while I disposed of the nappy, regardless.

I suppose I'll have a while to think on it as NB poo doesn't need liners...

Looking at some Genesa Forge stuff - she's sausage can gusset some NB covers if I want, but she doesn't usually. Also, I need to choose between minky with a PUL layer, or PUL covers. What does everyone think?

Her NB prefolds are terry/velour, but I'm also looking at organic cotton and some bamboo ones elsewhere. Haven't heard much about terry/velour - would you recommend?

And, can anyone recommend an online shop to buy Bummis and BBH's? I'm looking at Darlings Down Under, but is there anywhere else I should be checking out?

TIA

[Jennifer13]

JLeigh - I usually buy BBHs from their own online store, but a quick google search will usually show you where some others might have them on sale (ie overstock, still have previous sale stock, etc). It's worth looking around, I have often picked up bargains by doing so. Just last night I got some wool covers at a great deal from a new store I hadn't tried before. They only had a few colours on sale, but I'm not bothered by colour when it's 30% off! I have had no trouble with any of the Oz sellers and even bought some from a store in NY (when the exchange rate was at its best, their shipping cost was worth it for the deals). I think if you're buying premium brands you'll probably be okay.

[JLeigh29]

Ok, so my stash is starting to build, and I have to admit, I'm addicted...

For the newborn stage I've got 10 small itti bittis (a mix of AIO's and Snap ins), one baby mio nappy and cover, a few thirsties covers and a couple of no name covers, all either free or from gum tree.

Now a prefold question... Is it true that snappis won't hold on organic cotton? I'm looking at Bummis prefolds, but read that snappis won't hold on organic cotton. Will they hold on bamboo? What about 'normal' unableached cotton?

Are Bummis prefolds good? They are really cheap....is that a good sign or bad? Or should I be looking at bamboo prefolds? Any recommendations?