Preparing your cloth nappies for first use

We have had so many nappies go out to new homes this week, and plenty of questions about washing them. So many parents are taking advantage of our 20% off sale.

Our washing instructions are on our website. But I have a few little tricks to share here.

1. Always wash nappies before use. This is to remove anything in the nappies that is coating the fabrics (this stops them absorbing as well as the should).

2. My best way to wash is to pop the nappies in warm water overnight to soak. In the morning, wash them with a little bit of detergent, do an extra rinse and dry. They are ready to use. This is more water conservative then washing 6-8 times and does the job just as well. Remember the nappies will probably continue to hold more and more for the first few uses.

3. I've said it many times, but I will again. Get a clothes horse. You can easily move your nappies around to find the sun, or bring inside to finish drying at night You can hang the nappies the night before, then hang out in the sun the next moring (nice and easy once all the kids are awake and you have no time left!).

My last piece of advice for the day comes as Australia faces yet another heat wave and a predicted summer scorching. If it is HOT, dry your nappies in the shade. Your nappies will be damaged by too much heat (sitting in the scorching sun is very very hot). Look at the damage to your outside toys and furniture that sit in the sun for a couple of months. That same sun is eating at your nappies - so take care as it will deteriorate your elastics and waterproofing.

Most of all, enjoy those cute cloth bottoms!

Baby Bare Cloth Nappies 2013

It's been a really great year for Baby Bare. We have entered our second year of operation and we are constantly expanding what we can offer you.

Our cloth nappies now come in PUL or Minky including five new custom prints. We have introduced our new style nappy in the New Bare Cub and new inserts to make our nappies even trimmer. Our wet bag design has been tweaked to make it even more durable and best of all there is so much more to come. We have done our first expo and taken on more retailers who have come to love our nappies too.

So what is Baby Bare Cloth Nappies going to do in 2014?

Next year we want to keep the momentum going. Besides continuing to offer the best value cloth nappies in the country, we want to expand our offerings. First up is the new all in one design. A transformation of the original Bare Cub nappy, these are fast drying, super absorbent and the simplest nappy to use. Even better, they are going to be affordable! We will introduce these with a big BOOM and a great price. Stay tuned.

Next are our training pants. These trainers are AMAZING. They are boostable, absorbent, trim and gorgeous. Here is your first sneak peak!

Pirate Training Pants

Pretty in Pink Trainers

Don't they look amazing! The outer is cotton fabric - these feel and look like undies. They are comfy and soft. No need to use those PUL training pants. These make your little one feel like they are in undies - not a nappy! Stay tuned for more on these. This is just a sneak peak after all!

We will also be introducing a couple more prints to our minky range. We hope you love them as much as you love our current ones.

Beyond that, we will be in Melbourne in April and Sydney in September for the Baby and Toddler Show. So make sure you get in early to Melbourne as we will have limited stock shipped down for the event. I cannot wait to meet lots of past, present and future Baby Bare bubba's.

So, thank you for a fabulous 2013. We appreciate every ounce of support. Whether you liked a post on facebook or bought a full supply of our nappies, we are grateful for the boost you have given us.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year - we will be here over the break. Shipping will be halted from the 23rd till New Years Day so I can relax (just a tiny bit!).

Cheers,

Jenny

Our New Cloth Nappies

They are here. Four brand new, exclusive patterns for our nappies.

I am so excited - we now have our nappy in over 20 different option for colours and patterns. This is an amazing achievement for us.

We now have 5 exclusive patterns in our range. Designed by us, for you, our Baby Bare customers. We love seeing pictures of your gorgeous babies in our nappies, and your kind words of feedback. It is urging us on to keep coming up with new and exciting things.

So, back to our patterns. Introducing to you - Cloud, Royal Mint, Giraffe and Zilly Zebra.

These cloth nappies can be bought on our website.

Hurry to get one, they are selling fast and we only have limited numbers.

Cloth Nappies & Microfibre

Today's little post is about microfibre. Microfibre is often avoided by many parents. There are a lot of 'facts' bouncing around about it and I'd like to have a little chat about this fabric that is so often used in nappies.

Microfibre can be awesome in your nappies. Its just neccessary to know when to use it. It also has a few draw backs - but these can be worked with.

So whats so great about microfibre?

Microfibre is very thirsty. As absorbent as bamboo in some instances (depending on the weight and quality of each). Its drawback compared to bamboo is it doesn't hold onto liquid as well. Microfibre can get compression leaks. So for example, a toddler sits down in their soaking nappy and the liquid in the microfibre is forced out of the insert. This issue is why microfibre should be mixed with bamboo inserts. Bamboo has the ability to soak up some of that extra liquid being compressed out of the microfibre.

Microfibre is very quick to absorb. This means if you have a child that wets a lot at once, microfibre works really well because it can keep absorbing when its being saturated with a lot of liquid that keeps coming. Bamboo is not as quick to soak up, so you might find the liquid travels across the insert and out the legs, top or bottom. I find as children approach toilet training, some microfibre inserts can be really useful.

Microfibre drys really quickly. As its synthetic, it dries much faster than natural fabrics like cotton and bamboo. This is a great thing, especially in winter or for parents with less nappies, as they can get them back into rotation faster. You may want to even use microfibre more through the winter and bamboo in the summer. A lot of nappy suppliers offer both options.

Of course, this all sounds wonderful - but what are some of the drawbacks that parents do not like about microfibre? We already talked about compression leaks. Microfibre can also be quite bulky - which is why we recommend always teaming it with a trimmer bamboo insert. Then you can get the best of both.

Mircofibre is synthetic, and many parents like natural fabrics. This is a valid concern - if you are passionate about only using natural fabrics then thats fine (natural fabrics are wonderful). If this concern is based on not putting the synthetic in contact with your baby - you should never put microfibre in contact with your child's skin. It is so good at absorbing it can soak out the natural oils in the skin and give a nasty irritation. Only use microfibre that is sewn in and hidden or in a pocket.

Cloth Nappy Help is at hand

I get plenty of emails and messages asking about cloth nappies. Whether it is trying to choose the best nappy, know how many to buy or to solve a problem with an existing nappy stash, we are here to help.

Cloth Nappies Central is our answer to all your questions. I have written this site after hours and hours of my own research, plus years of my own experiences. This site is about helping parents - no matter what brand of nappies you have our resources on how to strip wash, how to remove mould or how to choose the right nappy for you apply.

I have a love for cloth nappies. I also understand that for many parents, cloth nappies hold challenges and confusion. It is for this reason I have dedicated hours to getting this site going with all the information I think you need.

We have also included some help to find different brands available. I think its important to know about all the different options and brands. This will help you find the best cloth nappy for your budget.

I have also just written up a long list of frequently asked questions regarding Baby Bare. So you can also check out that information here.

Whats happening at Baby Bare Cloth Nappies?

We have so many exciting things happening at the moment. From product development to designing our own fabrics.

The most exciting part for us, is delivering products to our customers that meet their needs. We take on all the feedback you give us and translate it into the best Baby Bare products we can.

You asked for printed minky fabrics and we have now brought out our first custom fabric in our Rainbow Nappies and accessories. We have 4 more new prints currently being sewn into our much loved all in two design.

On taking on  feedback about our classic nappy design, we moved away from aspects of the product that so many parents love. As a result of calls to continue the Classic Bare range, we are introducing an All-in-one nappy. One piece, no assembly, quick drying and super trim fit. It can also be boosted by popping a booster under the 'flapped' absorbency. I'm really excited to be offering our nappy in a totally different style to the all in two. This will give parents more choice and help open our products up to more people wanting to use cloth, but looking for a certain nappy style.

Available now at www.babybare.com.au

I've hinted at the prospect of training pants for some time now. We are really excited to say we have sent off our samples and design to our manufacturer to get them to sew up our samples in the same fabrics as used when manufactured so we can start to do our final checks and trialling. Our pants are really well thought out, with options to boost them for sleep times. So stay tuned for some pictures and a release date! (Hopefully early 2014)

I am currently working on another very exciting product - its not a nappy, but it is for use from birth till and through toilet training! Hope to announce this really soon too, so stay tuned.

I think my baby is outgrowing their OSFM nappies?

I see and hear this statement a lot. Mostly with OSFM nappies that are a trim fit. Sadly, I've had people recommend against our nappies (and other trim OSFM) claiming they wont fit their 10 month old for much longer - even though they haven't used them through to toilet training!

I have now taken our nappy design from birth to toilet training (plus some) - and it does fit. They still fit on Charlotte, 34 months old, 16kg and very tall. Charlotte is not a super skinny girl. She's about average.

So why is this misconception happening?

Starting out as a newborn the nappy should be on the smallest setting in the front and in the waist. Below is Emma at about 6 weeks. This setting fit her from 2 weeks old.

Em at 6 weeks

By the time a baby gets to ten months, they are usually not snapping down in the front anymore. This makes many parents panic. They think there child is going to outgrow their cloth nappies before their first birthday.

No front snapping 

Plenty of room still in the bottom for growing up big and tall!

This simply isn't the case. Many babies get very chubby before they walk, or crawl, making parents think the waist has been outgrown or the babies legs are too big. But, babies change shape constantly. Once they are walking they trim down and you find the nappy fits well (even if there is a period of time where a nappy doesn't fit).

I want to show you how our nappies fit on a small baby and a toddler.

Direct comparison,  Child on left is 28 months, Right is 4 months

Above you can see the largest child is about 28 months. The younger baby is 4 months. As you can see, the same nappy fits on the larger child. As they grow, the nappy tends to sit more along the undies line then as a nappy extending towards the belly button. This is most suitable as it allows their clothes to fit them better and you shouldnt need to size up clothing due to the trimness of the nappy.

Below is Emma at almost ten months. Notice she is on the same front snap setting as the older child in the picture above? Yet the waist snaps are done a bit tighter for her smaller waist.

Ten month old baby 9kg

You can see how some parents would think looking at this shot of Emma, that she will not see another two years out of these nappies. But the evidence in the above picture of Charlotte at 28 months proves the nappy will continue to fit.

These are Baby Bare nappies in our photo examples, but you will find this applies to many OSFM on the market. So don't panic. Just have a look through these images to see that the nappies will see you through much longer then the ten months/ 1 year mark!

Some more examples below.

Charlotte at 22 months

Charlotte at 14 months

Charlotte 23 Months

Em 4 weeks old in her Baby Bare cloth nappy, note the overlap on the waist.