So ladies, talk to me about cloth nappies - I know it's been done loads before but I'm being too lazy to search through.

What's the best way to get started?  Do you need to try a few different brands a la disposables?  I'm not keen on spending a lot on something that I might not get use out of?

The wraps that go over the nappies - what kind of material are they?  I remember the wraps that went over the terry towelling square nappies my mum used on my brother (showing my age) and they were like the material of shower caps, complete with the elastic around the legs - tell me times have moved on

Times have moved on!... you don't need wraps any more unless you're going for two-parters. We mainly use pocket nappies from eBay (they have a 'shell' which you stuff with one or two 'inserts') and BumGenius Freetimes (all-in-ones, the inserts are sewn in so you just fold them down and put nappy on baby).

I think there's a guide on here. If you're not too picky about secondhand you could get some just to try out and then buy new if you find ones you like.

mumdrum.com/.../top-tips-cloth-nappies.aspx

ah I never thought of looking for a guide on here - is it wrong that I only look at the forums part of the site??  I'll go have a look.

Tbh I have been a bit funny about second hand but never considered buying a few just to try then could replace.  

Where's the best place for second hand nappies?

oh thanks for link x

There's loads of FB cloth nappy buy/sell/trade sites, maybe have a little search on there. If you're on the FB Hitched baby talk group do a shoutout for me and I can put the links of the ones I'm in, sure others in the group will have others they can link you to as well.

Some websites also sell 'samples', can only think of The Nappy Lady off the top of my head.

Oh I've found the post where I talk about different types and the basic kit: mumdrum.com/.../12580.aspx

Cheers Saisi, that's really useful.  I'll bookmark that and digest it all over the next few days.

Rather irritatingly, I've found that there's a local organisation that does trial packs and lending kits - it's subsidised for residents in the next council area, but not for our area - £42 for trial pack (for 3 nappies) or £55 for lending kit - or £12 for trial pack or lending kit if I lived a few miles away!  Annoying!

The wraps are still waterproof with elastic, some softer than others lol.

2 parters are so much more absorbant than any other kind, so while a bit bulkier they're the ones that will go the distance if you only wanted one kind.

Remind me and i'll add you to a scottish fb group x

I decided to go for the old school terry nappy plus wrap as it worked out cheaper in the long term for us, and meant I wouldn't be tempted to buy more! We use flat terry nappies and fold them ourselves, and I absolutely LOVE them. Yes, they are bulkier but we've not really had any problem with her clothes etc. We've got the motherease wraps and they aren't the shower cap-esque material like those that my mum bought from Tesco for us as back-ups which have never been used.

Head to the nappy lady website and fill in her questionnaire. She'll get back to you with recommendations as to what type of nappies will suit your family and LO best (questions re frequency of washing, your height, priorities in a nappy (slim fit, drying time). I found it excellent. I've decided to go with 10 cloths to start with and see how we go - I'll invest in more if I can handle the washing! We got all in ones from little lambs because they were on offer although I will get the bumgenuis that were recommended if we go with them full time.

I bought one of a few different types and I'm glad I did. S is long and skinny and some of the ones I got just don't fit him well around the legs but the Charlie bananas fit great so I'll be ordering more of them. I love seeing him in then though, I never thought nappy changing could be so much fun!

I also recommend the nappy lady, really useful. I also found the babykind.co.uk useful too

I got the Nappy Lady recommendation through, she recommended little lamb cottons with wraps.  Since Little Lamb have a fb sale on I've ordered some to get me started.

Also, CK kindly pointed me in the direction of BabyKind's Goldrush, so I got three all in ones for under a tenner too, so will see how they go.

thanks for your help ladies! x

ask anything you need to.on sfbm,theyre all crazy addicts :-)

thanks CK and thanks for adding me to that group x

How exciting, I remember my first nappies arriving and how much fun it was - and thanks to this, I've just ordered 3 pockets from the Babykind Goldrush. Don't tell H, my order from the LL Boxing Day sale only arrived today! Looking forward to seeing what I get in my surprise cheapy package though.

weekender

I got the Nappy Lady recommendation through, she recommended little lamb cottons with wraps.  Since Little Lamb have a fb sale on I've ordered some to get me started.

Also, CK kindly pointed me in the direction of BabyKind's Goldrush, so I got three all in ones for under a tenner too, so will see how they go.

thanks for your help ladies! x

Remember the nappy lady will only recommend the stuff she stocks! There's a whole world of cloth nappies out there. I haven't looked at the LL sale as I really don't NEED any more nappies but I may have to go and google this gold rush now .....

Yeah I'm looking forward to the surprise package the most Margot haha

I know Livi, but I was totally baffled by it all despite everyone trying to explain to me, so when her recommendation was for little lambs nappies and they had a sale on, I thought it was a sign  She did recommend motherease wraps, I ordered little lambs ones since they were cheap will see how they go.

Told my mum and she started telling me what the best kind would be based on her knowledge of terry towelling squares from 30 odd years ago