Parts of a Nappy System

One of the things I'm asked about the most is how to put together a reusable nappy system and just what someone should buy if they haven't a clue where to start. So, with this in mind, I've put together a quick list of reusable nappy system essentials to help everyone understand just how and what you'll need. As always, if you have any other questions, let me know!

It is not generally wise to leave a child in the same nappy (of whatever variety) while they are still having night feeds. Apart from the fact that they are still presumably fairly young, babies tend to poo around feed times, and these are ideal conditions for nappy rash to develop. Also, a child still being fed at night will wee a lot more than a child who is sleeping through. Even the best real nappies cannot cope with this volume of liquid without a change.

The liner does two things. It allows urine to pass through, but as it is non absorbent, it cannot return, thus keeping baby's bottom a bit drier. Also, it catches any poo, and the whole thing is then easy to drop into the toilet for flushing. While a baby is breastfed and before it is weaned, any poo will not normally smell offensive but, equally, it will be very runny.

Traditional plastic (or PVC) nappy covers/pants are, quite frankly, disgusting and should be outlawed! You would not wear them yourself, so why make your baby wear them? Most importantly, plastic pants are hot and sweaty, and they tend to leave painful red marks on the waist and legs. Because of this environment, sweat rashes easily develop, especially with night nappies.

Cloth trainer pants are nothing like the disposable pull ups which are sold as “trainer pants”. They are nothing more than pull up nappies, and will hold whatever wee or poo your child produces. Cloth trainer pants, on the other hand, simply give your child a chance to get to the loo without embarrassment if they have an accident. They won’t act like standard nappies, for the most part, so you use them only when your child is ready to come out of nappies, more for reassurance rather than anything else.

The most breathable cover of all is a wool wrap. It may seem odd to suggest wool as a waterproof cover, but think about how dry sheep and fishermen stay in their woollen outers: the secret is in the mesh of the fibres. As long as the nappy has plenty of absorbency, to hold onto the wet, a wool wrap is perfectly reliable, but will let the moisture seep through if the nappy itself is not sufficiently padded to cope with the volume of liquid.

I must admit wool covers are something I've never really got into myself as I’ve always found PUL wraps worked really well on my children. You can get wool longies which look like trousers, shorties which are more like shorts or skirties for girls which are a knitted skirt with knitted knickers attached underneath. They come in different colours so look very pretty, they can be custom made to fit, they are soft and much more breathable than PUL. They will also eventually compost down.

With a weaned baby, most poo should be picked up by the liner, and the nappy itself should not normally get dirty. If it does, it will normally only be at the edges, and this can easily be rinsed off before the nappy goes into the nappy bucket. If you put it into the nappy bin without rinsing off any soiling, you will find your nappy bin will smell pretty rough under its lid by the end of the day.

Washable wipes are a great way to have control over what goes on babies skin when cleaning them up. They also save you a fortune. Disposable wipes cost around £250 over 2 1/2 years and end up in landfill for hundreds of years. By using washable wipes rather than disposables baby wipes you can more or less pay for the whole nappy system.