Hi,

I am ashamed to say that for the first nine months of my baby’s life I have been using disposable nappies! 

I did buy bambinex nappies before my son was born, a huge investment really and I know I should have tried lots of different ones, but I was so desperate to get “ready” before the baby came and see all my lovely nappies stacked up I just bought bambinex based on internet reviews.  I do really like them and the nappies seem to fit him well.

Well, I am wanting to make the switch from disposable to real nappies, but I need a little advice from existing users please.

My Bambinex nappies are a shaped bamboo nappy with bamboo inserts and then an additional wrap.  I am finding that the wrap leaves marks on my baby’s back, he doesn’t seem bothered but I worry they hurt him a bit?  I have tried putting the wrap on looser but it is still pinchy at the pack due to the design, so my questions are:

Do I need to use a wrap or can I get away with just the nappy and insert?
Is there a material that is more absorbent than bamboo that I can use to make the nappy more absorbent so as not to have to use the wrap?

Also the logistics of using real nappies:

Is he more likely to get nappy rash?
How do I deal with a pooey nappy?
Should I soak pooey nappies or not?  If so what in?

So, so sorry to ask so many questions, but I am really keen to use them and have felt so conflicted using disposable nappies!

Any advice will be gratefully received! 

Hannah

Hi Hannah,
I haven’t used that particular type of nappy, but most prefolds are the same.

Do I need to use a wrap or can I get away with just the nappy and insert?  Yes, you need to use a wrap or cover, if you don’t the nappy will soak through.
Is there a material that is more absorbent than bamboo that I can use to make the nappy more absorbent so as not to have to use the wrap?  Not that I know of.  However I would suggest woolies (woolen nappy covers) instead of a PUL wrap.  Wool, if lanolised, is waterproof and it is breathable.  They keep the nappy from getting too hot and steamy, so prevents sore bums and as they are woolen they don’t cut into skin like the PUL ones do.  I so wasn’t convinced that wool pants would work, but I would never go back to anything else.  The only time they are not that great is when baby is sat for a long time in one place, ie: a car journey.

Is he more likely to get nappy rash?  No.  I think nappy rash depends on the child, my first never had it, my second did.
How do I deal with a pooey nappy?  You can use liners.  Paper liners are flushable, just chuck the pooey liner in the loo and flush. (or you can use flece liners but tbh when getting used to them after disposables, paper ones are best to start with)  Then put dirty nappies (with all esacped poo washed or wiped off) into a bucket with a lid until washday.
Should I soak pooey nappies or not?  If so what in? No

Hope this helps,
Michelle x

We used a combo of bambinex nappies and fleece wraps with grace. I never had bambinex wraps, but had little lamb pul ones and had the same cutting into the legs problem. Fleece wraps sorted it because all the elastic is covered by fleece, so it doesn’t get wet and irritate around the leg seams. I had a couple of tots bots fleece wraps, a couple of swaddlebees and mostly Nannie Cool ones. We found the tots bots and nannie cool ones to be a lot better fit than the swaddlebees, but we had a tall skinny baby - a wider one might do better in swaddlebees.

Hope you manage to get it sorted.

Angie

Forgot to say - I never used a wrap when grace was a newborn, unless we were going in the car, as I wanted to be able to change her as soon as she was wet. That works fine until they are about three months old, then you definitely need to start using a wrap as one wee can *soak* a nappy!

Angie

There are many on here with much more experience than me, but here’s what i’ve got from my 5 months experience.

You definitely need a wrap. We had a couple of times early on where we forgot. Her clothes were wet, our clothes were wet. Which type of wrap do you have? We’ve used both the water-resistant (pul?) and the fleece ones and now really prefer the fleece. They don’t leak if you keep on top of them and her skin is much better in them.

At the moment, we put all the nappies and liners in the dry bucket together and wash with bio-d washing powder and nappy wash. That said, we’ve not started any solids, so there’s only nice breast milk poo, not a big deal. I believe that you can just shake off more solid poo into the loo and then pail and wash the same way, but if that’s not so, someone will correct me.

Hope that helps. I love the reusables and use bambinex. Once you get a groove, they’re fab. And cloth nappy bum is bigger and easier to hold, a big bonus! Good luck!

Yes, I forgot to say that we didn’t actually dress Grace without a wrap on! She was pretty much naked for the first three months, as she screamed whenever we dressed her! We got into a groove of holding her with one hand under her bottom, and could change her straight away - on some memorable occasions, before she had actually finished weeing….. Moot point really though, as at 9 months, you will *definitely* need a wrap of some sort!

Angie

Hi

thanks for all your advice.  You have given me lots of useful things to think about.

I have just ordered two nanniecool fleece wraps and can’t wait to get them so I can give them a go. If they work out well I’ll order a couple more.

What do you use to wash your nappies? I have heard of nappies getting sort of detergent bound? How do I avoid this?

Hannah

Use as little detergent as possible (I use about 1/8th of a cap), and if they do get really stinky after your child has only wee’d, then run them through several rinses until you can’t see bubles in the machine at all. Some people use other thngs like vinegar to help strip nappies, but i couldn’t remember what the advice was so I just rinsed them very thoroughly. I only ever had to strip them once though in two years of using them, so it’s not something you need to worry hugely about.

Angie

Hi again,

My new tots bots fleece wrap has arrived today and I can’t wait to use it.  What should I do with it now?  I presume I need to rinse it a few times?

I am enjoying my real nappies and so far have found them easy to manage

Can’t wait for my Nanniecools to arrive.