in the cloth

baby bee hinds

Finally I have gotten round to writing a post about cloth nappies.

I love the idea of a reusable nappy. It's good for the environment, looks super-duper cute and is softer on little babies skin. They have come a long way since the terry toweling days of old. They don't need to be soaked for long periods of time. Just scrape off the solids and pop in the washing machine.

As they get more and more popular there are so many different brands of cloth nappy. Each baby is different and therefore each baby will need a different type of nappy to avoid spills and leakages.

baby bee hinds

For this reason we have decided to go with the disposables for the newborn stage and then see if we can sample other brands to choose the right one for our little girl.

There is a fantastic website and brochure all about cloth nappies, the brands and advice on choosing a brand. They say that you will need 30 nappies from birth to toilet training.






There are a few things you need for cloth nappying.

green kids

Nappies - all in one (waterproof cover included), fitted (with elastic in the legs) , one size fits all, different sizes, pocket nappies (liners come out making them quicker to dry), prefold (like terry flats but with an absorbent panel)

They come in a multitude of different materials. Bamboo, hemp, minkee, silk, sherpa...

You can get snap fastners or velcro. Snap fastners are harder to undo but also harder to replace.

green kids

Liners - cloth or throwaway. It's for the solids so your nappies don't get as messy as they could.

You can also get booster liners to put in the nappies for night times or when the little one is extra "full."

Imse Vimse wipes

 Baby wipes - cloth or throwaway. Wet pieces of cloth work just as well, are much cheaper and can be put in the machine with the nappies.

Nappy bag/bucket - Something to put the stinkers in while you are out or at home before you do a wash.

itti bitti

So.. things I need to consider are

- what babies bot bot is like.
- how I am going to clean the nappies. We have a big washing line that gets plenty of sun and a big powerful washing machine and access to a drier. This means I can get nappies that are more absorbent but take longer to dry. (bamboo)
- how much money I have to spare upfront/will have in the future. Should I get one size fits all or small-medium-large when the time comes.
-the fabric I/baby likes. I'm personally not a huge fan of the minkee. Maybe it's really comfy but I just don't like the look of it.



What brand do you use? How did you plan for cloth nappies before your baby was born?