Get to Know Your Nappies
Using cloth nappies really isn’t any harder than using disposables, but it is very different and it might take you a while to get used to it, especially if you’ve been using disposables for some time.
When your nappies arrived, you may have found yourself looking at all the different bits and wondering what they are for. You need to bear in mind that a cloth nappy often has a number of parts: the nappy itself provides the absorbency; the outer wrap provides the waterproof layer; and some form of liner keeps your baby’s skin dry. In all-in-one styles, and disposables, these are combined into a single nappy. You will probably also need to use some booster pads, especially at night or on long car journeys, these bulk up the nappy increasing absorbency allowing longer time between changes.
Using the Nappies
Putting the nappies on should (I hope!) be fairly intuitive, but there are a few points to remember. If your nappy has a built in booster pad, fold it into the area where your baby wets most, for boys this is usually the front, for girls it’s often between the legs. If using separate liners, place these on top of the nappy to go next to baby’s skin when the nappy is fastened. Ensure that when you put the outer wrap on it completely covers the nappy; otherwise, wetness will wick through onto clothes.
If you are using nappi-nippas to fasten your nappies, you need to ensure the ‘claws’ are hooked into the loops of the terry. First, hook one side into the loops of the terry, then, holding the first side in place with your finger, stretch the nippa across and hook it into the other side (the nippa needs tension to grip) and then pull down the centre claw and attach to the fabric between the legs. Pull back gently on each ring to ensure a secure fastening. It’s easier than it sounds, and with practise, you’ll be doing it one-handed in the dark!
How to Care for Your Nappies
It’s simpler than you might think! When you take off a dirty nappy, flush any poo down the toilet, and simply put the nappy and any washable liner in a nappy bucket. The outer wrap doesn’t need changing every time, only if it gets dirty or after a few changes.
It’s not necessary to soak your nappies, and most manufacturers don’t recommend it. If you do decide to soak your nappies, it will pre-clean them a little and prevent stains from setting, but you’ll have a bucket full of very smelly water to deal with!
If you don’t soak your nappies, it’s generally much easier when it comes to getting them into the washing machine, and there should be no smell from the bucket. However, you might find that stains are harder to shift. Rinsing your nappies (hold them down the loo and flush) before putting them in the bucket should prevent this. In hot weather, or if you’re going a couple of days between washes, just a couple of drops of lavender oil on a damp muslin over the nappies in the bucket will mask any smells.
Wash your nappies at 60o with non-biological powder (some wraps can only be washed at 40o). Don’t use fabric conditioner, as this reduces absorbency, instead put a splash of white vinegar into the fabric conditioner section of the machine’s drawer to keep your nappies soft and fluffy. Do not use products like Calgon for reducing limescale as these damage elastic, and the white vinegar will do a similar job.
Make sure velcro fastenings are done up when they go into the machine, to avoid them catching on your nappies, this also helps the velcro last longer.
How Often to Change Your Baby
This depends largely on your baby’s age and how heavy a wetter they are. During they day, you probably need to change every 2-4 hours, but always straight after a poo. At night, if you add extra absorbency with a booster, the baby can stay in the same nappy for 12 hours or more (unless they poo).
However, change more frequently if your baby has a sore bottom.
Nappy Rash
Disposable manufacturers would have you believe that babies wearing cloth are more likely to suffer from nappy rash. This is simply untrue. In my experience, babies in cloth tend to have less soreness, possibly because of the absence of chemicals.
However, at some point it is likely that your baby will have a sore bottom (some babies suffer when teething) and there are various solutions. Cooled camomile tea with honey makes an incredibly effective and soothing wash for a sore bottom, and has almost miraculous powers. Before you spend money on expensive creams etc, try it!
If your baby seems susceptible to rashing, consider dietary factors – citrus and kiwi fruit, tomatoes, and avocados seem to make matters worse in my experience.
Keep baby’s bottom scrupulously clean, change your baby often, and allow them some nappy-free time each day to kick about. (Accidents will happen, so don’t lie them on your best rug!) If you can’t leave baby without a nappy, try drying their bottom with a hairdryer on a cool setting after their bath, it ensures the area is really dry and most babies love it!
Using fleece liners will keep baby’s bottom dry by wicking away the moisture, and if your baby has a really sore bottom, a silk liner will help the skin to heal.
N.B. Not all rashes are nappy rash – consider sensitivity to washing powder or other causes.
What to Use for Cleaning Baby’s Bottom
Commercial wipes are undoubtedly the easy option, especially when you’re out and about, but they are expensive and some babies are sensitive to the chemicals they contain.
Washable terry wipes are an effective alternative; they just go in the bucket with the nappies. You can use plain water or make up a solution with 2 cups water (or cooled camomile tea to prevent rashing), 2 tablespoons olive oil, and a few drops of baby wash. Simply mix the ingredients and pour over your wipes in a plastic tub, or put the solution into a spray bottle to dampen each wipe as you need it.
Practical Nappy Tips
§ Wash your new nappies at least once before you use them, to remove any chemicals from the manufacturing process, and to improve absorbency.
§ Tumble drying your nappies for 10 minutes before air-drying them will keep them much softer than air-drying alone, without too much extra cost.
§ Spot clean stains with a vanish or similar if necessary, or add an oxygen bleach (e.g. Ecover laundry bleach) to your wash. However, most stains will disappear if you hang your nappies out in the sunshine (even in winter).
§ Using white vinegar instead of fabric conditioner will keep nappies soft without losing absorbency; you can add a few drops of your favourite essential oil if you want a lovely scent.
§ In hard water areas, nappies can become stiff because of built-up detergents. Run your machine (without any laundry or detergent) on the hottest wash from time to time, to help keep it clean. Washing nappies without detergent occasionally will also help.
§ Some babies are sensitive to even non-bio detergents, so you may need to experiment. The gentlest I have found is Ecover’s non-biological powder.
§ For the best stay-dry layer next to baby’s skin, opt for a fleece liner; it’s also easier to deal with dirty nappies, as any poo will drop off into the toilet easily.
§ Most baby clothes are cut for disposable nappies, so you will probably find that your baby will need larger sizes of clothing, especially vests and sleepsuits. Some brands are more generously cut than others, and I can provide details of clothing cut specifically to fit over cloth nappies if you’re having trouble.
§ Popper fastening vests will help to stop the nappy being pulled down by trouser waistbands or tights, which can be a cause of leaks.
§ If your baby is mobile and has been used to disposable nappies, they may seem to topple over a little more for a day or two – don’t worry they’ll get used to the extra bulk very quickly, and they’re much more padded now anyway!
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