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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to think reusable nappies are a lot of faffing about...?

132 replies

Wigglewoo · 20/07/2012 14:46

Hmmm. Willing to be converted...

My ds is 5 weeks old and I decided to buy a range of reusable nappies to give them a go... Tots bots, little lambs, fuzz bunz, smartiepants....

So far they have sat unused on the side. I am tempted to return them.

I love the look of them and I'm not bothered about getting closely aquainted with ds's poop but I just find myself reaching for the disposables everytime I change his nappy as it just seems somehow easier.

I'm not even sure its cheaper... The little lambs took ages to tumble dry when I pre washhed them so that has to cost a fair bit... And the actual nappies themselves cost quite a bit now esp the all in ones!!! But then I guess you do buy them once ...

What do others think? Just being nosey really.

OP posts:
Imnotaslimjim · 20/07/2012 14:49

I used terry squares and cotton liners with rubber overpants (the way they used to be) I had a bucket with a lid in the kitchen, with a mild bleach solution in it. It was literally take the nappy off and drop it in the bucket, with a bypass to the loo for a flush over if it was a stinky one. 2 extra loads of washing a week, and it was lovely to see them blowing on the line

I've never used the all-in-ones, so can't help with that, but for me the reusables were very easy

difficultpickle · 20/07/2012 14:49

I used them as I couldn't stand the thought of disposable nappies sitting in the bin waiting to be collected each week (even if they were wrapped up). I tried them either outside or on an airer inside, never had to use the tumble dryer. You need to be organised to use them but I did and continued to do so when I returned to work (CM agreed to use them too). I used ones that had a separate wrapper and liner - Bambino Mio. I tried one of the all in ones but they took forever to dry. Ds is 8 and it was hard to find reusable ones but now there is loads of choice (I was the only person I knew who did use them).

AntsMarching · 20/07/2012 14:50

I used mine for three months, didn't find it any harder than disposables. But my washing machine was broken for a week, once I got out of the habit of daily washing, I wasn't willing to go back. I sold mine for half what they cost me.

Rosebud05 · 20/07/2012 14:52

I found reusable nappies and wipes less faff than forever running out of paper ones, but each to their own.

5 weeks is very young - I guess you're nappy changing very, very frequently. You might find it easier to get in the swing of them when your ds is a few months older and pooing less frequently.

You need a bit of headspace to get into the groove of nappy buckets, drying in sunshine, folding them etc, then it will be just fine!

Original poster
Wigglewoo · 20/07/2012 14:55

Maybe I'm just being a wimp then and I should just give them a go... You're right about the resale value.. I could always sell them again.

Dh and dd (aged 9) less than convinced... They don't like the idea of poo washing in the washing machine and then washing their clothes!!! (They don't wuite understand the whole liner thing)! Plus ds pees and poos over a lot of his clothes anyway and these get washed so guessing not much different!!!

OP posts:
TeWiDoesTheHulaInHawaii · 20/07/2012 14:57

The idea of them is a faff, in reality you get into a rhythm and it's no more faff than anything else to do with babies.

naturalbaby · 20/07/2012 14:57

YABU, I love mine! get an all in one, one size nappy. I wash mine at the end of the day and they're pretty much dry by morning. I recommend cloth wipes too, I've save a fortune in wet wipes.
If each disposable costs around 17-20p and ds poops in one that's only been on for 5mins then it all adds up. If it's a cotton one it just goes in the machine and I have a cupboard full of nappies the next day. There is a lot of faff - DH is always complaining about how long it takes to hang them up to dry and put away but I'd rather sit and do that than add a big pack of nappies to our enormous supermarket weekly shop.

RuthlessBaggage · 20/07/2012 15:01

I would wait a few more weeks, tbh. Cloth isn't a lot of faffing about once you're into it but does feel faffy at first. Much like having a baby at all, really.

One cloth day a week using your existing stash will save you maybe £200-£300 over the next couple of years, with only one additional load to deal with.

If you use disposable liners there will be minimal poo in your machine. Out of interest, do you have a new washing machine every time the baby pukes, poos or wees on clothing?

Thecunningstunt · 20/07/2012 15:02

They are really good. We used fuzzi bunz and wee notions. I rinsed poo off though. You can buy flushable inners and it all goes down the loo. But at 5 weeks poo is gonna get through that...they are better when they start weaning and poo solids up a bitGrin

shuckleberryfinn · 20/07/2012 15:02

There is a good preloved market so you will get that back. Some kinds of nappies dry much quicker than others too. You don't need a bucket, a wetbag can be great, chuck the nappies in and when its full unzip it and chuck it in the machine.

pampers are close to a tenner a packet I think. so one packet a week for 20 weeks is about the cost of a new set of premium brand reusables and you can sell them on or use them for the next one, you can also buy preloved or buy cheaper nappies.

most bin collections are fortnightly too. 2 weeks of poo in your yard.. yummy.

the best part is that you'll never run out in the middle of the night either.

SageYourOracle · 20/07/2012 15:07

I started using reusables 2 months ago when DD was 10 months and I'm finding them fab. I loved the idea when DD was born but, like you, just felt as if it was going to be so much extra work. A few months ago a good friend told me about gnappies and I've now become a complete convert. They do mean a bit of extra washing but we don't haves tumble drier so use those clippy hangers (found them in the pound shop). Because the gnappy is a hybrid, there are outer gpants, snap in gpouches and then a gcloth topped off with a flushable degradable gliner so they can be hung in separate sections and depending on what's in the nappy, you don't always need to charge the whole thing. Apart from saving money (I've worked out the saving will be at least £300 if you use cloth wipes, too) and being better for the environment they look gorgeous as they come in lots of different colours and designs. If you're still keen to go cloth, I'd return the unopened ones or sell on eBay/ gum tree and maybe try a g nappy starter pack. Seriously, I was so resistant to going cloth but I love using them now and have become a bit g mad. You can buy them direct from the gnappy website or from amazon. Sorry- don't know how to link for I'm a bit of a Luddite!

SageYourOracle · 20/07/2012 15:09

And I now appear to have lost the ability to paragraph!

PatronSaintOfDucks · 20/07/2012 15:11

I used Pop-Ins for months with my DS, but had to stop as he was developing a horrendous nappy rash at around a year old that would not go away no matter what I tried. I loved my reusable nappies and was very sorry to put them away. I am a mild eco-nut and it was lovely not to be adding a couple of extra bags of rubbish to the landfill.

However, even though I am a total proponent of reusable nappies, they definitely do have their faffy aspects:

  1. Aforementioned nappy rash. Most babies are ok, but some develop it.
  1. Washing them, hanging them out to dry, assembling them with liners does take time whatever people say about "just an extra load of washing a week."
  1. Drying can be a pain (and a tumble drier defeats the eco benefits). It's lovely to see them blowing on the line, but, like, when does it actually happen? They are much more likely to be decorating the radiators all over your house.
  1. They are a bit more yucky than disposables. Not all poo is of consistency requited for a neat drop into the toilet.
  1. It is not always possible to travel with them. Your MIL may not appreciate her house decorated with drying nappies, a hotel may not have a free washing machine, and they do take a ton of space in the luggage.

But saying all this, I miss my lovely pastel Pop-Ins. Maybe they will do for another DC.

wanderingalbatross · 20/07/2012 15:15

I use reusables and don't think they're a faff at all once you get used to them - we have totsbots bamboozles with a plastic wrap over the top. We didn't actually start with them till DD was 3 months old as she was teeny and the nappies we had were too big to start. By that time she was getting through fewer nappies too, which was a bonus. I found they were so much better than disposables at containing the poo explosions! And (post-weaning) the flushable liners mean hardly any poo in the washing machine.

I put a load on every 2 or 3 days - they go in the washing machine at bath time, and then I stick them on to tumble dry overnight. I couldn't do with continually having nappies drying all over the place as our house is quite small. Out and about we have a dry bag for storing the used ones, and then we just clean out and top up the change bag every evening.

GoodButNotOutstanding · 20/07/2012 15:24

We used washable nappies. We had Motherease One Size, where you need a nappy and a wrap. Absolutely loved them. We got ours pre-loved, they're on their 5th child now I think, so they were really pretty cheap. She wore them all day every day but we used disposables over night as we found she got nappy rash with washables overnight. One or 2 extra loads of washing per week, which was a bit of a faff having to wash, dry and put them away, but when you are already doing 5-6 loads per week 1 extra didn't seem that much. We couldn't use disposable liners though as they gave dd a rash every time we tried, so we used fleece liners and just scraped the poo into the loo before washing them. Every so often I do an empty wash just to wash the machine.

ForgetCollette · 20/07/2012 15:42

They are more of a faff than disposables, there is no argument from me BUT it only cost me about £220 for the nappyhood (can't think of a better word!) of two babies.

It would have cost me a lot less, only that I had two in nappies together so needed to buy more nappies than you would if you only had one in nappies at any one time.

If I had both in disposables I think I would have spent £10/week, probably more, in nappies. They have potty trained at 3, so that's a lot of money saved in those years, even if you figure in a little extra in electric/water costs to account for the washing.

So it was more faff, but it saved me hundreds and hundreds of pounds I think.

Rollersara · 20/07/2012 15:53

I waited till DD was about 6 weeks before using them and haven't looked back (she's 6 months now). Wash every other day, annoying to have them around the house when it rains but it's no big deal... No nappy rash yet either!

CaliforniaLeaving · 20/07/2012 15:55

I used them and loved them, nice soft squishy fluffy bum on the baby instead of crackly plastic rubbish. We had Fuzzi bunz, fitteds, wool, all kinds.
You need to do some research into the washing and soaking as bleach can ruin the waterproofing in the covers. I got all my info and help with washing from www.diaperswappers.com it's a mine of information.

attheendoftheday · 20/07/2012 15:58

I love my little lamb ones and am still using them after 14 months. They go straight in a nappy bucket when they come off (i do drop any poos down the loo) and I put on a wash most nights. I have the microfleece ones and I don't tumble dry, they just take a couple of hours over a clothes horse.

I think we've saved loads of money with them, and am planning to use them again for dc2 and save even more.

deemented · 20/07/2012 16:00

YABU.

I have three kids in cloth and it's no faff at all.

Get yourself onto Cloth Bum Mums on FB - nearly 4000 cloth users on there, so a great place for help/advice.

BallerinaBetty · 20/07/2012 16:02

I used Little Lambs on dd and loved them. I had them delivered a week or so after she was born, and then she was about 6 weeks old when I just took the plunge to start using them (she was quite tiny when she was born so they were too big). I was a bit daunted at first but soon got the hang of it and loved seeing them on the line. I had two buckets with a sort of net liner in so I could just pull the liner out with all the nappies and pop the whole lot in the machine, then wash out the bucket and bleach it - having the other bucket meant I could leave one bucket soaking and still have the other bucket handy for nappy changes.

Osmiornica · 20/07/2012 16:04

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

paradisechick · 20/07/2012 16:10

I'm a total convert and love my big bum baby!

I waited until he was 8 weeks and 12lbs. I use the ones on eBay and they are fab. Only spent about £120 on everything. A load every couple of days and folding whilst watching eastenders and jobs aa good un!

Deadsouls · 20/07/2012 16:26

Er that's cause it is easier...I have used reusables and sorry I just cannot get my head around all the washing and drying, and stuffing etc I gave up

nickelbarapasaurus · 20/07/2012 16:34

i love them.

my favourites are nature babies diddy diapers followed closely by little lambs (cotton ones)
little lamps wraps are best, but i also love thirsties and nature babies (the latter have adjustable rise)