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?

For me it was partly the upfront cost. However, the main reason was we lived in a small flat with a terrible noisy washer dryer in our open plan living room/kitchen, and no outside drying facilities.

If I’d really wanted to I could have, but listening to the washer all day would have driven me insane.

I really wanted to, but all the information is so confusing. We are in lockdown no local baby groups to ask advice. Sleep deprived trying to read information on the internet that is actually quite confusing. I want to know which nappy to but and what inserts I need.

@willFOURbagsbeenough there are links to medical journals on those pages, or if it’s something that interests you you can always google yourself re ‘baby wearing’ (I also hate that expression) it’s in vogue now but still relatively new in this country, compared to places (like Botswana, for example) where it’s been the norm for decades.

Because some of us have had kids for more than 5 seconds and aren't smug about our parenting.

First time mum?
YABVU! There is a very high initial cost. You have to try loads to get the right ones for your child. If they wee lots then you have to change every 2 hours max. They are a pain to wash and dry.
I know this because I cloth nappy’d from birth to potty training and know how much of a pain in the arse they are!

I tried and gave up within a week. Dtd 2 ended up with horrendous nappy rash - blood dripping from her bum cheeks. Pampers all the way after that. I also felt the washing machine being on daily rather than twice a week was not environmentally friendly either.

@HenriettaHeffalump I live on the ground floor but I agree - for the number of times I’ve actually used my pram, I needn’t have actually bothered getting one. He’s so much happier being carried that I just do that every time. The pram definitely wasn’t worth the expense.

I used them with my second when we had moved to a bigger house with better drying facilities. We already had laundry drying all over our previous v small home with no decent line or tumble dryer, so nappies were a bridge too far.

@willFOURbagsbeenough

I had hip dysplasia as a baby and a harness.
As did my mum (hers was undiagnosed due to it being the 60s and she was adopted)
Genetically my daughter was at risk.

About 6 weeks after she was born we went to the paediatric clinic. They scanned her hips and they were under developed. Not majorly rnough for a harness but enough for it to be an issue.

So they recommended:

Hip exercises to be done at most nappy changes.

Baby wearing as much as possible... I have a wrap. Wraps are better for the M hip placement and not all baby wearing accessories promote this shape.

Cloth nappies. Cloth nappies are ideal for keeping hip ball and socket in the right place. If you look at a Pavlik harness for correcting DDH, the legs are kept wide apart at an angle to promote the hip development. Cloth nappies promote this to a certain extent with milder cases.

So that was the advice from 2 qualified paediatricians: one a sonographer and one a consultant.

After 2 weeks, we went back and her hips had improved. Co sultant also called in 2 trainees to look at the cloth nappies we were using to see the hip placement with it on.

This is the charity Steps, all about lower limb conditions.
www.stepsworldwide.org/conditions/hip-dysplasia-ddh/

Ok so even if 15% of babies have hip dysplasia, 85% don't .

So actually for those babies washables can be bloody bulky, it can be a nightmare finding inexpensive clothes to fit over the more absorbent 2 parters especially if you have a lean/petite child.

I use them. But I am extremely fortunate in my financial and personal circumstances, i 100% understand why people don't. OP you have had answers to your question. Accept them, and stop trying to persuade people otherwise. If you want to be a cloth nappy evangelist head over to an appropriate talk thread.

@Iheardit

I really wanted to, but all the information is so confusing. We are in lockdown no local baby groups to ask advice. Sleep deprived trying to read information on the internet that is actually quite confusing. I want to know which nappy to but and what inserts I need.

The nappy lady has a questionnaire you can do which then suggests what works best for you.

For us we use all in ones with a charcoal booster (DS is 2) as we need quick drying and ease we also use a biodegradable throw away liner. Pocket nappies are a good intro and little and bloom cost about £4 a nappy. But definitely agree its difficult with the library's not lending the kits.

Its weird the nappy rash thing my son had horrendous nappy rash in disposables he doesn't get it in reusables he has sensitive skin so think it reacts to the chemicals.

I think it's personal preference in Scotland they encourage it and you get a voucher in the baby box for a free cloth nappy set. With anything it's the ability to try things out before paying. Whenever friends have shown a interest or asked questions I have offered to lend out some of my stash so they can try and see for themselves but only if they wish to.

We also swap nappies a bit between friends when we have found if one works better for our babies.

I've never had any issue with baby clothes tbh. I've had 3 average sized baby and one currently v petite one. All in all never found any issue with putting their clothes on top.
Again it's down to personal experience I suppose.
For me they're quick to wash and dry and I change my babies every 3-4hrs (I have to remember, they never reminded me!).

@NoIDontWatchLoveIsland I don’t believe I am evangelising. I’m interested in and learning from people’s responses, and where people have asked questions or made points in respect of which I have experience I’ve offered a view. I see no reason to call time on a thread which has been so interesting and informative.

Don't be so fucking disingenous.

Women are at breaking point during this pandemic. I'm not sure where this narrative that women should save the planet by doing menial domestic labour came from when 70% of emissions and damage come from 100 companies (and it ain't the ve-vulvaed among us who are profiting from that!)

And don't give me any shit about men being just as responsible for child rearing decisions. It is women who change nappies, it is women who have periods, it is women who do elderly care and it is women who are incontinent for decades after childcare. It is WOMEN who bear the burden of eschewing convenience. Show me a "cloth bum family" where the dad deals with the majority of purchasing, pre washing, fit finding, scraping, washing, drying, stuffing and changing cloth nappies and I'll show you my collection of flying pigs.

I just buy normal baby clothes, they fit fine. I didn’t actually know you could buy speciality clothes to fit over cloth nappies.

Oblada
It depends on the brands of clothes you buy and the nappies you use. If you have a slim baby and you put most of the cheaper brands of clothes (supermarkets etc) over a little lamb shaped with a wrap, you end up having to size up leggings to get them over and then they swamp the baby.

I found that even the brands aimed at cloth nappies (frugi etc) just swamped my tiny daughter on the legs.

I use cloth nappies and wish more people did. I find it enjoyable and very little work. The damage disposables are doing to the planet is absolutely terrible. Main reasons it's not popular imo:

• it's not normalised. All we ever see on adverts and in shops is disposable everything and no-one ever talks about cloth nappies so it simply doesn't occur to people to even try.

• the environmental damage is not common knowledge and there a lack of education generally (see people on the pura thread calling the single-use nappies 'eco-friendly')

• people don't understand cloth nappies and how they work. My friend was asking me about the nappies I use for ds and was very surprised about the biodegradable liners that make poo easy. My friend's mum used cloth and was under the impression cloth nappies were 'ok for back then but not compatible with modern life' but she doesn't realise that cloth nappies have been modernised e.g Velcro and no faffing around with safety pins etc.

• misconceptions in general e.g people overestimating the workload, thinking it's 'just as bad for the planet due to the washing'.

• intimidating to get started and so many different types which can put people off trying. They'd rather stick to what they know (I.e disposables) and I also think many people don't realise trial kits exist.

If more was done to normalise cloth nappies in society then I think more people would use them. If they were more readily available and more was done to make people aware of the issues surrounding disposables then the world would be a better place imo.

Same here, no problem and definitely not nightmare finding clothes, my lo is coming to 2 and still wears regular 18-24 clothes from H&M, Sainsbury's, matalan, next,..he is full time in cloth nappies..

Show me a "cloth bum family" where the dad deals with the majority of purchasing, pre washing, fit finding, scraping, washing, drying, stuffing and changing cloth nappies and I'll show you my collection of flying pigs.

This is literally the case in my family, but I accept that this isn’t the norm, and I accept your wider point too. As discussed earlier on the thread, we can’t ignore the fact that the decision to use cloth nappies is situated in a patriarchal world which exploits women’s labour.

Katyclaire we get it it suits you.

It does not work for everyone and many people just don't want to and that is ok and it's not up to you to try to convert people.

Just because clothes fit your baby fine does not mean other people haven't found that aspect to be a genuine problem.

Try to acknowledge that others experience may be very different to yours and that its acceptable for others to make a different choice to you.

This is literally the case in my family

I wonder how your DH feels about the washing lol. I'd love them more too if someone else was doing all the work

NoIDontWatchLoveIsland
I've not found this. My kids wear hand me downs, second hand and cheap clothes generally (no idea on brand) and I've never had an issue.

I agree there is a misconception that cloth nappies are 'old fashioned' and as such hard work - what I use for my kids is pretty different to what my MIL used or my grandma used, you can't rly compare.

Oblada good for you. Your experience is different from others. Until you've had my baby you can't really know what fits her, can you?

Having used disposables and currently using washable myself, it's not a misconception for everyone that they are harder work. I find them to be harder work.

A lot of people on here with some very undeveloped empathy. Not everyone feels the same as you.

@KatyClaire maybe he could head onto Piston Heads or Twitter or some other male-dominated forum and convert a few more men then

Poor form of me not to have read your replies though. Good that you've been open minded about the responses you've got. Although PP's comment about loving them more if someone else did the work did make me smile!

we can’t ignore the fact that the decision to use cloth nappies is situated in a patriarchal world which exploits women’s labour.

You've had to have that pointed out to you.
Next time you wonder why on earth other women dont do things just the same as you, remind yourself its because they are coping with decisions you don't have to worry about (such as having to do the family laundry in a launderette), and move on.