cloth wipes-okay, i am a little daft...

[janem]

I can remember my mum used baby face washers as bum wipes for my little sister but can't remember if she wet them first?

if you have to wet them first do you keep a little bowl of water near the change area? if is just wees can you rinse the wipe and reuse for next wee?

Tell me your cloth wipe routine...it may help me to set something up, as at the moment I am going through so many disposable baby wipes. Would really like to use cloth but don't know how to go about it.

Jane

P.S thanks for not laughing at my stoopidness

[MGlatte]

I use face washers. I don't have a dedicated change area so I wet the face washer in warm water in the basin and when I've finished I put them in the nappy bucket. I don't reuse the washer.

[monicat]

I just have dry wipes in the drawer of the change table - then I just wet a few under the tap as I need them (usually 2 or 3 per change for me - about 10 for DH!) You can also keep a squirty sauce bottle near wipes to do this. Then wipe bum and chuck in dry pail with nappies. I don't rinse and reuse them for a wee. I have found it so much easier not having to try and separate disposable wipes from nappy - it all just gets chucked in the bucket.

Interestingly after stopping disposable baby wipes my bubba now gets a severely red rashy bum if I do use them, so whatever is in them can't be good!

[Grasshopper]

I do pretty much the same as pp, 'cept my bathroom is near the nursery so I keep my wipes there. Then on the way to change her bum, I just wet a couple at the tap. I know most people just go with cold wipes, but I always warm them....it's my own mental hurdle, I think! Then I have the dry pail in her room, so I can just throw the used wipes in there with the nappy. I mainly use fannelette wipes- ordinary flannel just edged to stop fraying. Nice and soft on bitty bums!

And I agree with Monica. On the rare occasions I have to use disp. wipes, my girls get very red bums. My personal opinion is that the chemicals in disp wipes are what cause so many nappy rashes nowadays.

[MadMel]

I have a huggies wipes containers, the big ones. When I put the nappies together I also wet them all (the facewashers/bumwipes) and put them in this folded up. Then it's easier, they are already wet

[littlesox]

I keep a spray bottle at the change table (yk, like the ones hairdressers use) filled with water. I just spray the wipes (we use cheap flannels from Big W mostly) as I use them. If it's really cold I just rub the wet wipe a bit with my hand until it feels warmer.

I've read before that some people use a wet wipe, then dry with another wipe and then use that dry wipe as the wet wipe next time, IYKWIM

Your question is definitely not daft ... I think ppl are just so used to using disposable wipes that many don't even think about it. I did too when we first started using cloth but now I'd recommend using cloth wipes even if you don't use cloth nappies ... it's a pretty easy way to save money.

ETA: When we're out I just use a water bottle or whatever tap is close by to wet the wipes. (Oh my gosh, I have such baby brain, I just posted my edit in the reason for editing box!)

[~Peta~]

I've read before that some people use a wet wipe, then dry with another wipe and then use that dry wipe as the wet wipe next time, IYKWIM

I do this too.

I've got some cheap face washers from woolies and some wipes I've made by cutting a terry flat in 4 and overlocking around the edges. I used to keep some wet in a huggies box, but I found they went smelly and yucky in the qld heat.

I then started wetting one as I was going in to change DD.

I now have a kids sports bottle of water on the change table and squirt the water out over the wipe, scrunch it up to make sure the whole wipe is damp and then use that. I tend to only need one wipe, unless it's an exceptionally large or squished poo. The wipe is then either hosed off when I do the nappy or thrown straight into the pail with the nappy, depending on what it contained.

[janem]

Thanks so much everyone. Lots of ideas there, I like the squirt bottle idea. Just because I am super forgetful and I know I would end up with baby bare bottomed on change table and I have forgotten to wet a wipe on the way into the room. That was the bit I was having trouble with.

Jane