New to cloth, advice needed

Hi ladies,

I know there are a few other similar threads which I have read, but thought I would post my own too for your advice.

So, I'm due my second baby in October and would like to use cloth nappies from the start. I have to say that reading about cloth is like learning a new language!

I was thinking of using AIOs, but I believe these are better when baby is older?

At the moment, I am trying to build a stash for the newborn stage, and I have been recommended ME sandy's with Airflow wrap, so I am eyeing up the classified to get a couple.
Which other newborn nappies would you recommend? I am thinking of getting a couple of Gnappies too to try.

As for boosting - I am very confused about this. Are there generic brands of boosters that can be used with all nappies? Which are better, cottom, bamboo, hemp? Which would you recommend for use with ME sandy's?

How many XS and small sizes would you say I need for the first few weeks/months?

I am sure I will have loads more questions in the cming weeks!

Many thanks for reading

Hi.

I think most people use two-part nappies for newborns (a fitted nappy and a seperate cover, wither PUL, fleece or wool). I usd TotsBots fitteds, which I loved. Their bamboozles are great - I definately recommend them. AIOs are good for when they are older, in my experience, but all babies are different.

It is a case of trial and error, really. Long skinny babies suit some nappies, others suit differnet brands/styles. I would suggest looking on the classifieds for various different brands and seeing which works best.

Boosting wise, you can get boostes made specifically to match nappies, but most fit most nappies, again, you just need to try and see. Hemp is very absorbant, as is bamboo, but these take longer to dry. I used to use a bamboo booster and a microfibre booster when M was in AIOs, because they absorb at different rates so were goood combined, but you shouldn't really need to boost to much with nbs.

Hope that's helped a little.

Welcome to the tree!

With cloth nappies, there are no hard and fast rules, unfortunately. As fluffy_mummy said, it's often a process of trial and error. And what works well when your baby is a newborn will not always be as successful once they start moving around.

For newborn nappies, I had several fitteds as well as AIOs (bambootys mostly) but I found myself reaching for my swaddlebees prefolds teamed with a thirsties wrap most often. I love the simplicity of prefolds and they have worked well for both of my girls for both the newborn stage and beyond. But, I know that many people do not get on well with prefolds at all! It might be a good idea to invest in a few prefolds if you would like to bulk up your newborn stash without spending huge amounts of cash. It's hard to say how many xs/s nappies you'll need because it depends a lot on the size of your baby! Some people don't bother with nb/xs sizes and go straight to s. But as my babies were on the smaller side (6 lbs 11 and 6lbs 4) and slow to gain weight, I couldn't have managed without xs nappies. DD2 was still wearing xs nappies at nearly 3 months old! I think I had at least 2 dozen nb nappies but you could probably manage with less.

I have tried Gnappies and personally didn't really care for them. They felt quite plastic-y to me. Have you considered Flips at all? They are the same sort of concept as Gnappies but are far better IMO. I've used Flips on both of my children and they worked really well.

I agree with Fluffy_mummy on the boosters thing too.

HTH!

I lived Sandys on Kerr when he was teeny, I would recommend bamboo Sandys rather than cotton ones though as it's more absorbent

Edit: I would say 2 dozen nappies too

Meant to say, how many you need depends on how often you will be washng, and whether you will tumble dry, as well as how long your nappies take to dry (depends on fabric). I would say about 20-25.

Oh, and see if you can find some teenyfits on the classifieds. They are so lovely on nbs.

Thank you so much ladies for all your advice!

I had heard about teenyfits, so will keep my eyes peeles open for some on the classifieds.

And thanks for the tip on bamboo rather than cotton sandys, I will also look out for some!

As for the FLIPs, I did look into them, but not sure if they would be a bit too bulky for a newborn? What age/weight would you say they would be best? Also, which insert would you recommend for a new baby, organic or stay dry?

It totally depends. I used to change her nappy before every feed, I used to use a flushable liner and the insert the nappies came with.

I used Bimbles and Sandy's with ME wraps. I just love Bimbles and Bumble nappies with the flexibility of the nippa and the ability to boost but still have a full fleece inner. They also give a lovely cute big cloth bum!

I used bamboozles when they were ickle, then bumbles since - they are great & really good value. You need wraps with these - I use Motherease airflow wraps (and weenotions night nappies & wool for nightime - but night use is a whole other conversation!!)

You don't need separate boosters with bamboozles/ bumbles as they are built in

HTH