Reuseable cloth nappies

musharoom

Hi

I am keen to try reuseable cloth nappies for first baby due next month for money saving and environmental/less landfill reasons, (edited to add:) and am looking for advice on terry squares.
I understand Terry squares and wraps are most economical, anyone have any recent experience or advice on where to source? 

Tia 

YBR

There is a huge range of modern nappies, with more convenient options than terry squares.
I have put 2 daughters through washable nappies (now 6 & 8yo) using "pocket" nappies where you put absorbent layers inside an adjustable sized nappy which is waterproof on the outside. You don't have to un-stuff them as they fall out in the washing machine. There used to be a "nappy lady" in my area who had loan kits with a wide range of options so you could try and find out what suited you.
Also consider using washable wipes, at least when at home.
I bought most of ours from internet shops such as "fill your pants" and used "Bumgenius" one-size nappies which adjust with poppers.

musharoom

I'm not looking for modern cloth nappies though, but thank you anyway. 
Have you used tery squares before? Where did you get them? 

Savvy_Sue

No recent experience, but I did use the old-fashioned terry squares with my eldest, from birth. Plastic wraps on top. 

Google how to fold a nappy for a multitude of ways of doing it. 

And google where to buy them. Mine came from Mothercare. 

rach_k

I used to run a nappy library.  Have a look for the UK nappy network on Facebook and see if there's one near you.  They may not be lending right now but they will be able to offer local advice, if not.

I honestly think terries are more of a second-time mum thing.  That's not meant to be patronising, but I always found that new parents liked the idea of them but then becoming a parent can be so overwhelming in every possible way that you often just need an easy win on the bum.  When you are worrying about literally everything, wet bedding can be just too much.  You might find family and friends more opposed to terries too, but it depends whether you care about that!  

That said, I think cotton terries can be amazing.  They're economical and wash and dry really well.  The different ways to fold them means they can work for pretty much every baby if you're willing to try.  They're really tough - they can be boiled, ironed, bleached and soaked - not that you will need to with modern detergents - but knowing you can pop cotton terries straight on the radiator or in the dryer in an emergency can be useful.  

If you want to try from birth, definitely get a couple of newborn size wraps.  When wraps are 'one size' or 6-15lbs, they tend not to fit a newborn for the first month or so, as a newborn baby is quite a different shape to an older baby of the same weight.  You could try using muslins instead of terries at first, as standard terries are huge on newborns.  You can fold two together or add a booster if needed.  Get nappy nippas instead of pins.  You definitely want modern wraps instead of plastic pants - don't even go there!  If you find you need more absorbency for nights, car journeys etc, have a look into bamboo terries.  They are more delicate and take longer to dry but they absorb an awful lot.

Don't buy a full set of anything, you need to try a few before you invest.  Nappies/wraps are like jeans - different ones suit different people and with nappies you need a good fit.

I always liked www.thenappylady.co.uk and www.twinkleontheweb.co.uk for traditional nappies (as well as more modern styles).  My favourite for less well-known and more exciting things is www.funkymonkeypants.com and www.fill-your-pants.com has some lovely things too.  

Petriix

We used a wide range of reusable nappies for our first daughter. It was exhausting, pretty unpleasant for us, they were bulky and wet next to her skin; and they were significantly more expensive when you factor in the cost of washing them and the flushable liners we used.

Aldi nappies cost around 8p each. It was worth every penny for our second daughter.

musharoom

rach_k said:

I used to run a nappy library.  Have a look for the UK nappy network on Facebook and see if there's one near you.  They may not be lending right now but they will be able to offer local advice, if not.

I honestly think terries are more of a second-time mum thing.  That's not meant to be patronising, but I always found that new parents liked the idea of them but then becoming a parent can be so overwhelming in every possible way that you often just need an easy win on the bum.  When you are worrying about literally everything, wet bedding can be just too much.  You might find family and friends more opposed to terries too, but it depends whether you care about that!  

That said, I think cotton terries can be amazing.  They're economical and wash and dry really well.  The different ways to fold them means they can work for pretty much every baby if you're willing to try.  They're really tough - they can be boiled, ironed, bleached and soaked - not that you will need to with modern detergents - but knowing you can pop cotton terries straight on the radiator or in the dryer in an emergency can be useful.  

If you want to try from birth, definitely get a couple of newborn size wraps.  When wraps are 'one size' or 6-15lbs, they tend not to fit a newborn for the first month or so, as a newborn baby is quite a different shape to an older baby of the same weight.  You could try using muslins instead of terries at first, as standard terries are huge on newborns.  You can fold two together or add a booster if needed.  Get nappy nippas instead of pins.  You definitely want modern wraps instead of plastic pants - don't even go there!  If you find you need more absorbency for nights, car journeys etc, have a look into bamboo terries.  They are more delicate and take longer to dry but they absorb an awful lot.

Don't buy a full set of anything, you need to try a few before you invest.  Nappies/wraps are like jeans - different ones suit different people and with nappies you need a good fit.

I always liked www.thenappylady.co.uk and www.twinkleontheweb.co.uk for traditional nappies (as well as more modern styles).  My favourite for less well-known and more exciting things is www.funkymonkeypants.com and www.fill-your-pants.com has some lovely things too.  

Really helpful, thanks. 
There isn't a nappy library near me sadly, I've looked already 😔

My family are not onboard with using cloth nappies, it doesn't bother me. I imagine like most things parenting, it's personal choice!

I appreciate your comment re them being more or a 2nd time parent thing, but I want to give them benefit of the doubt and have a go still. The thought of my bin full of disposables 🤢 and where I live the council fell out with the rubbish collection contractors, so we go sometimes 6 or 7 weeks at a time without general rubbish collection and that was even without lockdown! I don't have the wonga for expensive modern 'just like a disposable but actually reuseable' type nappies either, or the space to dry them.

I won't buy a full set of anything, just a few to try and get started with! Sounds like cotton terry squares are a good place to start, thanks for all the useful info and the links, I will take a look. 

xylophone

https://www.thenappylady.co.uk/flat-pad-and-prefold-nappies/quality-cotton-terry-squares.html
https://www.terrynappies.co.uk/wraps.html

Savvy_Sue

musharoom said:
I don't have the wonga for expensive modern 'just like a disposable but actually reuseable' type nappies either, or the space to dry them. 

How do you plan to dry terry nappies if you don't have the space to dry the fancy ones? 

rach_k

musharoom said:

Really helpful, thanks. 
There isn't a nappy library near me sadly, I've looked already 😔

My family are not onboard with using cloth nappies, it doesn't bother me. I imagine like most things parenting, it's personal choice!

I appreciate your comment re them being more or a 2nd time parent thing, but I want to give them benefit of the doubt and have a go still. The thought of my bin full of disposables 🤢 and where I live the council fell out with the rubbish collection contractors, so we go sometimes 6 or 7 weeks at a time without general rubbish collection and that was even without lockdown! I don't have the wonga for expensive modern 'just like a disposable but actually reuseable' type nappies either, or the space to dry them.

I won't buy a full set of anything, just a few to try and get started with! Sounds like cotton terry squares are a good place to start, thanks for all the useful info and the links, I will take a look. 

Yes, I'm definitely with you on the stinking bins thing!  My next door neighbours seemed to go through millions of disposables and never sealed the bags properly.  One night, I went to put out our bins and wondered what the 'white dots' on the floor were.  Their bin was spewing forth a fountain of maggots... enough to cover the path and road in front of three houses.  It was like something from a horror film!  

Cotton terries are useful for years after you've finished with nappies, so if you buy a few and don't get on with them it'll never be a waste.  I still use them now and my youngest is 9 years old!

rach_k

Savvy_Sue said:

musharoom said:
I don't have the wonga for expensive modern 'just like a disposable but actually reuseable' type nappies either, or the space to dry them. 

How do you plan to dry terry nappies if you don't have the space to dry the fancy ones? 

In winter, it wasn't unusual for the more absorbent all-in-one nappies to take three days to dry on an airer, in my home.  Although a terry is bigger, they are also much thinner when opened out so would dry in a day, easily.  They can also go directly on a radiator and be dry in an hour or so.  I used to use them when I got fed up of washing hanging around our small flat.  

I used to use those sock airer things that open out like an octopus - two pegs on an 'arm' for each terry.  Hang them from a sturdy curtain pole in summer, or from the stairs in winter to catch the heat rising.