How to Use and Care for your Butternutbaby Nappies

HOW THEY WORK - easiest way to show you to watch the video HERE

IN A NUT SHELL

The outer of your pocket nappy is polyester with a PU coating on the inside. This coating is water resistant while still being breathable.

The lining of your butternut pocket nappy is charcoal polyester fleece (meaning it has charcoal in it - not just the colour).

You will note that in the back of the nappy, there is an opening between the 2 layers (the pocket)

Your absorbent layer (inserts or flats if you prefer) go inside this pocket so that the fleece layer is between the absorbent layer and the baby's skin. The reason for doing it like this is that the fleece layer is a hydrophobic fabric and so pushes the wetness away from baby and into the hydrophilic absorbent layer, creating an air gap and keeping baby's skin drier.

As babies grow, they go through stages of weeing more and less, so you can adjust the amount of absorbency by doubling up inserts as needed.

FITTING

The domes around the waist are pretty self explanatory, But the ones lower down the front are a tad more perplexing for some. These are for shortening the rise and reducing the leg holes for smaller babies. It is best to preset these before use. When you have the rise domes done up there will be some excess fabric between the domes. Tuck this excess upwards towards the waist. (see pic)

Lay the nappy under baby and position the centre front at or just below the belly button. If it seems wide between the legs, you can give it a squeeze to draw it in a bit. While holding the front of the nappy in place, gently pull the side tabs out and up before brining forward around baby's hips and snap the top domes into place.

The leg elastic should sit right into the undie line. (If you are struggling with this bit, just grab the middle of the crotch and squeeze to bring the leg elastics closer together before doing up the leg snaps). Below the top row of domes on the tabs, there is another dome that attaches to the ones in the 2nd row down on front. These are for ensuring a good fit around the leg. Check that there is no gap around the leg (as this is where you will get a poonami if there is) and adjust the leg snaps inwards 1 place if necessary.

Ensure that there is no fleece poking out at the front, back or legs of the nappy - and you are good to go.

 

 CARING FOR YOUR BUTTERNUTBABY NAPPIES

These are not RULES- You are a grown up and can decide what works best for you, but below are our suggestions, recommendations and things to consider.

THE NITTY GRITTY DETAILS

If a nappy is just wet, simply remove the insert and set aside for washing (see below for how to store)

 REMOVING SOLIDS (Dealing with Poo)  

Regardless of which “storage” methods you choose, we highly recommend removing the solid matter immediately after changing whenever possible.....for obvious reasons (dealing with it fresh is far less unpleasant/there is less time for the Nappy to absorb stains and smells etc)

Newborn baby poo is quite liquid and is water soluble so can rinsed off or even put straight into pre-wash.

Once on solids, poo becomes more solid so tip as much as you can into the toilet. (Stretching the nappy out a little helps it come loose) Many people keep an old butter knife or spatula beside the toilet to help with sticky bits. If there is residue on the nappy, hold by the end, run under tap and scrub with a soft bristle dishbrush kept for this purpose or rubber bristle brush and then set aside for washing

LINERS-these are optional and come in several varieties BUT definitely not a necessity.

• Disposable- flush-able. There are some liners marketed as "flush-able", BUT the council and any plumber will tell you they should NOT be flushed and should instead be treated same as the non flush-able kind below. 
• Disposable - NON FLUSH-ABLE- these are often marketed as being “compost able”, while at the same time they are “NOT recommended for household compost!” Due to issues of contamination by human waste in compost!- so it seems to us that this option is not an option at all! You still have to remove the solids in to the toilet, then put the “liner” in the bin, ensuring it is well wrapped and sealed to control the smell!
• Reusable- these are a single layer fabric liner. (Some people make their own). These will be washed together with the nappies and re-used. The point being to keep a good portion of the “mess” off the nappy itself-making  it easier to remove and flush (depending on consistency)

STORAGE OF YOUR DIRTY NAPPIES UNTILL WASHING

The next decision is what you will do with your nappies while they await washing. 

•  Dry Pailing (open air) – This is our recommended method and works on the principle that an open air environment with plenty of oxygen is less likely to grow bacteria and smell. It is also better for your nappies. For this you need a plastic or coated metal basket in your laundry. (Ideally you want more holes than solid area – the more airflow the better). Hang the separated parts of the nappies on the sides of the basket at first to allow them to at least partially air dry, moving them to the bottom of the basket as you add new nappies to the sides of the basket.
• Dry Pails should not smell. If you find that they are, there are some great Facebook pages that explain the science and are really helpful for trouble shooting.
• Dry Bucket or Bag - being the exact opposite of the above, simply place the used nappies in a sealed bucket or wet-bag to await washing. This option needs to be at least pre-washed daily, but if you do not have a suitable place to keep an open air system, then this is the next best option
• Wet Pail / Soaking - is exactly as it sounds. A nappy bucket with water in it to soak the nappies while they wait. Yes this is what our grandmothers did, BUT you need to be aware that

• the nappies they used were different and
• products available for soaking were different (meaning modern soaking products do not have the same ingredients to  inhibit bacterial growth as the older products did)
• our washing machines and washing soaps are so much better
• Be aware that a soaking bucket is a hazard for small children and so must have secure fitted lid. It is also far more awkward to transfer from bucket to machine.
• Soaking nappies tends to create ammonia which can be quite strong smelling and is harsh on fabric, so nappies will not last as long.

 Whichever solution you choose, we suggest that you remove any inserts and process separately. It is easier and better to wash the parts separated.

PERSONAL TIP:

• This is one they don't generally tell you, but we have discovered from having littleys in day care (where they take the nappy off, wrap into itself, & pop in a wet bag, all inclusive for you to deal with at home). 
• We found that it is in fact much easier to get the poop off these nappies that have been sitting wrapped for several hours, than off fresh nappies. - what happens is any surplus water in the "business" is drawn out into the inserts, making them a lot more "plopable" at the end of the day.
• Sooo, since discovering this, Even at home, we now wrap our poop nappies and just chuck in the basket like that, and then de-poop them all together at the end of the day. 

                                                                                   

WHEN TO WASH:

How often? Again, this is up to you, although you should keep in mind that urine if left too long the fabric of your nappies will degrade, and stains will become set. As a general rule, washing every second day is pretty standard, although this will depend on how many babies you have in nappies and how many nappies you own! Your washing routine requires pre-wash and main wash. Many people chose to pre-wash daily and then do full wash every 2 or 3 days if you are not using enough nappies to make up your load all at once.  Personally I find this to be a hassle and so just to pre-wash and mainwash every 2nd day. Generally for me, 2 days nappies is not a full load, so I run the prewash with just the nappies - then add other clothing to top up to full load for the main wash.

 

HOW TO WASH   

Washing itself is super simple!  

1. Pre-wash to remove the worst of the soiling – stop ammonia production and ensure your main wash begins with clean water.
2. Main wash to get your nappies super clean and fresh

PREWASH

• Tip nappies straight in to the washing machine and run through a short, warm (40 degrees) wash cycle, with ½ dose of washing powder. It is important to use a cycle that includes at least 1 rinse rinse cycle. Spin well
• You can now either continue straight to main wash, or drypail the nappies for up to another 2 days until you have enough to make up your main load.

MAIN WASH

• For this you should use the longest cycle your machine has, and ideally at 60 degrees but at least 40 (this is often called “cotton” or “heavy duty” cycle)

The important things to remember are:

• Don’t overfill the machine, or use an “eco water” setting. For best results it is important to have the water level matched to the level of the load. An important part of the washing is the nappies knocking against each other and the water being able to move. Too much water and the nappies will float around on their own and not rub against each other enough – too little and the nappies will jam together and not move enough.
• It is ok to add other items of laundry to this wash, but only things that are similar size  (baby clothes, underwear, flannels for example are ok - but not towels and sheets as they will wrap the nappies and reduce the effectiveness of the wash)
• Use the correct amount of detergent for the size of your load! (You don’t need special detergent, just use what you use for your household wash and follow the manufacturers recommended quantity for “heavily soiled”). It’s important to use sufficient to clean your nappies, but equally important not to use so much that a residue remains in the nappy to cause skin rashes or reduce the absorbency of your nappies.

 

STAINS  

for any stubborn marks that you think might stain, you can give a quick rub with a bar of  laundry soap or even hand soap, either before you put them in the bucket/basket or as you load them in to the machine.          

                                                                                                 

DRYING

• Ideally hang to dry. If the weather is not co-operating then you can put inserts, flats, fitted etc in the dryer, but not PUL shells or covers. (generally this is not an issue though because those dry super fast anyway)

 

If you have any concerns or questions about the use or care of your nappies, please feel free to contact us. We are here to help!