Disposable or Reusable nappies?

[Newlywed123]

Firstly what will you be using and why?

Wanted to use reusable for my daughter but didn't know which were better etc so used disposable. Thinking of using reusable with this baby.

Does anyone know what brand is reliable but affordable?

Tia

[bunny85]

Listening with interest

[Junosmum]

Me too

[yummymango]

Disposable I'm afraid. I already feel like all I do is washing washing washing with a 3 year old and a husband who is a personal trainer = lots of sweaty sportswear, yuk! I don't intend to make things even harder for myself. I will probably use pampers as that's what suited my first. Sorry I have no advice on reusables!

[callamia]

I've been using BumGenius for ages, and they're good quality and don't seem to leak. They are a bit more expensive than other brands, but the flip system is pretty cost effective and easy. They also wash and dry quickly.

Check if your local authority does a voucher scheme, this paid for my first three nappies - so I could try first and then build up a supply over a few months. You don't need to drop £200 before your baby is even born. It's not a bad idea to try a few types to see what you like.

[flakebaby]

Another vote for bumgenius. Really good quality. Wash well. Now using them for second child and they are still like new.

[RugBugs]

Reusables here. Have a 23mo in them already and after the newborn stage he'll just re-wear hers so even cheaper!
I have mainly close parent newborn pop-ins for the first few months and a few gnappies and milovia wraps for their funky prints.

[MuddyWellyNelly]

Well I will post a mainly unhelpful post . Baby due in a week so not actually used them.... We've inherited cloth nappies from my sister, and figure the fact they've already done her 2 makes them a)environmentally a no-brainer and b) speaks to their ease of use. The brand (the very unhelpful bit) is Grovia which is American. She was living abroad when she bought them, they can be bought here but are consequentially expensive.

They have a colourful,outer shell and pop in liners. They can be used from newborn as they have poppers on the outside to make them smaller. Some have Velcro fastenings, which needed replaced after her first child, the newer ones are poppers. I have 30 altogether and she reckons that's absolutely plenty to keep on rotation. You don't have to wash the shell every time (though those dry fast) and could buy extra liners. They don't need soaked when dirty. Just remove poo, then lob them in a sack that comes with it, then tip them all in the machine, sack and all.

There is a service called the nappy lady that you can access online and she makes recommendations based on your home, access to drying facilities, priorities etc.

[SurlyCue]

Disposables!

I used reuseables with both DC. Real faff, have to carry stinky nappies about, keep a stinking bucket in your bathroom/utility, they make your washing machine and 'clean' laundry smell of shit. I persevered with both dc but wouldnt bother if i had a third. Far more hassle and unpleasantness than its worth.

[Ashwinder]

Having used reusables with previous DCs, I am opting for disposables this time. While there are many pros (environmentally friendly, look cute, low cost after initial outlay) there are also some cons. I had a very large stash that included Bumgenius, Fuzzi Bunz and Tots Bots pockets as well as AI2s and prefolds.. Even so, I needed to do a wash every couple of days. Bamboo and hemp insets take an age to dry and I felt my house was constantly draped in drying nappies. We had very few leaks when DCs were tiny but as they got older their bladders got bigger and the cloth nappies just couldn't cope with the volume of wee. I tried more and more expensive combinations and various absorbent inserts before finally admitting defeat. I threw in the towel with both of them around 24 months I think.

I do love a big squishy cloth bum though.

[feeona123]

I have totsbots but use disposables as well.

If going out I use disposables and I didn't start using reusables until after the weaning started. Milk poop is quite runny so weaning poop was a godsend! Lol

Little girl has been ill this week so it's been disposables all week!

[feeona123]

P.s Have so got some baba and boo which are also good.

[amicusapple]

Reusable for me. Used with DS1 from 9 weeks, now 18 months. I use solely Little Lamb pockets for day time and Little Lamb Bamboo for nighttime.

They often do good sales, keep an eye on their Facebook page.

There is work involved but, for me, I'd rather not keep dirty nappies in my bin as council only picks up landfill every other week.

[fanjodisfunction]

reusables here, my DS is 21 months used them from the start with him. got a kit from little lambs which were get for when he was young. they are a two part system, nappy and a waterproof wrap. they are pretty affordable, I then waited for the sales and got some pockets from little lamb and some from tjs (shes on Facebook, very cheap but good all round nappies) I then got some bumgenius flips for night use as my sons a heavy wetter at night.

for cheap brands have a look at

little lamb
tjs
easy peasy

also check out your local nappy library, you can have a look at brands there and even get them on loan to try.

[ThumbWitchesAbroad]

I used cloth with DS1, but can't help with make because MIL made him about 3 dozen from fleece and towelling. I also bought some Motherease towelling ones, and Motherease nappy wraps - they've been excellent and some of them were hand-me-downs from a friend, so have done 5 babies now!

DS1 had to go into disposables overnight at around 1 year, I think, because I was sick of him wetting through while asleep; so Ds2 went straight into overnight disposables, but had cloth during the day.

However, since DS2 is a "supersoaker", he's been in mostly disposables since he was 2, as I was fed up of having to change not only his nappy several times, but his clothes too, at least 3 times a day. So I switched to disposables most of the time - only use cloth now for short periods (e.g. if he does a poo 2h before bedtime, then he'll go into a cloth one rather than waste a disposable). He's been in the size above what he technically needs since he was 18m, because of the supersoaker aspect (DS1 was never like this!)

I don't know anything about modern nappies, except that bamboo ones take ages to dry.

[CoffeeAndOranges]

This is something I've been starting to think about (due Nov). I would love to use resuables because of the environmental impact of disposables, but can see myself probably having disposables as a fallback for being out & about.

I've just looked up the Grovia ones and it looks like you can get them in the uk. Like the idea of bunging them in a bag and putting the bag in the wash!

How many do you need for each stage i.e. how many newborns etc?

[honeysucklejasmine]

I intend to use reusables. Prob will wait until baby is born, start off in disposables, hire out from the nappy library, then buy what we like.

[ThumbWitchesAbroad]

Coffee - I think 3 dozen is a good start :)

[stargirl1701]

Reuseables during the day, disposable overnight.

[Lancelottie]

Mix them up according to the day/weather/plans.

My kids are (a lot) older now, but I used Motherease -- simple poppered nappies , and the wraps actually hold the sludge in.

We had some fancier patterned ones of other makes but they didn't seem to last the course.

[newbian]

I was considering reusables but a relative who's just had a baby went that route and the diapers leak. Her baby is 2 months old and soaked through to her clothes more than once wearing them. I can't remember what brand she has but they are a popular one. I wonder what the environmental balance is between doing a huge amount of laundry (water/electricity usage) versus increased waste from disposables.

[NoArmaniNoPunani]

Our baby is due in December and we have fuzzi bunz birth to potty nappies to use. DH is the one who really wanted to do reusables so he's prepared to take on the bulk of the extra washing

[GoooRooo]

Disposibles here - Pampers as they were brilliant for DS. The washing machine is constantly on as it is.

[doobeedee]

Having tried loads of expensive brands, my favourites are actually cheap Little Blooms from Ebay. I find it barely any hassle at all and my washing machine doesn't stink!

[doobeedee]

There are studies on the environmental impact. Have a Google. I do 2 extra washes a week. Don't forget that a lot of energy goes into producing disposables too, added to the the fact that they end up in landfill. Do a nappy lady survey but be aware, she doesn't include all different makes in her response. Id probably borrow a kit from a nappy library (either local or online) as you don't know what brand will suit your baby.

[Clairejessica123]

I'm planning on using reusable after a couple of weeks of disposable so we can find our feet with everything else first! I'm purchased some little lamb fitted nappies and wraps and also some bum genius based on recommendations. The nappylady.co.uk is a great website where you can fill out a questionnaire and she will offer you recommendations based on if you have a tumble dryer etc