New mum, new to nappies - please help!

pps! our meconium (well staining poo anyway) went on for a lot longer than a few days. It took about 2-3 weeks for the runny non-staining breast milk poo to come through. I have no idea if that's normal but washing stuff was hard work at the start! I ended up on disposables as I said for the first few weeks and then switched when she had a massive allergic reaction to one of the brands. Now I find my cloth nappies are far more reliable than a disposable anyway so it was win, win, win in every way for us to go to cloth. Good luck!

Thanks honeywood! I've seen a few people mention Cheeky wipes, so will look for them.

Absolutely agree with buying different types and seeing what works for you.

I'm really liking pockets (Rumparooz and Thirsties duo) now, but just at the beginning I liked teenyfits and sandies, with a Nature Babies wrap. At night we use bimbles (nappy lady sells them, or you can get them directly from easy peasy nappies) with wool shorties, usually - I find anything bamboo just takes forever to dry, but that won't matter so much in summer, or if you have a tumble drier. We also occasionally use folded terry nappies too (I think it's called the bat-wing fold, where you start by folding into quarters, then pull out a corner, then turn it over and fold the middle bit into 3...) and might use them more when Junior get a bit bigger. Not hard as long as you have the nappy folded in advance (you said you were a planner!) They have the advantage of being really quick to dry.

The first website I came across when I started looking at all this was kittykins, and they have a short quiz you can do to find out what might suit you - obviously suggesting a selection of what they sell(!) and another to work out how many you will need.

It about IS trial and error at the beginning, but like you, I started buying up a variety of nappies way in advance, lots of them in sales / pre-loved from the classifieds here, and have actually quite enjoyed finding out all about them. Oh, and the only disposable he's ever worn was the one they put on him in the hospital My tip for meconium is to put a bit of vaseline on their skin, so it doesn't stick, and catch as much as you can in a paper liner.

Plus although I got a bucket, I've only used it for washing / lanolising stuff. Nappies have gone into a wet bag (we have a couple), and then into the machine. You can punch the bag inside out, or just bung it into the machine open, so no handling of wet/dirty nappies required.

Thanks Epsilon. Yes it will be summer - depending on the summer we get! We do have tumbler though.
Will look at Kittykins thanks. Thanks for the vaseline tip.
Does the wet bag that you use keep out smells and do you wash daily or every other day?
Really could do with a tester baby! Maybe my SIL will lend me her little one

Also, if anyone reading cares to explain, I don't understand the wool thing that I keep reading about. All of these cute little wool nappies and shorts/trousers. What are they for? Do they go over the nappy? Do they not get wet and smelly? Do you put a PU cover on underneath?

This thread might help explain wool covers...
http://www.clothnappytree.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=63&t=7281

Lovely thanks for that. Interesting read. They do look gorgeous. Not sure I could get over my wool aversion though. I hate the feel of it when wet particularly; it just goes right through me like nails on a black board. They look very pretty and cute!

Thanks Epsilon. Yes it will be summer - depending on the summer we get! We do have tumbler though.
Will look at Kittykins thanks. Thanks for the vaseline tip.
Does the wet bag that you use keep out smells and do you wash daily or every other day?
Really could do with a tester baby! Maybe my SIL will lend me her little one

No probs. Having a tumbler would make a difference (we don't, or an airing cupboard, or a conservatory )

Our bathroom's generally quite cold (where we do changing), and we're neither of us very worried by the smell, so we just leave the bag open at the top, and wash every couple of days, or when the bag gets full / we run out of something...

You'll work out a system that works for you. Even as someone who has worked in nurseries (briefly during a GAP year more than a decade ago) and had changed nappies by the dozen, including some terry squares, I was surprised by what we've ended up liking and not liking. Eg, I've found velcro/applix much easier than poppers, and I like pockets much more than I thought I would, even if that's partly the drying thing.

One thing: if you have a boy especially, it helps to put a flannel or similar over the top when you open the nappy, to stop it being so cold, and catch any leaks!

Thanks

I've heard little boys tend to wee when you open the nappy! Can see that going in my eye lol.

Watching a few items on Ebay at the moment, so should be building up a bit of a stash on the cheap. I'm enjoying finding bargains.