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?

I did try them for six months but I ended up with pissy and shitty clothes. I was never a stay close to home sort of mum and always went on looooooong walks and days out while on leave. I got sick of carrying tonnes of clothes and skanky nappies everywhere. Can totally see why people don't but admire those who do.

The bit I found gross was when I had to rinse out the liners in the loo. Usually this was at home, but I have had to do it in public loos. When they are toddlers it is gross regardless ime, but this was beyond the pale. We ended up getting those paper liners for going out with, but apparently they are really bad for the separate system as they act a but like baby wipes and don't disintegrate, despite what they say on the packet, so then felt guilty about that.

There are eco friendly nappies, wipes and bags which can be composted, but you can't really do it at home and most LAs don't have facilities to compost them, so they end up in landfill which is no good.

Really the best option would be doing that thing people do where they never use nappies and they just guess when their baby is going to wee and hold them over a potty! But I have no idea how that works in practise.

A bit*

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Sewerage*

Ffs

The liner that gets dirty with wee/poo is either a washable one and gets washed (but yes it may involve 'dropping' the poo in the loo)or dispo and gets binned. I usually use the dispo ones, works for us.
My kids needed changing 3-4hours so even on long walks I'd only ever worry about 1 nappy.

Elimination communication is when people don't use nappies. We do a little of that but it's not v practical in a busy household.
Fun fact tho - my MIL was able to tell when my daughter was having a wee/poo pretty much from birth. Even on video calls. I couldn't see a thing! Even now I wouldn't be able to tell my baby is having a wee (different for a poo especially when they're a few months old).

The liner that gets dirty with wee/poo is either a washable one and gets washed (but yes it may involve 'dropping' the poo in the loo)or dispo and gets binned. I usually use the dispo ones, works for us.

I know what they are - I've cloth bummed two kids till potty training .

It isn't always 'dropping' into the loo. More often than not, you need to give them a bit of a rinse in the loo. The disposable ones, the ones which go straight down the loo, I am told, are problematic for the water system.

Interesting about your mil the Toileting Oracle too! That's amazing. I'm sure it works for some families, but I have to admit we were never brave enough to try it.

I find dispo nappies more hassle because I wouldn't know which size or which brand to get hold off

This applies equally to reusable. Nobody knows what brand to get hold of until they’ve tried some to see what works. You also have to go somewhere else to buy reuseables (can’t just lift them in the supermarket with your weekly shopping) and spend significantly more money trying them out than you do with disposables.

Genuine question, because I'd not heard this before (when I had my child Terry nappies were a thing of the past and I didn't know anyone who used them nor were they suggested by midwife or health visitor) - if they help with early potty training, why is that? Is it because the baby gets uncomfortable versus the absorbency of disposables, so learns to avoid being uncomfortable by using the potty? That feels a little unpleasant for the baby, but have I missed the point?

Also, they seem bulky from what I have seen of photos of me as a baby. When we buy sanitary towels, we often opt for the thinnest, most fitted style, for comfort and to capture everything - surely the same thing applies to a baby and if we wouldn't accept a bulky towel that doesn't stay put and leaks/isn't as absorbent, it's counter intuitive to choose that for a baby where the bulk in proportion to body size is much more?

@HenriettaHeffalump

The liner that gets dirty with wee/poo is either a washable one and gets washed (but yes it may involve 'dropping' the poo in the loo)or dispo and gets binned. I usually use the dispo ones, works for us.

I know what they are - I've cloth bummed two kids till potty training .

It isn't always 'dropping' into the loo. More often than not, you need to give them a bit of a rinse in the loo. The disposable ones, the ones which go straight down the loo, I am told, are problematic for the water system.

Yeah the liners shouldn't go in the toilet anymore. That was the advice before but no longer so I just put them in the bin. My MIL is Indian and had v basic cloth nappies with her kids.. In terms of choice for cloth nappies - true now I suppose. 9yrs ago there wasn't much choice so got little lamb kit and then added basic pocket nappies as they became more affordable/common. No brand ro anything, the pocket nappies work v well for us as they adjust well size wise and depending on the main 'liners' inside they can be adjusted for heavy wetter / normal / night nappy so I just have a range of inserts (bamboo, cotton, charcoal). It

When anyone doesn't want to do something they will find an excuse to fit.

The newer AIO nappies can be very absorbent and not too bulky for babies. But they can be £££ and some babies who are heavy wetters will need boosters added which adds to the bulk.

Re potty training, we didn't find our dcs learnt especially quickly. My friend who used disposables all the time had a boy who learnt a lot quicker and earlier than either of mine did! So not sure that always is the case.

I used them, but as you can probably tell, I dont evangelise about them at all. They really aren't for everyone and I can see the drawbacks. Also, if you don't use them responsibly, like if you wash a few of them on their own and tumble them every time or you use the straight down the loo liners all the time, I am not 100% convinced they are better for the environment, myself. So, I would never talk anyone into them.

Sorry, that^^ was in response to @CthulhuInDisguise.

Essentially the answer as to why people don't use reusables is the same as to why anyone doesn't go for the Eco option in any area - cars, packaging, travel, clothing.....

People don't value the environment as much as they value their own convenience .

It's the bottom line isn't it. If people think reusable nappies cause extra work or have unpleasant aspects such as smell or that the upfront cost is an issue, unless they value the environment more, they will send tonnes and tonnes to landfill to sit there for 500 years.

Only when people actually value the environment or the government introduces incentives to choose the environmental option or to deter the less environmental option will the balance swing the other way. Basic human nature and economics.

@CthulhuInDisguise my experience of the terrys with a liner is that they feel drier than a disposable nappy when I change them, so I don’t know how it works but I have seen lots of anecdotal stories about how it’s easier to potty train children who wear reusables. Maybe it takes a bit longer to wick the wet away, or just feels different somehow? I never know with my baby because he never cries for a nappy change or shows any signs of discomfort, so I have to set a reminder on my phone to change his nappy so I don’t forget. He certainly doesn’t tell me!

Re bulky nappies, these are better for the correct hip development of babies anyway so I don’t consider it to be an issue. Cloth nappies can actually correct mild forms of hip dysplasia, by helping the baby’s legs stay in the optimal position for the development of the joint. As the baby grows the bulkiness is proportionately less compared to their size, so again not a concern for me.

I don’t think it’s really comparable to a sanitary towel - adults’ legs and hips are totally different to a baby’s, so it won’t feel the same. We’re also not used to having anything bulky between our legs so it would feel weird to us, whereas babies are used to wearing nappies and it will feel totally normal for them.

Only when people actually value the environment or the government introduces incentives to choose the environmental option or to deter the less environmental option will the balance swing the other way. Basic human nature and economics.

You see, this is exactly what I wouldn't do. If you strong arm people into it, they won't use them responsibly and then we won't do any good at all.

Better to be honest about it imo and let people draw their own conclusions.

And many councils do provide incentives for using reusable nappies. It's a bit crap (no pun intended) though. Something like £50 towards the initial outlay, which goes nowhere if you need a full set of nappies.

You'll never get away from the convenience of disposable nappies. I had never heard of modern reusable nappies when ds(16) was born.

Unless reusables are widely promoted and disposables are made unattractive due to either price to buy or a cost imposed to dispose off, or they are seen as unacceptable to use due to their environment impact, convenience will win everytime.

What I would have liked to see, which would have made the whole thing less inconvenient, (excuse double negative - it is deliberate), would have been better changing facilities which were reusable friendly. Bigger change tables, in the same room as the loo for example. Stuff to wipe down with after changing. I know this costs money though, so I can understand why it isn't always possible. You'd think some of the more progressive places might go for it though...?

I used them for my first two children but only managed part time for my third and only for the first 9 months until I went back to work. Fourth child only wore them for about two weeks. I’d like to have been able to make it work but I just couldnt keep up with the washing and drying. Also I must have been doing something wrong in the washing because they stank 😞

Re bulky nappies, these are better for the correct hip development of babies anyway so I don’t consider it to be an issue. Cloth nappies can actually correct mild forms of hip dysplasia, by helping the baby’s legs stay in the optimal position for the development of the joint.

This makes no sense to me. Natural hip development would be when there is no nappy at all. Nappies aren’t a natural feature of the human baby body. So it makes no sense that a larger unnatural addition would be healthier for hip development than a smaller one.

I agree it's better for people to choose than government to push people in the environmental choice direction. However, evidence is that people don't make that choice on their own or not enough do. The environmental effects of our choices will largely be felt by others after we are dead, and deciding that matters more than our own convenience is a leap too far for most people's imagination. They value the personal impact that they perceive to themselves far more highly.
I'm generally not a big supporter of heavy handed government intervention but with the environment I think it's the only way. Until there are enough disincentives to make the non environmental choice and incentives to pick the environmental one, people won't change. But the trouble is that government is much like the people too and isn't concerned enough about the longer term impacts which will be seen when they are out of power, so their interventions are small (£50 for nappies) and ineffective, as they'd rather be popular.

Environmental support is growing. Cloth nappy use is growing but it is still a minority use and most peoole will be as the ones on this thread who say they don't like poo smells, doing washing, bulky babies or carrying around dirty nappies when out and would rather send tonnes to landfill to avoid those issues.

There is a lot of shit (no ounce intended...again) about how brilliant reusable nappies are to use, for parents and babies. It never makes sense. The best reason to use them, is that they are usually better for the planet and sometimes cheaper. The rest is all completely personal. No matter what Insta influencer mummy bloggers say.

Again, I used them for two dcs. I used the thinner ones because my dcs found them comfortable. But they aren't for everyone at all, so again, as I already said, I dont evangelise or seek to talk anyone into them.

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@Henriettaheffalump

£50 would go quite a way. If you're on a budget, you can stick to terries, which are superbly cheap and dry ever so quickly.

Add in boosters for night time, wraps, nippas and fleece liners, itd cost you £200 according to my receipts.

So £50 would pay for a quarter of that price. Thats quite significant, I think.

Something like £50 towards the initial outlay, which goes nowhere if you need a full set of nappies.

Our council had a scheme like this and there were so many conditions attached. For example you had to claim the money back and it was only for the first 100 families, so really only worthwhile if you could afford the upfront cost of the nappies anyway and could risk not getting the money back. Also there was a list of approved sellers, so you couldn't pick up a stash of cheap miosolos from Aldi when they reduce them.