Using cloth - Help me get my head around it all!

[~Phoenix~]

I'm definately no expert compared to the OP in here but am a lover of prefolds and covers here too for NB's. I've got a stash of 24 bummi's and about 5 bummi's covers with the double leg gussets and boy do they hold in the the NB breastmilk poos Don't think we ever had one leak out of them. I wash every 2-3 days, they are quick drying which is very handy during the winter months. Even my very skeptical DH loves using them and is sad she's outgrown them and must admit I am abit too. We're onto pocket nappies now.

[Jess]

What works best depends on your situation. What's most important to you?
ease of use overall - all in ones
easy to put on, but requires a bit more work putting together - all in 2s (snap in) or pockets
best containment of poosplosions - fitted & covers
quick dry - pockets, flats/prefolds and covers
cheap - flats/prefolds & covers
cute - modern cloth with adorable patterns and minky outers

What we did: flats at the start, I think 20 flats and 6 small covers? Washing every second day, airers up inside constantly cos it was a Melbourne winter and nothing dried outside! (Hence flats over prefolds - I found the extra folding was no biggie.) A couple of nice-looking MCN for going out and showing off the cuteness of cloth Then I started building a stash of MCN at the baby expo when she was about 2-3 months old. I wanted to look at things before buying them, but now I'm quite happy buying online I bought one or two of about eight different brands that day, so I could work out what fit her best before investing in a stash. I've found most things fit ok now, but before 6 months she only fit narrow crotch brands, so OSFM (one size fits most) were useless, and even small BBH (Baby Beehinds - brand with a generous fit!) looked ridiculously large.

[Nai]

Some nappies fit certain body shapes better than others but some things that I have found with my 2 in cloth

- pocket nappies are great for Melbourne, AIO's take way too long to dry and you can get extra inserts as the outers dry quicker than the inserts
- don't buy a whole stack of a certain type until you know you like them and they suit your bub
- get some second hand ones cheply to try
- I love Fuzzibunz, Happy Heiny's, Ecobubs

[Yeddi]

What you need to begin with can depend on the size of bub too. As my DS was a big boy I was able to use sized small itti's from birth, just changing out the inserts unless he did a poo. I've tried heaps of brands but I always go back to fitteds (like BBH bamboo) with a cover, I'm a purist and prefer wool soakers or longies. If it's about the $$ OSFM fitteds would most probably be a better option than sized AIO's or AI2's, they're not as "pretty" but it's one of the most practical and cheapest ways to go.

[M D]

Ok so I'm subsrcibing to. I did cloth for DD when she was bigger but have been tossing up whether to do it with this one from NB.

I leaning towards starting mainly because of the enviromental impact dispossibles have but also the cost.

Does someone have a link to Maz's website??

[Lenny]

I started cloth with DS1 when he was about 11 months, so I went first to prefolds (because of price) then slowly purchased some of each different nappy style until i found what i loved. This turned out to be mostly Pocket nappies OSFM like BumG's. I liked that i could dry them in the winter time fairly easily - moreso than the AIO's. Hey, it's Melbourne remember - it's not always sunny!

Turns out some nappies fit some kids and some nappies fit other kids. DS1 was skinny, so some brands just didn't work well. I even had to buy 2 different swimmer's for him because the first wasn't quite right. Still a LOT cheaper than sposies. For this reason, I'd never recommend buying one of those massive 'all you ever need' offers that some websites do where you can buy 101 nappies all at once. JIC they aren't quite right.

DS2 was easy because i already had lots of prefolds and flats from DS1 for the NB stage.

Wanna look at some? I'm sure you could get a few of us together and we could bring you some to look at and play with.

[*TripleJ*]

well both of my kiddies have about 20 each including nights DD from birth i probably changed every feed so about 8 to 10 times a day no its every 2-3 hours and one for nights so about 8 hours

used prefolds and flats at birth now using pockets and AI2's ittis, babybeehind magicalls, greenkids OSFM and dragonfly magic OSFM

[~clover~]

Ok so I'm subsrcibing to. I did cloth for DD when she was bigger but have been tossing up whether to do it with this one from NB.

I leaning towards starting mainly because of the enviromental impact dispossibles have but also the cost.

Does someone have a link to Maz's website??

Look up wahmnaps/mazalicious, or search mazalicious on facebook

[luna moth]

I was lucky too... we got away with 8 nappies a day, and with a boosted nappy we could go 9-10 hours overnight in the one.

I used a few prefolds, but I loved my fitteds and covers. Like Kim, I loooooved the Spunky Butts and Dream Eze fitteds, and my favourite covers were probably the Bummis covers. I also used Mother Ease Rikki covers and later a Tots Bots cover, which is still great.
For travelling, I have been using AIOs and AI2s. Great fits on my little (actually, she's huge) bubba have been Ecobubs, Bubblebubs and Babmbootys. She's got massive thighs and a little short waist.

If you want to start a stash fairly cheaply, I think I'll have some second hand stuff going pretty soon. Might post it here, but if you want first dibs, I'm cool with that

[Cassius2]

for me i kinda just fell headlong into it and bought a full-time pack (26 nappies) of bumgenius pocket nappies (ie they fit from newborn to toddler). i have used them full-time for both girls so far and LOVE them. very easy to use and super easy to clean.

with the 26 we would wash every 2-3 days. but seriously it is not hard to do...they dont need soaking, just chuck 'em in and voila! and they dry super super quick.

i'll PM you the lady we went through as she was really helpful when i was buying them.

i have tried a few others...cushie tushie (didnt like them at all ), kangas (ok) and some really pretty ones (erica's). the latter are just gorgeous on, but are more IMO for looks than performance ITMS.

my bum-g's are a for us a total workhorse and sooo worth the $$

[~Hestia~]

Moo pooed on average 24 times per day in the early weeks, which is why I didn't start using cloth on him until he was about 6 weeks old. I struggled with our regular washing so there was no way I could handle extra at that stage. Once we were past that I found the washing really easy and LOVED hanging out and stuffing his nappies Still do!

I started off with 8 and have slowly built up to 30 MCNs, half sized and half OSFM. I thought I'd hate the sized nappies as they wouldn't last long...but he was/is in them for months. Moo goes through maybe 7 nappies perday, that's only for day use as I use sposies for night.

I wash every 2 days and don't run out of nappies - I probably use the same fav 16 nappies over and over. I don't have a dryer so am relying on the sun and wind! Winter I do find the AIOs take a couple of days to completely dry though.

My absolute fav nappies are the BumGenius. They wear so well, he's been in them since we started and the velcro is still perfect and the elastic hasn't stretched so well worth the expense. They are pocket so are faster drying. My 2nd fav are the OSFM BabyBeeHinds, again worth the expense but a bit chunkier under his pants. The last brand I have are the Hautes which are a cheaper version of the BG. He has been in these since I started too but they haven't held up as well so I only use them if I have to.

Good Luck! It's overwhelming when you first start but I'm sure you'll soon get the hang of all the brands and lingo