What To Do With Cloth Nappies When Out And About
Many people initially continue using disposables when out and about, until they get up the confidence to take their cloth nappies with them. For some, it is a fear that you might get leaks or smells. Others just don’t fancy being watched curiously while in a public changing room - all logic tells you your child would be just as much an escapologist in a disposable as in a cloth nappy, but somehow it gets you all flustered knowing that other people are watching your every move.
The Nappy Lady™ Top Tips for going out and about with cloth nappies
- Choose your changing room carefully - if you can: those with pull down trays offer less room for your stuff than those with dedicated rooms or surfaces. Also, those with a toilet are better if you intend to dispose of poo while there - personally I just wrap it up in the liner and then get rid of it in the toilet at home, but you may not want to do this.
- Be prepared: get your nappy etc ready put together before the old one comes off, and have the dirty nappy bag to hand.
- You may like to put all your nappy changing gear in a separate wet bag or pod, to save you from having to take your buggy or full changing bag into a small cubicle.
We have a wide range of nappy wet bags in our store. Please visit our wetbag category to see the full range.
Below are Examples of nappy Pods for storing clean nappies:
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Wet bags and smells
A good wet bag will keep any smells inside. However if the changing area has nappy bins you can put any disposable paper nappy liner in these bins so you're only left with a wet nappy.
Below are examples of nappy wet bags for storing soiled nappies:
How many nappies do you need to take out?
The longer you are planning to be out, the younger the baby and the more they tend to poo, the more nappies you will have to carry.
For many children, once they get past six months you will only need to carry one or two nappies (allowing for one additional poo while out!).
When I still had two in nappies, I carried a bag containing a washable change mat, a small pack of wipes and a spare nappy per child. There was also a third nappy suitable for either of them knocking around in my bag, just in case. This went either in the bottom of the buggy or in a backpack.
Below are suggestions for your change bag:
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Nappies for children of different ages
If you have two children of different ages in nappies, make sure you take one size nappies or flat nappies that will do for either child. You could consider an all in one nappy or pocket nappy for out and about, maybe even using it without a liner to keep to a single layer. Whether you want to do this will depend on how likely your child is to poo in their out and about nappy!
Take the most reliable nappies out with you
If you have a range of nappies, make sure you take the most reliable and absorbent one(s) for changes when out, as this is not the time to be caught out.
Generally, fleece and wool wraps are best avoided if the child is likely to be sitting in a car seat, buggy or sling for long, as they will tend to let damp through because of the pressure and the fact that they are technically water resistant rather than waterproof.
Below are suggestions for highly absorbent and reliable daytime nappies:
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What to do if you run out of nappies when out.
If disaster strikes, and you run out of nappies, you can pad fold a muslin into the wraps you are using. If you don't have a spare muslin to hand (a rare occurrence in most families with a baby!), you might have to buy something that will do instead (if you can’t bear to buy a pack of disposables) - like a hand towel or even a new pack of muslins.
I even know of one couple whose son was provided with Dad's socks, after they found there was no clean nappy available. It was a creative and effective, if somewhat unusual, solution!
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Fleece liners may save you a nappy
Just occasionally (hahaha!) a child poos into a lovely fresh nappy. Not a problem when you're at home, even though it is still very irritating. But when you are out, you need to make every nappy count. If your nappy bag contains a spare fleece liner, it may well be possible (depending on the severity of the poo!) simply to change the liner without dipping into your spare nappy supply.
Our best selling fleece liners:
