Flat nappy discussion

Hiya. I've noticed that there isn't a flat nappy discussion so I thought, hey, I'll start one.:dance:

The general cloth nappy discussion is great, just that more than 90% of mums are using MCNs and not many people are using flats any more. So this thread is for those who want info and want to chat about flat nappy use.

I use terry flats and Tots Bots Fleece covers. :clap: We've only had one or two leaks, just by leaving it a bit late to change her.

Welcome!

Hey!

I am using terry cloths too... have a few leakage problems though! Where do you get the Tots Bots Fleece covers from??

I used Flannies & now Terry's with snappis & a snib to hold it on... Very rarely do we get any sort of leakage!!!

i use terrys at home and mcn when we go out !!

i dont often use a cover , but if i do its a bbh

and same , no leaks here ..
i love seeing a terry flat on his butt
so innocent ...

What am I doing wrong then?!?!? Aaarrgghhh! It probably happens maybe 3 times a week that my little mans numbers 2's escape out his legs!!

I've got one word for you Danielle......covers! You need really good covers. Oh, and are you tucking the nappy in around the legs nice and tight?

We started with flanny flats with eenees snibs, we're now onto TT flats with a snappi and mostly Motherease Rikki covers, with some Baby Behinds PUL covers too. Motherease are my favourite though. Haven't had a wee leak for aaaages, and we only had our first poo leak this week! It was my fault, I left him in it too long........he was in bed with me and I fell asleep! Bad mummy!

Great idea this thread, nice to know I'm not the only flat user :)

I think I might need to invest in some new covers. I try and tuck the sides in around his legs as tight as possible but he is a little wriggle worm and always manages to somehow get it a bit looser!!

Sez- you made me laugh with the "I have one word for you!" ROFL

Darlings down under have got a great selection and good prices. I was going to get PUL covers for day but we decided on fleece so we can use at night and also they have a bigger weight range, 9-16kg.

Oshani, perhaps its the kind of fold that is a problem. I've found that for El's size, we need more of a t-shape rather than triangle. I was getting frustrated on having it too long in the thigh, so I googled for some pictures and found a great one that works.

I love the fleece covers I have, so colourful!

I love his chunky butt, it's so delicious LOL! It was so funny today at mother's group, he was in a sposie and I went to tap him on the bum........I went in a bit too hard and all the girls were like "oh that's bit rough!". I had to explain that I'm used to his big fat cloth bum which needs a good tap if he's to feel it LOL.

YEP Covers! Although I am safely still using the snibs as you tie them on as tight as you need, I have a few Tots bots small covers with the leg gussets which are awesome too.
I have a few small MCN, but mostly we stick to Terry's ATM.
Indah is still in MCN, I sent my Flanny's to willow (whom can now start using them on her little man!)

i love my tt's atm he got a white one on , and sezjem, ikwym by the hard hit on the bum , everytime i see him i have the urge to pat his bum .. hehehehe

love the flushable liners too ... and i love seeing flats flying in the breeze on the line ...

That's great that Willow has your flannies Tracey! How good are snibs, I miss them. Which tots bots covers have you got? I love anything with a good leg gusset LOL!

Oooh yeah, I love patting that bum! I reckon it's gorgeous!

The Tots Bots covers I have (Hmm, dont know it's technical name) are the ones with the large Dots & leg gussests!??? hee hee huge help hey!?
I also have the Bummis wraps too!!

What's a snib? I use snappis. Fantastic, no pins and really quick! The tots bots with the large polka dots are fleece. I have those. And the rainbow ones and red ones. I bought 9. And we use chux cloth (cheapo brand) cut into wide strips (4 per chux) as liners, and in between that and nappy is a piece of microfleece folded in half. We've had no problems. Except her sticky poos atm, hard to clean off. We're still fine tuning our home made little squirt.

Just a note, don't let zinc and castor oil type creams touch the nappy, they prevent the nappy absorbing water. It water proofs the nappy.

My Tot Bots arent fleece... They are PUL...

Oh ok cool, sorry got confused. No matter what brand they are, PUL are fantastic! I bought some but sent them back straightaway as I wanted to refund them to get only fleece to have a longer use of them. Hey, it took like 10 hours of research altogether to figure it out.

What fold does everyone use? I'm still using the pad fold thingie LOL with the back pulled up, but I figure I can't do that forever, he'll get too big?

Any tips from those with boys as to which fold is best? I'm too lazy to figure it out myself :p

Rory, I was going to ask you what you use for Flynn, but that thread was closed! Hope you're reading this.

I use the kite fold. I only know that one and the "pad fold thingy" that you mentioned Janie.

Have alook onthe Nurture Nappies website they have thirsties brand on sale & they have some great looking PUL covers with leg gussets for $14 each.

Oh nice! I have tots bots fleece covers, which will last till 16kg. And I have 9, so I may not get any. But how long is this sale on for?

Found this thread!

Janie I use the kite fold for Flynn and the triange with the padded bit in the middle for Ollie.

Ollimoo I am like you - I only know two folds :)

when I do the kite fold for Flynn I put a microfibre or bamboo booster in the middle too.

I love the cloth butt too - it is the only thing that holds Flynn's jeans up LOL!!

Thanks Rory, I hadn't thought of boosting a flat, great idea!

Yeah I agree, great idea putting a booster in.

Does anyone know of any actual stores where I can buy covers? I don't really shop online.

darlings down under

fantastic site, and you can pay with bank deposit, credit card and money order. they have HEAPS of selections.

and for nappy bosster fabrics etc, google for nappy works


Sorry, had to edit out the links, as per rules, thanks FJ for reminding me!

Thanks mummycate, I will check it out.

Hi girls
I wanna use flats - though i have no idea how to fold one:doh:. Guess we'll figure that out
anyhoo, just looking for some advice
Flats are ok for newborns, right? Any advice you can offer me on folds, covers, liners, etc?
What's the easiest way to buy flats? I'd really like to get organic ones if possible.
Thanks in advance,

I used flanny flats with BBH covers until Caty was about 6 months old (with a combination of MCN). I used the bat/butterfly/chinese fold from the Nappy Lady's site. We stopped using them after 6 months as they aren't very absorbant compared to the MCN I have. We'll be using them again on the next bub though.

Thanks for that. I thought flats were supposed to be more absorbent...?

It would depend on the material the MCN are made from. If the MCN is something like Bamboo or Hemp, they are much more absorbent materials then the cotton terry flats. You can however get bamboo flats.

Yep. My flanny flats were just cotton. Bamboo & hemp kick cottons butt (in a nice, friendly way!).

Girls, sorry for the intrusion, but I would like to start my cloth nappy use with some flats and covers... I was wondering if any of you could offer suggestions for the actual nappy brands and where to get them... I am expecting a boy, so if there are any special suggestions you could make for that too..... Your cover ideas have been most helpful!!

Ruf, I can't remember what brand of flats I used......but I used flanellette to start with as it's less bulky on a newborn. I changed to terry towelling at about 4 months. If you buy both you can used the terry as spew cloths etc (you'll need heaps!) while you use the flanny flats as nappies, and then swap it around when you need to. So you're not really doubling up :)

I used the same fold as Cat, the bat/butterfly/chinese fold, it's pretty common, and what they'll teach you in your classes etc. I have a boy and it works just fine on him. Contains nb poo well ;)

I loved using eenees snibs when DS was tiny, they are fantastic! As well as Motherease Rikki covers, I still use them now, they rock!

Thanks Janie! It seems so confusing staring out. But I am sure I will get the hang of it!
The eenee snibs look great for a starter... Might be good till he gets a bit bigger and I can get some good covers in a bigger size. Would you use the eenees at night too?

I use flannelette flats on my newborn (well, 2 month old now!) and 20 month old. Spotlight sells it for $2.50 a metre so I just got the MIL and my mum to hem up some squares for me....

Roryrory -

Thanks for the idea to buy flannelette at SL and sew my own squares! I hadn't thought of that option. I used terry flats with DS as a newborn and found them very bulky so am thinking of flanny flats for bubba #2 (we will be TTC soon) but was shocked at how much more expensive they are!

Do you buy white flannelette or patterns for your flanny flats? I reckon I could manage to hem them myself as I took a basic sewing class in high school and got quite good at making clothes for my cabbage patch doll!

Ruf, I hate to break it to you, but in the early days (when you would be using snibs) you're changing bubs as often at night as during the day! So yes, I would use the snibs at night. Sometimes an aplix cover is easier though, when you're dea on your feet at 3am ;) I used the x-small Rikki (I had 2) in conjunction with the snibs.

Cool - I think i should get some flanelette too. I ordered some covers online (small size) and they don't really look big enough to use over terry squares. The motherease ones look ok, but not sure about others. The bummi original particularly is really tiny. Hope they'll exchange the too-small ones. Guess I should have gotten bigger ones....

Marcellus, I really found that terry was wa y too big for my DS until he was 4 months old. He was particularly tiny, but even so, for the first few months I appreciated having flannelette. The only reason I changed to terry was because he was out-weeing the flannelette. We still find terry's work well for us now though.

As I said somewhere in another thread (can't remember where) when bub is small and you're using the flanny flats, you can use your terrys as spew cloths etc (you need alot!) and then when bub goes into terry nappies, you can swap them over IYKWIM.

You shouldn't have a problem with covers if you're using flannies. I used the x-small rikki for ages, about 4 months. Wasn't a fan of the bummis, so I can't help there, but it was too big for DS when he was a newborn, so I think you should be fine with it.

Thanks! Flannies it is then

oh, if I buy from spotlight, is any fannelette ok, or is there a special kind?
Thanks again