Bad Start

[trin_007]

DS is now 4 weeks old and I am almost through the two boxes of sposies we bought before I got addicted to buying MCNs.....so I thought I would try using my first MCN yesterday.

It was a WAHM AIO with 4 layers of flanelette and a PUL cover. I think I put it on DS at about 2.00pm and then went for a lay down (as you do!!). When I got up (about 1.5-2hrs later), DH was fuming because DS had been upset so he picked him up to comfort him and the two of them got absolutely soaked because the stupid thing leaked. :mad:

Mind you, I picked up the nappy in the laundry today and it was absolutely soaked from front to back - you would have thought he'd had it on all day!!!

Not a good start :thumbsdown:

[faroutbrusselsprout]

I've just started my MCN journey today! DS2 is 15 days old.
We had an AIO to start off the day and it lasted for 5 minutes!
He's been in kissaluvs contours with a booster and a "real nappies" cover now and it's seen him through two 2 1/2 hour sleeps without a single leak.
I think I'll stick with prefolds/fitteds and covers while he's still so little it just seems to hold everything in alot more snugly and fits to his body better than AIO's/pockets...

Good Luck!
What a trial and error this MCN business is!

[macsum2]

Im sorry to hear you had a bad start with MCN's.. Be assured there are some awesome WAHM made nappies out there, there are also some very crap ones. I purchased 6 on ebay whilst pregnant, before i really new what to look for and would be lucky if i had have got 1 hour out of them. Just terrible. However i didnt let that dampen my enthusiasm and now have a beautiful stash of wonderful wahm made and mass produced MCN's. Personally im not big on flannelette in AIO's.. I love bamboo and its incredible absorbency..

Some good ones that we liked are - nicnaps, ittybittys, fluffy bums, bubblebubs, cute tooshies, greenkids.. The list goes on!!

[Me]

Sorry to hear you had a bad experience. I had the same thing happen with DD1 when I first used MCN's. In hindsight she was too small for it when I first put it on her(it was an AIO) and a pre-fold or pocket would have been much better. It was also stuffed with cotton and she's a heavy wetter, we now use all bamboo inserts and boosters. At the time I also didn't know about the absorbancy increasing for the first 10-ish washes(it'd only had 1 pre-wash).

There is a lot of advice in here about what great brands are, what to look for, but remember different types work for different baby's at different ages - there is no 1 single perfect nappy that suits everyone.

[Sparrowgal]

Trin007 I'm sorry that happened! You had a cover on? or was it an AIO? make sure the cover is on tight enough (ie no gaping around legs when its on or when you lift the legs up, or top/back) or you will tend to get leaks, but gosh that's a bad start, esp with DH there coz now he'll just go I don't like this cloth nappy business!

All of us cloth addicts are here to help if you need anything or advice, but if it doesn't work out for you in the long run it's all good! What's best for you is best for you!

[Bunnyhugs]

Did you pre-wash the nappy a few times before you put it on bub to boost the absorbancy?

It could be that the AIO just doesn't fit quite right and you may need to stick with prefolds and covers for a while.

[Betty Boop]

I would stick to Bamboo, much longer lasting. And I think prefolds and covers work best until bubs gets a bit chubby. Dont write us WAHMs off (or ebay) you can usually pick a good one - just need to look out for the ones made from the better quality materials:thumbsup:

[NibbleCurlynBub]

I had a bad start too. :(

The first MCNs I bought were from a WAHM on eBay. I got ripped off and they looked like they had been made by a 12 year old who had only just met the sewing machine. Awful. :no:

Next was an Itti Bitti, that didn't work for us at all. At the time, clever ol' me didn't realise that they are actually designed with skinny/smaller babies in mind. Chubby DD weed right through it.


Since then thigs have gotten MUUUUUCH better. :D
There is hope, there are some FANTASTIC nappies out there. :yes:

[OJandMe]

Oh gosh...

How awful.

the rule to stick to is this....

flannellette is fine for fitteds, one wee nappies on hot days when they are wearing nothing else and you don't mind changing them every hour. I love flannellette in summer when all they are wearing is a nappy, no cover, and I can change as soon as they wet.

I wouldn't ever use it in a AIO or pocket... as it really is the least absorbant of all.

Hemp or microfibre- great for day time. fairly fast drying. last about 2-3 hours for 4 layers.
My pick for AIO's as they dry faster than bamboo but still have the absorbancy

Bamboo- my fave- great absorbancy, excellent for night. Love them in pockets where I can unfold them for faster drying time.... they take the longest to dry.

Bamboo/microfibre combo- my pick for nights.

[katieinwa]

i am very fortunate i have only purchased reputable brands as it was drilled into me from reading and conversing with fellow cloth users to never buy from ebay and what materials to avoids. i am glad this learning experience hasn't deterred you from using cloth :D

[trin_007]

Firstly, a big thanks to everyone for your support and great advice.

I realise that 4 layers of flanelette is not very absorbent and didn't mean to have it on him for very long. Its just unfortunate that DH coped it :o It is supposed to have a PUL cover which I thought was supposed to be waterproof???

I have actually bought a huge variety of new and 2H MCNs including Ittis, Bubble Bubs, Baby Beehinds, Funky Bums, Green Kids, Bum Genius, Haute etc - so hopefully out of them I will find something that works well for us.

I put the Bubble Bubs on him today and whilst it lasted a lot longer, I did get caught out at a friends place a bit longer than I expected and it soaked through the fleece cover...grrrrrrrr......so much to learn - lucky they are so darn cute!

[peanutbutter&jelly]

I find you do have to be more careful with changing with fleece - because it relies on the whatsitcalled... the evaporation.
Glad to hear you have had a better experience since :)

[trin_007]

HA Ha ha!!! HA Ha ha!!! HA Ha ha!!! ROFLMA, HA Ha ha!!! HA Ha ha!!! HA Ha ha!!! Funny, funny, funny.

I had DS in a sposie this afternoon (grrrr!) and DH was supervising DS while I did some bookwork.

DH comes over, holding DS out from his shirt and asking "whats this - is this poo" and there is this huge yellow/orange goo oozing out the back of DS's jumpsuit from the top of his nappy to half way up his back. I go, "yep - thats poo!!" and DH obligingly heads off to clean up the mess (what a trooper! :yelclap:).

One minute later I hear a holler from the nursery and go and see whats happening. DH is holding a naked DS up in the air with his back to me and I see yellow poo all the way up his back, almost to the nape of his neck - I've never seen so much poo spread so far. :laughing:

I run off and fill the bath and we clean him up.

I tell DH - "see sposies aren't infallible either":D

Just thought I'd share the sequel with you all.
:laughing::laughing::laughing:

[SmileyBJ]

:laughing: oh the joys!!

[NibbleCurlynBub]

Ahhhh newborn poopsplosions. :laughing:

Haven't had one yet in my favourite MCNs. :smiliedance:

[srodgers]

I didn't know about this forum when i went through the cloth initiation 12 months ago..I also bought some duds to start with, i didn't realize flannelet wasn't very absorbent and learnt the hard way! I have since developed a massive addiction and a huge stash, 90% of my stash being awesome, wonderful nappies. And now i have found somewhere to share my stories and addiction, im even happier!! Have to laugh at your DH trin__007, men and poo.. Its so funny!!

[Sparrowgal]

LOL Trin007 that hubbies can see that bad things happen with sposies too! i was worried he'd only see the bad side of cloth!

Srodgers welcome to the cloth addicts forum!