To wonder why more people don't use reusable nappies?

[GinGeum]

I know this will be controversial and I know there will always be some circumstances when they are not suitable, but since becoming a parent, I've not come across a single other parent using reusable nappies.

Everyone I know has also said they were never mentioned to them at all by antenatal classes/midwife/anyone. In the hospital, none of the staff we encountered had any idea what our baby was wearing.

Surely now we are all thinking about reducing plastic, disposable nappies should be fairly high on the list of things to cut down on? Programmes like the war on plastic on BBC barely mentioned disposable nappies. Even switching to reusable wipes would make a huge difference.

AIBU to wonder why reusable nappies aren't promoted more?

Little Lambs are pocket nappies so the inserts are separate to the nappy - you basically just stuff them in the pocket and they're ready to use. You can pre-stuff them all after they've been washed and dried so they're just ready to be put on, or you can stuff as you go. I prefer to pre-stuff when I use pocket nappies - I get a weird pleasure of sitting in front of TV folding and stuffing nappies

Various reasons:

Because I was allergic to them as a baby (to my mother’s horror) and I was worried my DC would be the same
Because the whole thing seems like a minefield and another thing to research
Because with 2 kids we already do a ton of washing as it is and our electricity bill is high enough
Because I have heard stories about them leaking
Because (and I’ll be honest that this was the main reason) the adjustment to becoming a parent was so huge, when I had my first baby I really didn’t want anything else to think about because my head was already so full of stuff to stress over!

So for above reasons I was reluctant they’d turn out to be a waste of money

DO NOT FLUSH LINERS! They are as bad as flushing wipes. (try putting them through the washing machine, they come out as good as they went in!)

@bananaontoast1 for quick drying, pre-folds are the best (we use bambino mios). DO NOT buy microfbre - they don't hold anywhere near as much and release plastic particles every wash! bad for the environment.

I love little lambs bamboo inserts, but they take a couple of days to air dry. You can mix and match brands of inserts, liners, wraps and boosters, we have a real mix.

berlinbabylon only found 1 nursery out of a dozen or so that have had an issue with washable nappies.

pandarific I have bucket with lid next tot he change table that I put everything (nappies and wipes) in. I don't soak anything, just off the bum, in the bucket and then in the wash every 2 or 3 days. I put a few drops of essential oil in the bucket to help with the smell, but it doesn't tend to get too bad. We wash at 40.

Celebelly Little Lambs make two-part nappies as well - the microfibre ones I linked to earlier were two-parters.

i dont know if they have changed now but when i was using them it used to be a cloth outer (that was adjustable by popers from newborn to the average 3 y old),then absorbent padding got put in the pouch,then a liner and if they pooed it used to get scrapped off in the bin then the nappy put straight in the wash

i used to make my own wipes as well using cloth and a solution,then it was hundreds of tutorials on you tube,must be millions now

i used them with both boys ,from newborn but as both were big born (8lb 26 inches,9lb.10,oz 27 inches)i didnt start on the newborn size

boys were born in 04 and 10 oldest toilet trained(both to big for a potty)at 2 and 3/4, youngest a month off 2

in 03 when i was pregnant i used to get the lot off ebay for pence if you timed the auction right,as in those days it was a bidding site and not buy it now from companys like it is now and i used to look out for items finishing their auction in the middle of the night and 99% of the time i used to win them

i then put them away for no2 and used then again

when i moved quickly 6 years ago i remembered months later that i left the giant bag in the attic so if i ever have another baby i would have to start again

There's also nappies and wraps, which is where you have, say, 20 of the soft inner nappies and maybe four of five waterproof wraps that go over the top. I don't use these so not as knowledgeable about them.

Ah cross-posted with you @Sashkin! I'm a lazy all in one gal mainly

MogThoughtDarkThoughts that's interesting about the nappy rash, we found much the opposite, a weeks holiday in disposables and we almost certainly get nappy rash, never had it in disposables.

I'm 18 weeks and have always liked the idea of reusable nappies.. I was determined to at least try as I'm conscious of plastics, I'm only 23 and I want my children to see all of the species I have in my lifetime without having to explain why they're all dying.

But I mentioned this to my mum, my gran ect and all.theyve done is turn their nose up and explain why it would be too difficult l, too much washing, having to "scrape the poo off before you wash", an unnecessary fad.. really!

I wanted some advice on how to go about it and theyve not helped at all.

I cant believe this day and age were still saying 'disposable nappies are easier' sure in some ways they are, but it's the same people saying this as the people praising shops for using biodegradable or paper bags in place of plastic carriers.

Microfibre doesn’t absorb as much as bamboo or hemp, but it is actually really useful to have a few that dry in an hour or two on a radiator if you can’t tumble dry. We found they lasted 1-2hrs, which is about as long as you would leave a newborn nappy on for anyway during the day. I agree I wouldn’t put one on at night or it will flood.

The problem with shedding fibres is not unique to microfibre nappies, it’s ALL synthetic fabrics. Including fleece liners, which I assume you also use. So unless you have a similar problem with people who buy polycotton or lycra-blend clothes (and maybe you have), I’m not sure why microfibre nappies are coming in for such harsh criticism.

I cant believe this day and age were still saying 'disposable nappies are easier' sure in some ways they are, but it's the same people saying this as the people praising shops for using biodegradable or paper bags in place of plastic carriers.

How are the two even remotely comparable? Cloth nappies would have meant extra washing and drying for me. We already have clothes on multiple airers around the house in winter as it is. We just couldn't have managed the extra washing. This is in no way the same as a shop giving our paper instead of plastic... an act which requires zero change of behaviour from the consumer (I have used single use bags in years though, even before the charge).

Celebelly we just never got on with AIOs, found the fit much easier to adjust with the two-parters. No laziness about it, AIOs are usually much prettier prints! I was always jealous of other people’s gorgeous nappies.

Yes, it's a few more things to stick in the next load of washing.. but babys get through so many baby grows and vests anyway, you may as well chuck them in eith the next load. If you buy enough of them you wont need to rush and put on an extra wash just to get the nappies in and out.

My point was more about the environment.

Surely an extra bit of washing is worth it for a cleaner planet?

@Sashkin DD is quite chunky which helps I think. I know some friends with less chunky babies have had problems with leaking with AIOs, mainly around leg holes, as the fit doesn't suit, especially early on.

The prints are great but also how I've ended up with five or six nappies more than we strictly need So it's a curse as well as a blessing

“When DC1 was born, BF wasn't a thing, I knew I really waI nted to do it, even MW were shocked.

Then after 2010 everyone wanted to do it the old fashioned way.“

Weird seeing as I was born in 1988 and breastfed and so were most people I know my age

Surely an extra bit of washing is worth it for a cleaner planet?

And dry it where exactly? You have no idea what I other people do in order to make our planet better.... and that's the point. I've seen a post floating round various zero waste groups that says something like 1000 people doing a little bit is better than 1 person doing it perfectly.

Sashkin we do try and limit synthetic fibre as a way of reducing plastic. That includes polycotton blends, lycra etc. We aren't perfect at it, by a long way. But definitely don't use microfiber.

And we use cotton fleece liners, not polyester.

FormerlyFrikadela01 indeed, we all need to do our bit where we can. Ours is nappies. Yours is something else that we probably don't do.

Didn't use reusable nappies because dc never indicated that they were wet so when they were in reusables they soaked through to their clothes. So not a lot of use, but I did try.

My mum bought the terry towelling nappies in the 80’s when she had my sister they got used for me and for our cousin by the time he was finished with them they had holes in from being washed too many times but they lasted from 1985 until 1994 and went through 3 kids my sister spent a lot of money on reusable nappies for my niece and they where no good they where miles too big for her and leaked because they didn’t fit properly so she had no choice but to use disposable nappies even when my niece was a year old they where still too big on her. She looked like Simon Cowell in those nappies. They are brilliant nappies but they don’t work for everyone.

I used reusables,I think I had several motherease which I used at night with boosters as DD got older intil she was reliably dry.I used a variety during the day but can't remember the names.Airwraps were the best covers as they were soft but poonamiproof.
I also had pants with compostable pads(used fleece liners,do not compost human poo),these were great for travelling.
I did use some ECCO disposables when on holiday as cloth nappies couldn't always be used.
I think cloth nappies are great and although I found them easy and ExH was on board I can see that without outdoor drying or in small houses/flats it can be more challenging.
I do wonder at people disgusted by poo though,we all do it,clean up our own but feel fine shoving the babies shit in the bin.

@PaulHollywoodsSexGut and others interested to try but unsure where to start - try The Nappy Lady - she has a questionnaire to fill in about what nappies are best for you.

I find the thing about doing more laundry very hard to get my head around. Unless you don’t have a washing machine (in which case disposables are probably the best option) turning on the machine is hardly a giant hardship. I don’t have a tumble dryer - I do have two of those circular sock hanger things which I hang my nappies from. They’re not hanging all over my house.

They’re just not tons of extra work.

Because people are lazy. Everyone is all for reducing plastic as long as it doesn't provide them with the slightest inconvenience. Of course reusable nappies are more hardwork than disposables but don't be so fucking lazy and realise that it's worth the extra time/effort/initial money to allow your kids and grandkids to have a planet to live on. I know people will say stop being 'preachy' but I just can't comprehend people's ignorance about the state of the environment. It's fucking infuriating.

Didn't use reusable nappies because dc never indicated that they were wet so when they were in reusables they soaked through to their clothes

But presumably they didn't indicate that they were wet in disposables either, you just changed the nappy every couple of hours when it was full? Same thing with cloth.

There is meant to be an outer waterproof layer ("wrap") that you use to stop soaking through to clothes, were you using that? Might have been attached to the nappy if it was an All in One (AIO). They will only soak through that when the nappy is literally wringing wet (14+ hours for DS overnight).

I don't see how they're massively cheaper. Disposable nappies are so cheap these days. I hardly spend anything a month on them including the wipes.