The truth of the matter is we didn't use cloth for probably the first month or so, even though we had a huge nearly 10lb baby, they are just too small for cloth. The other thing is the meconium (baby's first black tar-like poohs) will ruin any cloth nappy immediately, so stay well away and give yourself a few months to settle into parenthood before attempting cloth.
I had always said that if I had a child I would use cloth, but the reality of it is - where on earth do you start? There are so many choices out there today and now a really great source is TradeMe. If you are looking for new or used, this is the place to look first and foremost. But before you look, set your criteria, talk to other cloth nappy mum's, they are a wealth of knowledge as to what you want to look for.
My criteria was, NO Velcro, only snap closures, there is nothing worse than spending all your time de-fluffing (although some people say its very calming!). It’s a personal choice on what type of nappy closures you want, some people love Velcro for its extra snug fit, personally I hate it - even if they have washing tabs (which took me forever to find out how they worked) Firstly you will forget to use the washing tabs (which is an extra piece of Velcro to fold the tab back onto so it’s not open to the washing machine and doesn't get caught up with all other nappies and get full of fluff) Secondly, no matter what, they WILL get tangled with all the other nappies and get full of fluff and that is one extra job that will drive you nuts! I have had to get a nit comb to de-fluff the nappies that I do have with Velcro. And thirdly Velcro wears out – it really does lose its effectiveness over the years, so as I said, stay well away!! The other thing to avoid are nappies with snap in liners, go for the pocket nappy, just way easier to clean – with a snap in liner, the pooh will get all over it, under it, around it, as you can imagine, if you are trying to rinse it off in the toilet it’s a bit of a nightmare!
When my first baby was a newborn I wanted nappies that were organic cotton so they were soft on babies bottom, and it was important that they were one-size fits all (usually advertised as OSFA or OSFM), it will save you thousands as it grows with your baby, you don’t have to buy different sets as they grow! I also decided to go with a system that uses waterproof covers over the top of the nappy, so you can re-use the cover and wash the nappy, covers get washed every few days or when soiled. Now that my son is just over 2 we now use cloth at night and I have now bought huge bulk lots of what are called ‘pocket’ nappies, usually at the back they have an opening that you stuff inserts into (the most absorbent insert is Hemp), these are perfect for overnight use – reason being as the insides are made from microfibre that wicks the moisture away from baby so they don’t ‘feel’ the wet. However with saying that, I intend, with our new baby, to use a biodegradable disposables during the night for the first few months as there will be nothing worse than if the baby does a pooh at night and have to go and spray down a nappy.
You can find all sorts of new nappies on TradeMe and Ebay which are ‘Chinese Cheapies’ usually under the name of Babyluv or something along that line and they come in a huge array of colours and patterns. Get one lot of about 5-10 2nd hand ones, DON’T spend a fortune – try it out, see how you go – you might love using the nappies or you might hate it and not want to do it, the last thing you want to do is spend a huge amount of money on them only to find that cloth is not for you! If you do decide that you can handle cloth and this is the way for you to go, then you will get addicted like me and spend vast amounts of money on the amazing nappies that are out there, ‘Minkys’ are my favourite at the moment (a pocket nappy with a fluffy outside, so cute!) Once I trialled these MCN's made from microfibre, I loved them and now purchase new ones off TradeMe and Facebook, there are lots made by Work at Home Mums (WAHM's), I love that they are a great price, made in New Zealand and it allows me to support other Mums in small businesses.
Now we get to cleaning, when babys' still on breast milk, you will need somewhere to hose them them down, we found the outside hose over the drain was best, but cold in winter to run outside. For number 2 we have a hose by the toilet so we can spray straight in - you can get your plumber to install one of these at very little cost. When he was still on breast milk I would wet pail - fill 1/2 a bucket with nappy soaker and water and soak. I have since learnt that Nappy Soaker can degrade the integrity of the fabric of the nappy - so only do it for short periods. Now that he's older and on solids we dry pail, which means we remove all the solid waste and flush it (biodegradable liners are the best) and it gets sprayed with 'Next Generation Stain Remover' (the best stain remover on the market that is also as naturally derived as possible).
This all goes into a bucket as is, and waits the day or two until we have enough to wash, and no it doesn't get smelly. I would have to say disposable nappies are worse in a bucket, they just stink after 1 day. I went on holiday with him when he was about 3 months old and decided that I would take disposables (OKO biodegradable) after 3 days we had a huge rubbish bag full, I was shocked! It really instilled in me that cloth was the right decision for us. There is the time factor of washing, hanging out, folding, at which stage I place my biodegradable liners in my nappy ready to go. With my liners, if they have only had #1's on they get washed and re-used as well. But I find with a little one there is so much washing to do anyway, this really doesn't add much.
Cost is a huge factor as well, there is this misconception out there that the cost of water, stain remover, nappy soaker, laundry power, time all adds up to more than disposables, but it really doesn't. We also use Laundry Balls (and Dryer Balls) which last over 100 washes, are really effective, super cheap and excellent for sensitive skin, I've done another blog on both of those! And remember Microfibre nappies dry so quickly that even on the coldest, wetest day they will be dry in a few hours maximum, you will very rarely need to put them in the dryer! I think it's more like advertising for nappy companies trying to persuade you that disposables are better. I asked a lady in the nappy shop once why she thought people didn't do cloth more, she said that it was too much of an outlay. Well, my response to that is you have 9 months to buy things bit by bit, and now with Trademe buying 2nd hand has never been better. I think our total outlay has not been more than $400 at the most, which has saved us thousands, and more savings to come as we will use them on the new baby!
My advice is cloth nappies are better for baby (we have had a few instances of nappy rash), better for your pocket and by far better for the environment, as in a babys' first year they will use around 3000 nappies! This all goes into our landfill (which is no place for human excrement) and each nappy takes about 500 years to decompose! Its all about WANTING to do cloth, what I have realised after talking to many people is, although some Mums feel guilty about using disposables, there is no converting someone who just isn't interested - but if you WANT to do it, go ahead and give it a try! Feel free to flick me an email at gemma@rejuvenatebeauty.co.nz if you need any more questions answered I am so passionate about cloth that I would be more than happy to help you!
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