Any advice would be gratefully appreciated

Hi,

I'm a newbie here and I am glad I've found a site full of cloth nappy users. No one I know uses these nappies and I must say I'm fed up of hearing the question "but what do you do with a poo-ey nappy?".

I'm after some advice. I am currently using Little Bloom nappies and although I love the simplicity and colourful prints, I must say I'm getting quite fed up with having to change my daughter's clothes every few hours. What are the best inserts to use? I'm currently using microfiber inserts.

I was also given a huge lot of size 1 & 2 Bambino Mio Soft which I haven't even taken out of the wardrobe. The pre-folds are in good condition but the outer wraps look very tatty. Not sure if I should try and use the pre-folds in the Little Blooms. Is any body else doing this?

If anyone can offer me some advice, I would be really grateful.

Thanks,

Steph

Hi! Welcome to the tree!

I think a lot of people pass through the microfibre stage quickly. It can be useful, but I'd definitely start to look at other inserts. Do you know what the mio soft are made of? I'd give them a try! Bamboo is excellent for absorbing. How old is your daughter? Pre weaning, they obviously pass alot more water, so a fitted nappy might do you better. Even after weaning alot of people swear by them. The other option is to stuff the pockets with a range. So for my 1st, we used a MF for quick absorption, with a couple of bamboo or hemp boosters underneath to slowly soak up and hold the wet.


Try that and come back to us. Leaks can happen for other reasons too. Eg if she's wearing tight leggings, wicking might occur.

Thank you for getting back to me.

She's just about to turn 4 months and is a proper boobie monster. Although she's a big girl, her legs aren't chunky so when she wriggles a bit too much they leak I did find that if her vest was slightly tight that would cause leaks.

The Mio Softs are 100% cotton. I think I may have to dig them out of the wardrobe and see how they cope.

I wish I had known more about the microfibre. I stocked up on them whilst I was pregnant. Looks like I should have stocked up on the bamboo ones instead. Have you had any experience with charcoal inserts?

I really struggle to find any advice online about reusables. Everyone seems too reliant on disposables. Even the Drs, nurses and midwives seem shocked I use them.

[clothmama]

Hi Steph and welcome! I'll be back to reply properly when I've had some sleep (sorry had a bad night!)

Yes, reusuables really are for us elite mothers
I'm surprised how few people use them,especially considering how pretty they are now.

Personally I've not used charcoal but hear it's great. I'll have a dog around see if I can find you a couple of bamboo boosters if you like. We're coming to the end of nappies in this house now that no3 is 2.

Welcome
Agree with ems101 I would try something different than microfiber. Cotton, bamboo or hemp are better at holding liquids than microfiber, that is on the other hand a quick absorbant. Micro fiber was never enough here with either of the girls. But if you don't have any other inserts you can try with folded kitchentowels and other things before investing - allthough IMO bamboo and hemp is never a bad investment

Thanks for all the advice everyone! I no longer feel like I'm hitting my head against a brick wall. So glad I found this site.

They are so pretty, far prettier than disposables and so much softer on babies' bums. Wow! 3 kids in reuasables is good going! If you manage to find any, I'll be more than happy to buy them off you

Will definitely try the Bambino Mio Soft prefolds and whatever else I can find before buying loads more!

Hi and welcome!
I'd agree totally with the advice the girls have given on bamboo and hemp and also using a dedicated night nappy for extra absorbency overnight.

In the meantime perhaps try using the prefolds to boost the nappies you are using as cotton won't suffer from the same compression leaking / wicking as MF. Lots of cloth using mamas prefer vests without poppers or use vest extenders on poppered vest to avoid the 'vest squishing the nappy' effect
like these

My guess is that the prefolds will perform a lot better than the microfiber inserts either in covers (snappied or just trifolded) or used as inserts in pockets

To bad I am living in Denmark if not you where more than welcome to have a look in my stash