AIBU to wonder why more people don’t use reusable nappies?

[KatyClaire]

I have a fairly new baby and I’m a little surprised at how few people I’ve encountered are using reusable nappies. I haven’t met anyone using them in my antenatal group / baby classes / local parents group etc. There has been such an explosion in the use of reusable products (sanitary products, straws, cups, make up wipes etc) that I had assumed it would have crossed into nappies as well.

I don’t know whether it’s a perception issue (people thinking they’re messy and hard to clean), the upfront cost, confusing information etc?

@willFOURbagsbeenough literally once or twice when teething. But I just wiped off what didn’t plop off the nappy liner with a bit of loo roll to flush. It really wasn’t difficult. I’ve never needed to keep a poo knife.

I watched a friend up to her elbows in shit with a poonami from a disposable scape shit off baby clothes before washing them. I don’t believe all the disposable nappy users have never done that, so can’t understand how one is gross and the other ok? Weird.

@cerealgamechanger

Because:

-they're a faff
-using all that detergent/water to wash and dry them isn't good for the environment

YABU

To be fair a disposable nappy uses more water and resources to be made than washing cloth nappies overall.

@shouldistop

The next? It’s been a stealth boast for years!! Nothing quite as smug as an evangelical cloth nappy mum.

Reminds me of a baby grow I saw once

'Breast milk in my tum, cloth on my bum, worn by my mum'

< not envy

Holy fucking shit! 😂

[quote Piglet89]**@Ileflottante* unnecessarily rude. Also, assuming @Megan2018* is a woman, she would be an ignorama.[/quote]
I stand corrected on my grammar but by the intent of my statement. 😇

I used them, they are brilliant if your baby is prone to blow out nappies!

I never found all the washing etc that much of a faff to be honest.

I don’t believe all the disposable nappy users have never done that, so can’t understand how one is gross and the other ok?

I had that with both! Poo is gross whatever the receptacle it’s escaping from

@WhateverJohnnyMcNofriends Depends on the nappy, the disposabled I used were fully biodegradable and over 65% of the nappy had fully degraded within three months. Lots of reusable nappies however rely on things like microfibre which will be around forever, microfibre is also awful for the aquatic environment.

I tried them for a bit but I knew only 1 other parent who was. I didnt get on with them to be honest, kept getting leaks and I was struggling with extra laundry

My DM used terry nappies for my younger brother. It was the traditional square type, with a nappy liner, fastened with big nappy pins, and then rubber pants over the nappy.

Are they still the same? I remember DM soaking them in Napisan before washing them. The only time she used disposables was when we went on holiday.

I planned on using terry nappies on DD20, but ended up having an EMCS and PPH so we just ended up with disposables as I was very poorly.

It's hard enough with a baby, encouragement is better than haranguing people.

I have nothing to be insecure about. I’ve raised 3 wonderful children whose life hasn’t been hampered by the horror that is disposable nappies! And I did it all without trying to feel superior. Maybe the loneliness of the pandemic has made you feel this is a huge thing when actually, nobody cares what you put on your babies precious bum

@Fuckadoodledoooo the exact same happened to me! I was 23 and a first time mum. I literally packed my stuff and ran home crying, it was awful. I felt so inadequate. The awful woman (and she wasn't the only one, I had a few more since then) didn't know how hard I had tried to breastfeed and I was just crushed. I now have ZERO time for judgey parenting. Might be controversial but (as others have said) I think Attachment Parenting has a lot to answer for when it comes to gender equality because it usually disproportionately falls on mum's shoulders.

Honestly, people are just lazy and can’t be arsed to try. Very very sad, how wasteful our generation is.

@OrangeSlices998 if you truly care about the environment and bringing people on board with your approach for the greater good, you might want to think again about branding people lazy and wasteful. That is not how you win hearts and minds.

I looked into using reusable nappies but couldn’t justify the upfront cost (even for second hand ones). I also resented the fact that they seem to have become a status symbol among some parents at the toddler group I used to attend (probably due to how expensive they are)!

I have eased my guilt slightly by purchasing reusable cloth wipes so at least they aren’t going in the bin.

I wanted to but I didn't have a local library where I could borrow to find out the right ones for my kids, I couldn't afford the initial outlay plus I had a tiny house and no where to store a bin with the nappies while waiting to wash them.

It's not as simple as you are making it out to be.

I use them, but I can understand why you wouldn't. It's more work and probably doesn't really save money. I like how it gives them big podgy bums tho!

The nappy lady is brilliant, but it's an area where a good business that has a clear message about what you need and had marketing money to spend could sweep the board. Maybe a hire or subscription service? I guess there's no money in it!

We use fleece liners, mostly poo drops off but when it doesn't, you hold the tip of the liner in the toilet and let the flush blast any bits away. You get used to it pretty quickly, it's not really worse than changing a nappy.

We gave it a go and soon gave up - great if you have the time and resources such as drying space to use them, but not everyone does. We compromised and went for the Naty biodegradable ones.

What would also be a great idea is a disposable nappy collecting service. I stayed at a child friendly holiday resort once, you used a separate bag for nappies and they were all taken away to be recycled.

Disposable nappies are still intact from 1980's in landfill.

{Copied} ''

The Nappy Lady brought our attention to a BBC documentary, The Secret Life of Landfills, which showed a disposable nappy from the 1980s still totally intact

“[They] dug up a disposable nappy from the 1980s and it was completely recognisable as a nappy, was all still complete and could have been put on a baby (besides being dirty obviously).

___

Well done those who use fabric reusable ones.

I really tried but DD hates them - I couldn't seem to get the fit right so either they leaked or really rubbed round her legs. They also needed changing every hour or she would get nappy rash, and I couldn't find any that didn't leak overnight. I tried 3 different brands then gave up and went back to disposables. I did feel sad about it though.

We looked into reusable nappies at the time but read that washing and drying them negates the environmental benefits so we decided to use more eco friendly disposable nappies instead such as Naty.

It's pretty easy to judge other people for their choices when you have the money, space, facilities and time to faff about with reusables.

I had twins. No way was i having parcels of shit sitting around in my house waiting to go through the wash.

OP you sound like me when I had my first baby (not nappies, ain’t no one got time fo that shit), but I bought this expensive baby food steamer and blender in one.
It was amazing, saved money, saved buying processed meals in many tiny plastic containers etc etc.

I told everyone about it and FIRMLY believed that the ONLY POSSIBLE REASON other people didn’t have one and make all their baby food from scratch was because either a) they hadn’t heard or it, or b) they didn’t UNDERSTAND it.

Then I had a load more kids, bought enough Ella’s pouches to sink a ship, and now I laugh at myself
Read this thread back in a few years, it’ll raise a smile!

Disposable nappies are fairly inexpensive - I know it’s probably a saving in the long run but starting out is expensive and many families don’t have a tumble dryer or only use it sparingly due to cost. Extra detergent and extra electricity adds up.

And they are a faff.

It is a bit silly to ask why people aren’t using them - it’s pretty obvious.

Why don’t more people make pasta from scratch or hand wash everything and wring is dry rather than using a washing machine - or get up 2 hours earlier and walk to work instead of driving, why isn’t everyone vegan, why don’t people spend less time scrolling on their phones posting on mumsnet (yes, this also adds to your carbon footprint!) the list is endless. You can’t pick one thing you do and decide that’s the pinnacle of environment saving actions which everyone else should be doing.

People keep talking about the nappies sitting in landfill for hundreds of years but more and more councils are using incinerators (I know my rubbish is sent to an energy from waste plant) and even though burning rubbish/nappies isn’t ideal with the associated emissions I think it’s the better of the two evils?!

@GhostPenguin

I used the old fashioned Terry nappies with a nappy pin and a waterproof overnappy for my 7yo. They're cheaper and dry quicker and you can use different folds to fit.

My friend spent loads on a nice patterned set but her baby just leaked through them all the time! I do think you're much more likely to get leakage. You end up buying a new pair of leggings while you're out even if you remembered to bring a spare pair!

That's what we all used to do. I can only remember the kite, the triangle and the oblong but I think there were other folds. I used to use a liner so just got rid of poo and then soaked the nappies. Disposables were awful at the start of the70s but by the end you could get some very similar to the current type.

Mine never leaked alot except sometimes at night. I do think it helped when it came to toilet training, the modern disposables are so good at absorbing the wee that they aren't as aware of it and are more comfortable. Maybe they should hire them out for a couple of months when you want them out of nappies.

Do people ever mix and match, like using disposables at night or when out and about but reusables the rest of the time?