Help needed for prefolds, terries and flanny

[hippymum]

Hi mummies
I need to pick your brains about using prefolds.
1. what cover do they use for newborn?
2. Are they better than flannies and terries?
3. Is contour better than prefolds?
4.I bought some mcn at baby expo today and do I need liners with them?

Thank you

[Gigi]

I need to pick your brains about using prefolds.

which kind?
cotton or bamboo?

1. what cover do they use for newborn?

depends on the size of your bub
some brands have an XS or NB size
some babies are born big enough to go straight into Smalls

The old fashioned pilchers (available everywhere) i would steer clear of. They sweat heaps, leak, break, are generally awful.

THe new technology for covers uses
PUL
fleece (polar fleece or malden mills fleece)
wool

If you would like to use prefolds on a newborn, there is a type of cover with inbuilt leg gussets, that has been designed for use with prefolds.

brands that make the leg gusset covers, include
- thirsties
- bambino mio
- imse vimse
- bummi brite
- tots bots size 0
These are all PUL covers, but the imse vimse comes in either soft PUL outer, or cotton velour outer with hidden PUL layer.

Some websites you can find these products would be the larger nappy sites e.g
- nurturenappies
- theweewuns
- darlingsdownunder
- babyblossom
- babysoftlandings



2. Are they better than flannies and terries?

it depends what fabric the prefold is made out of

Bamboo is a more absorbent fabric than cotton.

A prefold is smaller than a flat.

I personally found the flats too complicated and gave up on them after a week of trying. Other people find them easy. You don't have to to choose, it's possible to try both, use both, no problems.

if you use flats, they are bulkier, so you will need the bigger size cover.
The bamboo trifolds are really trim.
i found the cotton prefolds really bulky and not as absorbent.

3. Is contour better than prefolds?

once again, i'd suggest you get a few of each, to try for yourself, see what you find the most do-able for you. With the contours, once again, it also comes down to what fabric the contour is made out of.

4.I bought some mcn at baby expo today and do I need liners with them?

Depends what you bought.

a fitted nappy (needs a waterproof cover to make it work) usually needs a liner.

a pocket nappy is usually lined with a staydry fabric e.g suedecloth or microfleece. this is your sewn in liner.

a all in one is usually lined with a staydry fabric e.g suedecloth or microfleece. this is your sewn in liner.

so it all depends what you bought, what is the brand name at least?

Was it the Perth baby expo that was on this weekend? i knew it was coming up, saw it on teh homepage of nurture nappies website.

For a great intro for newbies to the world of MCN, look up the ozclothnappies website (it ends in ORG but no AU) and read their FAQ link - that is a goldmine of info there, to make lots make sense for you.

Nappycino is another great website (that one ends in the COM.AU) to help you understand heaps about MCN and how to use them.

googling "how to fold a prefold"
searching on youtube "prefold diaper"
comes up with lots of results

don't worry, everyone has a gazillion questions when they first start finding out about MCN, it's normal! it's a different world.

hth

[hippymum]

Hi Gigi
Thank you for replying.
I bought 2 bum genius, 2 itti bitti and 2 bubblebubs.
I will get some prefolds,contours, terries and small covers with gussets.

[Snacks]

Hi Hippymum. Are the bumG's fitted nappies, or pockets? I have bumG pockets and I don't use a liner with them as they already have fleece built in. My itti bitti is a fitted, and my bubblebubs are all-in-one's. I use microfleece liners for both. They help protect the nappy and its easier to get the poo off. Though with NB poo, it'll be pretty messy regardless, LOL! You can make your own liners by cutting strips of microfleece (which you can get from shops like Spotlight - do you have Spotlight in Perth?)
You can get flushable paper liners for your nappies, but IMO they're not very useful until bubs is on solids and doing more solid poos.
GL with it all

[hippymum]

Hi Snack
There are all AIO and thanks for the tips about the availability of microfleece at spotlight.
I would't use them with Aio, however with flats and terries. I am just a bit frantic about what to do at the moment. I bub will not be here for about 2 more months.

[Gigi]

Hippymum

if you want to make heaps of cheap staydry liners for your terries, flats, contours, go to Spotlight or Lincraft and hunt for MICROPOLAR FLEECE. The staff often give you blank looks if you ask at the counter, and even blanker looks if you say you want it for nappies.

Find the polar fleece section.
There is cotton/poly fleece (for school tracksuits)
There is 100% poylester fleece - now you're getting warm
make sure the one you get is MICRO POLAR FLEECE adn it's 100% polyester.

there is one well known brand of micropolarfleece that Spotlight stocks widely, it's called Little Additions. The plain version is about $9 p metre, the prints $13 a metre.

Buy about half a metre. Cut it up into strips, hourglass or bone shapes, maybe a mix - so you can work out what you find most useful. For a newborn, you coudl try 10 x 30 approx. Experiment with what you think looks right. You don't need to sew or edge them, the microfleece doesn't fray in the wash.

Just little squirt them off, and throw in the drypail, ready for the nappy washload.

How does the microfleece work for MCN?
Microfleece (like the sudedcloth in your itti bitt and bum genius) is a STAY DRY FABRIC, 100% synthetic.

this is a cross section

baby's bottom
sitting on stay dry liner
absorbent layers eg the microfibre inside the bumg, the bamboo inside the itti
waterproof layers e.g the PUL outer on the bumgenius, the minky and hidden PUL on the itti bitti,

so the baby wees

• that goes THRU the staydry layer (baby's bottom stays dry)
• fluid gets TRAPPED by the absorbent layers (microfibre, hemp, bamboo)
• fluid doesn't go further than the waterproof layer (PUL) unless nappy is left on too long

that is how MCN works
that combination (in that order) whether you have a $50 nappy or the most basic flat and cover, will work, if you follow that theory.