We have converted...

....to cloth nappies!!!!

Just want to share my excitement!!!!:clap:

After lot's of research and trial and error, we have settled on Pikapu AIO's. We have been using them for about a week now I can't believe the difference in DD2's bum:D. No more red, shiny chaffed bum cheeks, and she seems so much happier!! We have also started using reusable bamboo wipes, just dampened with water.

I'm quite (pleasantly) surprised at how little work cloth actually is. No soaking or harsh chemicals... and I can no longer smell my wheelie bin from the end of my street:redface:

PS... my mum thinks we've turned feral!!!!

Congratulations! :D

yeh, all the people that "knocked" me for wanting to use MCN, made it sound like it would be so hard. The reality was so different, i was surprised how easy i found it. i didn't know if it would be easy or hard, but i wanted to find out. (i did have a Little Squirt to get rid of the poo, made it so easy. - without that, i may have had a differnent opinion LOL).

Great news on your bub's bottom skin being so much healthier, we found the same. i had been using JJ baby wipes on my bub for 1st six weeks of her life - nappy rash constantly. i switched to cloth wipes and water - skin clearned up immed.

Congrats! I love cloth - it really is easy, DD2 has never worn a sposie!

Welcome to the dark side lol
:D

I too was suprised at how little work cloth was, I envisioned a PILE of smelly nappies every day!

Hey Gigi, we are gonna try MCN's for this next baby and so I was just gonna ask what "a little squirt" is?? I want this to be easy cos I am a bit worried about whether I will stick to it if it is all too hard. Appreciate your response

XX Bella

bella - its like a little hose thing u put on the toilet :)

it really is awesome =]

Thanks J :) I think my dad has one of those at his house. I might me able to get my hands on one and put it in before this bubba arrives. We are after all renovating the bathrooms in the coming weeks plus the toilet :)

so are washing machines that come with a soak function ;)

we just dry pail (after flushing the poo) and then when the bucket is full, we pop the lot in on heavy duty with a soak!

done :D

and a great big :nahnah: to the 50-something year old checkout chick at Big W who after seeing me buying terry flats said that she'd see me in a few weeks to buy huggies ;)

Peanut yet, don't u just love the naysayers?! They have nothing better to do than try to crush people's dreams. Boo to them.

I just worry I won't have enough nappys to wash and will have rotting nappies in buckets. Will just have to have a try, I bought about 11 second hand nappies for $127 including postage and my friend who has done mcn's reckons I got a good deal. If I like it I can always buy more. Also I got about 4 different types so I can see what suits this baby. DD is having her first try of a mcn tonight cos my sister bought one for her. She is only in nappies overnight now and sometimes is dry so we will see how it goes. The nappy is a pocket nappy I think with a short minke outer layer that is pink and covered in pooh bear designs. DD thought it was very special and was excited to wear it. I will use it every second night I think cos we still have about 15 sposies. See how it goes!

:

---

Hey Gigi, we are gonna try MCN's for this next baby and so I was just gonna ask what "a little squirt" is?? I want this to be easy cos I am a bit worried about whether I will stick to it if it is all too hard. Appreciate your response

XX Bella

---

hi there Bella,
i think with MCN, if you are set up to do it, it's do-able.
But if you don't have what you need, WHEN you need it, i think it would all get too hard very quickly.
it's a totally different mindset than sposies.

e.g with sposies, sometimes bubs don't get changed as often, i suppose people think "wanna get my money's worth from this one nappy before it gets thrown away", but with a MCN, because you're going to wash it, use it again, the motivation to change them whenever it's needed, is there, because you don't have to worry about it going in the bin.

The Little Squirt is a plumbing device, that you attach to your toilet.

Some people get a plumber to install it.
If you have someone in your life, who knows how to fix washers on taps, they have the tools and know how to install a little squirt.
If you don't have that, best get a plumber to do it for you.

Is your 09 DD over two now? If you are ONLY using say one night nappy for her per day, it might be easier to stick to sposies for her, until the new bub comes along (purely from a washing the nappies, point of view). Once nb comes along, you will easily get a nappy bucket full per day, to add your older DD's night nappy to, so then, easy one nappy wash per day.

But it woudln't hurt to get teh little squirt NOW, have a practise with it BEFORE new bub comes along. The instructions say to put the nappy in the toilet bowl, and aim the little squirt "gun" DOWN, quite low in the bowl. Only depress the trigger HALF way down. When you first use the LS, it's easy to depress it 100% and then you'll end up squirting the walls of the toilet room by mistake! With a little practise, you learn how to REALLY only depress it halfway, and then it does the job perfectly.

LS each item one at a time.
e.g LS the fitted nappy, then LS the cover, then LS the liner.
drop each item into the nappy bucket, so you have both hands free, to LS the next thing.

Lockable nappy buckets are great, i got mine from Target (under $20).

my answer is, unprepared for mcn, yes it would be too hard
but if you read, ask questions etc, buy up on the essentials, it is do-able.
i am very poo squeamish, and i gave myself a week, and if i hadn't got the hang of it by then, i would have given up. i came home from hospy, unwell and caring for a nb, too sleep deprived to remember everything and the MCN mums online were SO FANTASTIC, giving me tips, asking my dazed questions, helping me thru that first week of using MCN on my tiny bilby. I worked out very fast, that the OSFA type were not going to suit my bub. which was a surprise to me. but i had bought a variety of MCN, so i just tried the other ones, and they worked better (for my bub). ANd at first, i was SO TIMID when doing up the covers, then of course, with me doing them LOOSE, they did leak. Cos i was scared of hurting her little legs (1st time mum). i needed encouragement to do them up firmly enough. i learnt, when you use MCN, the way it's designed to be used, it actually works. But it sure does help to see other mums change THEIR bubs nappies, in front of you. i learnt heaps from watching experienced mcn mums at Nappycino meetups, Belly belly meetups etc. i need to see thigns to totally understand.

Using MCN is about observation of your baby too. You're much more aware of their output, which is excellent when they are ill, as you can answer the GP's questions better about how much they are outputting.

For going out with an MCN'd baby,
a MCN wetbag (i liked the size of the baby beehind ones, they have a very sturdy zip too - useful when you think you'll be washing it heaps),
a packet of baby wipes like Babycare Nature or the Gaia bamboo ones,
a changemat,
some Hands First hand sanitiser (the only one i found that has zero alcohol in it),
take more MCN than you think you'll need, there are always unexpected delays etc.
You'll need a bigger nappy bag than for sposies.

and when you tt Miss 2009, Potettes (very lightweight, folding potties) are great for outandabout. Allegedly available at target but not where i live, i got mine online.

my child just turned 5, i miss her mcn days, she looked so cute in it. I felt like it was my gift to her, to protect her skin in those early years. out of all the things we tried in that first week, we ended up using bamboo prefolds with covers (with leg gussets to catch runny explosive nb poosplosions) - the LAST option i thought i would use (when pregnant, two things, instead of one thing, sounded like something i would not like). But it suited her, so i suddenly changed my mind. And found that prefolds and covers, if you laid the prefold inside the cover ahead of time, was really only ONE thing to put on her, at nappy change time. And for the next two years, i used those same bamboo prefolds, but as she grew, instead of using them as prefolds, i was using them as boosters and pocket stuffers in her other styles of nappies. The pockets and AIO's suited her much better from 6kg onwards. But that's just one bub. Many other bubs suit the OSFA from the very start. They're all different.

best of luck on your journey - it IS a journey when you're learning about something new

nappycino
ozclothnappies dot org
two places for more info

once my DD was as dry as your bub is NOW, i got her some blueberry minky trainers, put a brollysheet (mattress protector) on the bed, and that worked really well. The rare times she wet, the blueberry trainer caught the majority of it, the brollysheet caught the rest.

If your DD is staying dry over night sometimes, that's the first sign of toilet training.

i think i had three night trainers, and two brollysheets (one for the bed, one to put on the bed if she wet). that's all we needed.

Thanks for all that info Gigi. I can see it has become a passion for u and that is exactly the kind of person I née to help me with all of this info. So no doubt I will be asking lotsa questions in the future.

Dd had a good night overnight last night. First thing she did when she woke up was take her nappy off cos she wanted to look at it :). No leaks which was good. I think she is getting ready to night time TT, but I'm not! She is coming into our bed every night at the moment ( well most). At about 1-3. So I don't want to risk her messing up my bed cos being this heavily pregnant I just couldn't cope! I have bought her a new bed which will arrive end of dec and I am getting a trundle to go with it so I can take her back to bed and lay down with her and get her used ro staying in her bed. My sister reckons the Brolly sheets are awesome too. So I will def get her one of those. Anyway thanks for all ur help. I am washing towels today so I will wash her mcn in that cos I don't use fabric softener with them either :).

one tip:

use sposies in the first few days, while the meconium passes through ... it sticks like tar, and is really rotten to try to clean off MCNs ...

and because you feed so often, you change just as often so you're not leaving them on too long. then start cloth as soon as the meconium has finished clearing through :)

bella, put a mattress protector ON YOUR BED, so when your LO comes in with you, you are not stressing about "what if she has a whoopsie in MY bed".

you will get alot of use out of a DOUBLE set of brollysheets. Cos when they wet, you strip the bed, put them back to bed and then you need the 2nd brollysheet. I remember doing this, usually at 4.30am when you are a walking zombie!