Nappy novice needs info...

Ok so DH and I were talking the other day and the subject of nappies came up...

I mentioned that I was thinking about possibly using cloth nappies.

Being a cloth nappy novice... i'm just curious about them at the moment... i know what the benefits are so i don't need any convincing on that part... having said that we will more than likely still buy some newborn sposies til we get all settled in...

what i want to know is where can you buy them from? is it just online stores?
how many would we need? if we decided to use say terry cloth nappys where can i get covers for them or can i make my own?
And which ones are your faves? Which do you highly recommend?
Which should be avoided?
what else do i need to know?

Well first up - read THIS thread, it will cover the basics for you, and give you HEAPS of information.

Most are brought from online stores. There are a few IRL stores, but not too many. Which area are you in? Perhaps we can recommend some stores IRL that sell them for you.

How many would you need? Depends on how often you wash. I have far too many, but I wash every day even though I have a few (cough cough) but I have two in cloth full time. I think the standard of what they say is if you wash every second day, in full time cloth, 24 is usually recommended.

You can get covers from the online stores as well, either PUL, fleece or wool are the best option. The cheaper ones from Kmart and target and stuff don't breathe and are just generally.. well... crap.. LOL
I have many many favs, but thats what suits my children. Which may not necessarily suit yours. its all a case of trial and error, but having said that, there are a few brands out there that suit the greater percentage of bubs - just google for reviews when you come across a brand name. If you get more positive reviews than negative - you could be on to a winner.

Which should be avoided? Ummm.. cheap ones ;) You get what you pay for.

What else do you need to know? Ummm.. dunno.. keep asking questions, and do your research. Nappies is a serious business you know :p

Thanks Arimeh... I'm in Eastern Melbourne and i've found a couple of little stores that i'm dragging DH to tomorrow to have a look... but if anyone knows of any i welcome recommendations!

The other thing i'm kinda curious about is how much it's costs to make your own vs. buying.

:) its always good to actually check them out in real life, feel the fabrics, see the difference and even try them on a teddy or something.

As for the costs, well you'd have to pop into the nappy making thread to ask about that. But I don't think making nappies is that easy - or maybe thats cos I'm just a crap sewer.. LOL

Oh can I jump on here with a few questions?
After doing my head in with 'research' on the subject of MCNs I think what I want to do is this:

I been given 8 bamboo pre-folds and 3 PUL covers from a friend (a UK brand I can't remember). Are these suitable for night? If so, if I get a few more prefolds (to use in daytime if necessary too) and a couple of wool covers for them what sort of boosters do I need?

For day I reckon we'll get some pocket MCNs for a compromise between ease of use and drying time (we're in Melbourne but our baby's due at the end of winter so drying times should be improving already by then and will only get better). Again what sort of boosters do you recommend (if any, or do the inserts they come with do the trick?). How many should I get (given the prefolds above)? and should I have them on hand before the baby arrives or just make do with the prefolds for the first few weeks?

Last question (sorry!) I've read a lot of people recommend having some plain old flat nappies for 'spew rags' and general mess-moppers - how many of these should I get?

Phew! I'm sure the answers are all in these threads already but my head is full and I'm hoping for some quick recommendations from the experienced! :D

Hi Koru :)

Prefolds are great for newborns, especially when teamed with covers with leg gussets (ie, motherease, thirsties). However, Miss M was out of the prefolds by about 6ish weeks, she just outgrew them. I didn't bother trying different folds or anything because she was fitting into fitteds by then so I just used them, and some small AIO's. For the next bub I have about 16 prefolds lined up ready to go :)

I would just use prefolds and flats to begin with, and then move onto pockets. Most pockets are one sized pockets, and probably be too bulky, especially if you have a little bub.

Oh and prefolds and PUL would be fine overnight if you are feeding a lot and changing all the time. We were changing approximately every 3 hours with Miss M, so my prefolds and PUL covers were fine overnight with her. We didn't use wool until later, although we used fleece with our fitteds, just not with the prefolds.

I have about 24 flat nappies - mixture of terry and flanno. I don't often use them as nappies though, I have a pretty big stash so don't really need to. I use them if they poo half an hour before bath time, just chuck them in a flat. OR if they have gastro. Cos then they don't destroy the pretty nappies and I can chuck the flats in napisan without worrying that the elastic will be destroyed!! :)

HTH!!

Thanks Arimeh :D
I might just go with the prefolds and order pockets (yes we are considering the one size type) for around 6 weeks when I have a better idea of how things are going and what sort of 'wetter' I have! What sort of boosters did you use at night?

I just used baby beehinds fitteds for nights until Miss M started outwetting them. Now I use specific night nappies for her. With DS I use green kids pockets - the minky times are awesome for nights. And I just stuff those with their inserts- bamboo preferably.

Thanks for your advice :)
It's my last day at work and I'm doing nappy research! Oh well what are they going to do? Fire me? :lol:

Oh i just thought of another question: what sort of buckets and nappy/wet bags do I need?????

I have 3 buckets from Big W from the baby section, but a lot of people just use normal bins.. lol... doesn't matter too much which ones you get. I got 3 because I have 2 in cloth fulltime, but now that I wash the nappies daily, I only really need one.

As for wetbags - there are HEAPS out there, heaps of different brands to choose from. Most nappy brands also have a wetbag, so its just a matter of choosing what size you want most and what closure type suits you.

Oooh two cloth newbies in Melbourne! Maybe we need to organise a meet up with a few of us for a show and tell :)

what i want to know is where can you buy them from? is it just online stores?
Pretty much. There is Cotton Bottom in Kew (I think it's Kew will double check), Darlings Downunder in Taylors Lakes and The Weewuns in Emerald. Check with them if they allow drop ins for shopping. I know theweewuns used to as I've been there several times ;)
how many would we need? if we decided to use say terry cloth nappys where can i get covers for them or can i make my own?
For a newborn it would be about 3 doz so you have a good sized rotation. They poop stacks and you need drying time. Flanelette is better for a newborn. Terry is just so bulky. You could have a bash at making your own. There are a few free patterns you can download. Google wee waka and have a go. Maz makes fantastic covers too so watch out for her stocking announcements. Other covers I use are the baby beehinds pul or wool covers and the tot bots pul ones
And which ones are your faves? Which do you highly recommend?
If you want to use fitted MCN nappies I can highly recommend kissaluv, itti bitti boos, very baby (you can buy that pattern) to use with covers or All In Ones are bubblebubs, honeyboys (you can buy that pattern too)
Which should be avoided?
Cheap eBay nappies made from just multi layers of flanelette or incontinent material or fluffies from Kmart...
what else do i need to know?
Get a couple of different types to be ready for bub because not everything suits every shape of bub. After bubby arrives and you work out what suits buy more. It's worth paying a bit more for express postage than buying things that might not get more use cos you don't like them.
Also watch buy4baby or nappychic. They are second hand sites where you can pick up some great buys.

My nappy buckets came from BigW too and wetbags from whatever stores I bought nappies at the time I needed one.

Thanks ~Raven~!

I've been doing much searching and discussing with DH about what to use and where to get them from...
We've decided to start off with the terry cloths and flannel flats and some PUL covers at about 6 weeks (roughly), we're only going to use cloth for day time at this stage.

I would like to eventually buy some one size fits all nappies, not sure about fitted. I would also like to go onto full time cloth and use night-time nappies as well... what's good to use?

ETA: what's a SNIB? Are they any good?