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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Cloth nappy obsessives - what do they do when their kids toilet train?

110 replies

Moomin8 · 14/05/2020 12:28

I use cloth for my 5 month old baby. I love the pretty prints as much as the next person, I will admit but my main concern is finding something that suits my baby. If I can't get the print I wanted I just find something else.

However, at the beginning of lockdown I was invited to join a particular cloth nappy group on FB where there are people crying because they can't get a specific blueberry print nappy. Also, there are people selling nappies with slack elastics for £30+ because they are a limited edition print.

I think people get really whipped up with it all. There is no way I'd buy a nappy that someone else's kids have been pooping in for years for double the price that it was, new.

I guess it's like a hobby for some people.

What are they going to do when their kids potty train?

OP posts:
user3274826 · 14/05/2020 19:15

Oh and expensive ethical toys. Grimm's/Haba/Grapat/Bajo etc

Pluckedpencil · 14/05/2020 19:15

I think @purpleartichoke has hit the nail on the head, and that Mumsnet fuels it somewhat as well says she who just bought another maxi micro scooter

Noworrieshere · 14/05/2020 19:15

I loved cloth nappies and loved trying out different kinds and styles. I wouldn't have cried if a particular pattern wasn't available and once my kids didn't need nappies any more I sold them and never gave them a second thought.

Pluckedpencil · 14/05/2020 19:16

If I had put as much thought and research into good wine as I have into tat for the kids over the years, I would be having a really great time now.

BertieBotts · 14/05/2020 21:22

To be fair if I was going to use cloth I'd defo buy nice patterns and not plain boring white. In fact the patterns quite intrigued me towards them. But every time I tried to use cloth i just found them annoying. Bulky, extra washing, smelly to deal with in the wash and if you don't wash them 100% correctly and they didn't seem as comfortable to the baby as disposable.

I would not have obsessed over different prints though as that seems bonkers.

Twigletfairy · 14/05/2020 21:36

You'll always find extremes. I must admit I've had the occasional 'ooooh that one's got pandas on' but nothing more than that.

Before my eldest was born, I bought about 20 cloth nappies when Aldi had one of their baby events. The nappies were just over half their usual retail price. I think I paid about £160 for them all and then bought a few boosters. Now I'm using them all for my youngest. The initial outlay seemed expensive at the time, but it's saved a huge amount of money overall. Now I'm tempted to get online and see if any of mine are discontinued Grin

BlueEggsAndSpam · 14/05/2020 21:42

Oooh what prints are the desirable ones? I’ve got a handful of blueberry nappies which I use to keep our waste down but we use disposables too. If someone wants to pay over the odds for one of them... times are tough 👀

Horehound · 14/05/2020 22:51

@BertieBotts yep, I'm using reusables and I find them a fucking faff and pretty unhygienic too.
I believe it's more of a cult mindset and people get sucked into it.

ProudMarys · 14/05/2020 23:00

Weird, a thread a few months ago started with the same question...I don't care what people but on their babies bums Hmm

BertieBotts · 14/05/2020 23:07

I had the same thought when I opened it! Deja vu!

I am a lazy sod and I take full advantage of the absorbant nature of disposables. Generally do one change a day before/after nap unless there is a poo.

Crabbo · 14/05/2020 23:40

It’s the same with all the organic scandi clothes brands - sortof loses the ethical credentials when you buy every latest print in every style Hmm

I got a motherease uno a couple of years ago with my first when I was trying out different nappies to see what we liked. Didn’t use it much with her and it was only when I came to like it a lot with my second I went to get more and realised how nuts people are about them! It’s a good nappy but a £50 used nappy? Umm no.

Fromthebirdsnest · 14/05/2020 23:56

My children all had cloth nappies too, my youngest still has them at night and I used a tula too, I was never in a fb group though , it makes me a bit 😕 when people join groups ext because they like something it's a bit cult like to me ... I buy nice children's clothes as I like quality , I recently put on ebay 2 bundles of frugi & jojo maman bebe I consider these mid range they sold for more than I paid 😱 .. It's Odd i really don't get it .. X

Original poster
Moomin8 · 15/05/2020 00:06

@BlueEggsAndSpam in a word, Orion! There are people who would do anything to get that nappy.

Also popular and HTF are the Ombre ones.

OP posts:
Original poster
Moomin8 · 15/05/2020 00:41

Exactly @Crabbo and the thing is that some people really don't know how to wash these nappies correctly. There is a myth out there that to be a true eco warrior you can only wash nappies at 30 degrees with one of those eco egg things. Which is disgusting and will lead to ammonia / bacteria, goodness knows what else build up. And a child with a sore bum and stinky nappies. I never wash mine less than 60. At the end of the day you are dealing with excrement.

And then to go and buy something not new for an expensive price is somewhat unappealing.

OP posts:
okaycokay · 15/05/2020 08:02

Huh? Surely the nappy is covered by clothes? Why would anyone Mother, baby or neighbour even know, never mind care what blueberry pattern is on some child's bum? The world has gone mad.

Maybe in the aftermath of COVID 19 the world will reset itself slightly and will be less consumer driven

BertieBotts · 15/05/2020 09:47

You see it when you change them and when you wash the nappies and when you let them run/roll around at home in just a nappy/nappy and t-shirt.

IvinghoeBeacon · 15/05/2020 10:17

People like to buy themselves nice underwear in pretty patterns

LivingThatLockdownLife · 15/05/2020 10:20

From the ones I know.. home baking and crafts with the DC.. lots of staged photos sent everywhere which clearly are too professional looking to be made by the DC!

Also, complaining about their OHs Confused

eaglejulesk · 15/05/2020 10:35

@RainMustFall - why didn't you bother to read the original post? The OP didn't say they were obsessive because they use cloth nappies, but because they are obsessive about getting particular prints and are prepared to pay ridiculous amounts of money to get what they want.

Pandapotato · 15/05/2020 10:42

Not read the whole thread, so sorry if this has already been said, but I bet a lot get quite into the scandi / organic clothes thing.
I love them because they are ethical, bright and durable. But some of the Facebook groups have some proper crazily devoted people on. Again, paying shitloads for old “desirable” prints. I find the utter consumerism that comes with some of it really quite sickening and totally unethical.

Sixtyfourzoolane · 15/05/2020 10:44

I totally agree with you OP. I sadly got sucked into it all after having my first baby, trying to discover my sense of “belonging” but eventually discovering that the majority of second hand ones had ruined elastics, they had definitely seen me coming. Second time round, I just feel sorry for them, and years later it’s still the same women posting their mahoosive stashes on the same groups...

Nix2020 · 15/05/2020 11:03

I don't get the obsessed nature of cloth nappies they are Nappies at the end of the day (I use them). What I discovered becoming a parent was how much people love to label their parenting style. Prime example is the blw.

Cannot stand the militant ones. I don't get how people think it's OK to try and outdo all the other parents

olderthanyouthink · 15/05/2020 11:08

I loved my cloth nappies but DD has been out of them in the day since 14-16 months. At first I bought all white nappies and loved the minimal simplicity of muslins then when she got bigger I got suckered in by an ad for a very pretty nappy so I checked it out and I happened to be exactly the type I was after, I won't buy just for the print if it's not right for us. I bought enough of the for full time use (I think we have 9 wraps, 23 inserts) which is relatively small compared to a lot of the other people in the FB groups I'm in. I'm planning on having another baby so will buy some new newborn wraps (selling the ones I don't like the fit/feel of, some of them atm would go for almost retail) and that's about it hopefully.

Next obsession is Montessori style parenting Grin I hate frugi/duns/etc. And maybe bikes and sewing (I can sew my own baby carriers so having multiple doesn't cost much at all)

Cannyhandleit · 15/05/2020 11:16

I'm using cloth with my 3rd (and last) baby. What amazes me is I have seen quite a few stash shot posts where people have 70+ nappies!!!! All mother ease and blueberry, smart bottoms, etc.... it's crazy! I but the cheaper brands but still with lively patterns and have maybe 18 nappies which is plenty! Why do they need so many?? It's so much money.

Original poster
Moomin8 · 15/05/2020 13:08

I sadly got sucked into it all after having my first baby, trying to discover my sense of “belonging” but eventually discovering that the majority of second hand ones had ruined elastics, they had definitely seen me coming.

Well I have posted unashamedly that I think people should be honest if they are selling nappies that they didn't buy new themselves. To me, if a nappy is old and worn out it doesn't matter how pretty it is because it won't last long enough. If you pay £23 for a nappy that is new it makes sense because you'll probably have it until potty training.

The weirdest thing I have seen is a man on one of the groups who is more obsessed than TTS women. He keeps posting about his multiple internationally shipped packages and trying to whip up suspense. I think some of it is attention seeking.

OP posts: