Social media can be a
wonderful thing, so wonderful in fact that this is where I met the lovely Innes.
When I was pregnant, I stumbled across modern day cloth nappies Innes’s Instagrampage. It was Innes who helped get me started with cloth nappies and she has
been my go to trusty source of knowledge ever sense. She is a seasoned expert having two
little ones in cloth nappies and I thought there was no one better person to
invite over to my blog to help answer all your cloth nappy Q&As. So, let’s
get started…
 |
| Pim Pam nappy, Image by Innes Vautier |
From Innes...
Getting started with
cloth nappies can be daunting, but once you get going it’s often a lot less
scary than it seems! To help you on the way, Meg has asked me to answer some of
your most common questions. If you’d like more help, you can head over to my blog where I’ve got
plenty more blog posts on cloth nappies. I also always recommend getting some
personalised help. The best way is to see if you have a local nappy library, or
you can contact one of the many retailers that offer personalised advice. My
favourite is The Nappy
Gurus (probably because I am one of their nappy gurus!)
1. How many nappies do
you need for full time?
Most modern cloth
nappies are ‘one size’ or ‘birth-to-potty’, which means that you can generally
use the same nappy from around 3.5-16 kg. You’ll need around 20 daytime nappies
for full-time use, if you’re washing every other day. You can choose to have
fewer nappies and just wash more frequently. In addition, you may need a few
special nighttime nappies (more on that later!). Generally, having 4 night
nappies is a good idea because they’re slower drying.
If you’re planning to
use cloth nappies from birth, you may need a set of newborn nappies, especially
if little one is on the small side and is unlikely to fit one size nappies from
birth. For the first couple of months babies need changing much more
frequently, so 25-30 is a good number if you want to be sure of not running
out. You also won’t need special night nappies for newborns - more on that
below!
2. What do you do at night?
Newborn babies poop
through the night (lovely!) until they’re at least 2 months old, so until that
stops you can use the same nappies at night as you use in the day. Once baby is
sleeping longer stretches, it’s a good idea to use a super absorbent nighttime
nappy that will last the full twelve hours.
Using cloth at
nighttime takes a bit of trial and error, so generally it’s a good idea to get
daytime sorted before you think about nights. Some people even choose to
continue using disposables at night, which is a totally valid option!
Once you’re ready to
tackle nights, most people use a fitted nappy, which is essentially an
absorbent piece of material in the shape of a nappy, with a waterproof cover
over the top. This is the most absorbent kind of nappy so is very reliable for
lasting the whole night.
Other people use
their daytime nappies at night but add more absorbency, though this option only
tends to work for babies that are lighter wetters. Some nappies (known as
all-in-twos) have the ability to switch out the normal absorbent insert for a
more absorbent nighttime version. Other nappies can be made more absorbent by
adding extra layers of material, known as boosters.
3. Can you use nappy creams with your nappies?
Yes you can, although
you’ll need to use a nappy liner for lots of them. This is because creams can
coat the fibres of the nappy and affect their absorbency. Some creams are safe
directly against the nappy. My favourite cloth-safe option is the Weleda
Calendula Cream, but coconut oil is also fine and is lovely and natural.
*hey it’s Meg jumping
in here* - Pure Beginnings and Oh Lief are available in South Africa and are
cloth nappy safe
4. What do you do with dirty nappies?
Used nappies can be
stored in either a large waterproof bag, known as a wet bag, or in a bucket
lined with a mesh bag. Before babies are weaned, all their dirty nappies can go
straight into the bag or bucket. However once babies start eating solid food,
you need to remove poop from the nappies before they go into the bucket.
Using nappy liners
can be really helpful for this. Disposable liners can simply be lifted out of
the nappy along with any poop, and binned. With fleece liners, you simply shake
the liner over the toilet so any solids fall in, or hold the liner under the
toilet flush so that the clean water gives them a good rinse.
When your nappy’s
been rinsed, pop it into your bucket or bag to await wash day. There’s no need
to soak or boil nappies as your mum or grandma might have done!
5. Do the dirty nappies smell?
It’s important to
leave your bag or bucket open a bit so that the nappies don’t smell. It sounds
counterintuitive, but using an airtight bucket will make them smell because
they won’t have any airflow. Leave your storage open and you shouldn’t have any
issues with smells. In fact, lots of people have said to me that this is one
thing they love about cloth - no more stinky nappy bins!
6. How do you wash them?
When it comes to wash
day, you take either your wet bag or the mesh bag from inside your bucket,
empty it into the machine and add the bag itself.
You will need to
put your nappies through two washes - pre-wash and main wash.
Pre-wash: Empty your nappy
bucket or bag into the machine and put it on a 30-60 minute wash cycle at
40°C (warm), with half a dose of detergent as specified on the packet.
Don’t confuse this with the pre-wash setting on your machine - it needs to be
an actual cycle.
Main wash: Before you put this
wash on, make sure that your machine is ⅔ to ¾ full by adding small pieces of
clothing, hand towels and tea towels. Just make sure that the things you add
are white or light coloured, to avoid colour run. Then put your machine on its longest
cycle (at least 2 hours long) at either 40°C or 60°C (warm or hot), with a full
dose of detergent as specified on the packet.
 |
| Pim Pam Cloth Nappy, Image by Innes Vautier |
7. How often do you need to wash them?
It’s a good idea not
to leave your nappies too long between washes. Most people wash every 2-3 days.
Regularly leaving them dirty for longer than 3 days can damage them.
8. What’s the best detergent to use?
Most detergents will
work fine, though eco-friendly or all-natural detergents sadly tend not to have
enough cleaning power to work properly on nappies. Go for a good mainstream
detergent and you shouldn’t have any trouble. Just make sure it doesn't contain any fabric softener as this will affect the absorbency of your nappies.
9. How do you avoid blowouts?
One of the best
things about cloth nappies is that they are incredible at containing leaks.
When I used disposables when my first baby was born, we’d get blowouts pretty
much weekly. With my second, who’s been in cloth from birth, I’ve never yet had
a poo leak! The experience is the same for the vast majority of cloth nappy
users. Because cloth nappies have proper elastics that fit nice and snug on
baby’s back and legs, there’s no room for leaks. If you’re particularly
concerned about leaks, then going for a nappy with a double gusset is best.
Double gussets have two rows of elastic, so there’s two lines of defence
against the dreaded poonami.
10. How do you cope with it all?
I have two little
ones and I’d say that using cloth nappies is far from the hardest thing I do as
a mum! Although there’s a bit of a learning curve, it very quickly becomes
second nature. Getting help at the start from blogs or friends, or an advice
service like I suggested is really vital to help support you through the early
weeks. But once you’re past that, it’s just habit. Having a baby brings more
washing anyway, so you’ll find you get into a rhythm of doing regular washes.
Doing the nappies just becomes another one of those!
The biggest thing for
me is that a little extra work is worth it for the sake of the environment and
my children’s future. You will get through so many nappies before a child is
potty trained, which can be such a huge burden on the planet. Switching to
cloth is really rewarding and so worthwhile. I really hope it’s something that
you love as much as I do!
It's Meg again here, I
hope that has helped you. If you have any questions please pop them below! And
if you aren’t already following Innes head over to Instagram and give her a
follow. You’re going to love her!
xoxo
