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?

Our chosen nursery won't deal with cloth nappies for hygiene reasons and I had to go back to work after a year mat leave, it wasn't worth the cost for 11 months. Also much like others I didn't want buckets of soaking nappies all over the place or to carry around faeces filled nappies when out and about. I'm also not convinced they are better environmentally unless you are washing them by hand and not using liners.

@KatyClaire

For people concerned about wicking, I really recommend microfleece liners - they’re amazing. They come out of the washing machine virtually dry and they wick the moisture right away from your baby’s skin. They feel dryer than a disposable nappy when I change them, and they’re so soft against the baby’s skin.

Never found that myself.

@KeepSmiling89

Oh to those worried about nappy rash...its common for most babies is it not? There's also a simple solution to that - Sudocreme!

No, it really isn't common in disposables. Both DC had awful rashes in reuseables, no matter what I did it kept recurring. Never had a rash in disposables. And you're not supposed to use sudacream with reuseables as it stops the fibres working properly. There are some cloth-suitable creams but prolonged use will ruin the nappies and stop them absorbing anything.

We do use cloth swimming nappies for DSs weekly lesson though

@Piglet89

It’s not anecdote either: the number of women who are unhappy with the uneven split of household duties once a baby arrives is huge. This is because, I’m afraid to say, many men do not pull their weight because they can’t be bothered.

I do agree with this.

Yes, some women have wonderful husbands who split everything 50/50 or do more and are always the first to leap out of bed when the baby wakes.

In my experience, it's the opposite and men just assume the mother will do it all.

I fucking blew up at my husband when he said he was too tired to "help" with the baby. I said "what the fuck do you think I do when I'm tired" and he said it was "woman's strength" that allowed them to do it.

He also once said that the children were my hobby. I don't know how he's not under the patio for saying that.

It's the same as "I don't wake up, I don't hear the baby cry". I've lost count of the men I've heard. Saying that. I don't believe that for a second. Can you imagine if the mother didn't wake up either either? Would never happen, would it? Because it's just an excuse.

So while he will now get up and help settle the baby, I wake up to. Because my baby is crying and I can't bear to hear them distressed. I can't just roll over and go back to sleep in that situation like he can because he knows that I'll just have to deal with it. And that's the difference isn't it.

Off on a bit of a tangent there, sorry.

Gah.

Op if you are not using reusable toilet wipes for yourself then you are a hypocrite. Please don't act surprised as to why people are not as good as you if you are not going the whole nine yards yourself.

We used them for both kids. £200 up front, but then we used them for both kids and sold them on afterwards, so probably cost us £150 in real terms. We had enough so that we did a wash every other day, and then line dried or tumbled in the winter. It was tricky when we didn't have room for a tumble dryer, but we managed.

In terms of leaks, we found the disposables leaked more, but we did use 2-parters to get more security. One advantage was that both kids potty trained very early (~ 2 years for both) as they could feel when they were wet, and didn't like it. Neither had any problems walking (both walked around 18m, but walked on day 1 and ran (away) on day 3).

We used liners, so could flip those straight into the loo, together with any contents [vom]. Technically you are supposed to do this with disposables as well, rather than send the poo to landfill...

It really varies by area- in my NCT group almost everyone used cloth, only 2 in disposables.
My DD is at nursery and half of her room are in cloth too.

But there are a lot of lazy people out there that won’t try anything new! Drives me mad. They are the same sort that were baffled by our move to electric cars about 6 years sgo. Luddites.

@Idontbelieveit12 weird. My nursery staff say the complete opposite and are encouraging cloth use.

@KatyClaire

For people concerned about wicking, I really recommend microfleece liners - they’re amazing. They come out of the washing machine virtually dry and they wick the moisture right away from your baby’s skin. They feel dryer than a disposable nappy when I change them, and they’re so soft against the baby’s skin.

If you are concerned about the environment you should know that every time you wash them you are sending microplastics into the water supply, which eventually reach the oceans. Please start washing them in something like a Guppyfriend bag.

I'm not sure why people keep referencing buckets of soaking nappies? I thought it wasn't recommended to soak nappies anymore and we never pre soaked them.

I hope this thread doesn't put people off using them.

But there are a lot of lazy people out there that won’t try anything new! Drives me mad. They are the same sort that were baffled by our move to electric cars about 6 years sgo. Luddites.

Why assume they are lazy? Seriously I presume you've read the thread and seen the vast array of answers but you still chose to tar those not using cloth as lazy?

When I was expecting my first 25 years ago I lived in Sweden and the Swedish consumer Association (like Which) did an environmental comparison of disposable versus reusable comparing the manufacture and maintenance/disposal aspects ie landfill aspects, environmental energy and chemical impacts of washing etc. The reusables worked out cheaper but the environmental impacts were less clear cut.

Environmentally the best was pretty equal between eco certified disposables made with recycled/biodegradable contents and line-dried reusables (using the tumble dryer or chemical soaks put the on a level with Pampers)

Absolute worst on Environmental grounds was using a nappy service (only available in Stockholm at that time) because of the chemical and energy impacts of professional laundries plus delivery costs.

@Fuckadoodledoooo exactly.

This book just about covers it.

Disposables have been banned in Vanuatu (along with disposable cutlery, plastic packaging for fruit and veg, polystyrene cups etc).

Bet men made that decision. Apparently there were protests from women's groups.

My mum had used them for me, and then disposable for my younger sister. I am a lot older than my sister and remembered my mum's delight with disposables versus reusables. I had no intention of dealing with all that.

I tried them with DD and they gave her bad nappy rash. Switched back to disposables and it went away.

[quote Piglet89]@Fuckadoodledoooo exactly.

This book just about covers it.[/quote]
Oh that looks really interesting, thank you.

We did the old fashioned towel nappies, folded in a triangle, liner, clipped (not safety pinned, we found a 3 prong clip thing) and covered with plastic knickers. Bucket in the bathroom which we wet-pailed for a while then dry-pailed as less faff having to empty out the water. DH did, and does, most of the laundry washing though.

Our only initial costs were new knickers, liners and the clip thing. My mum still had the bucket from when I was a baby and a lot of the towel nappies. Oh we did buy a few more of them once we had an idea of how many we needed.

Honestly, I think cloth nappies made toilet training easier as DD could feel when she was wet and how her body signalled the need beforehand rather than disposables which keep them dry so they don't pay attention to their own signals for weeing and pooing.

We didn't have the drying facilities to dry them at home (damp problems & no space for a tumble dryer) and the collecting and washing service we used required a certain amount used each week. The childminder didn't feel able to use them and we were out of the house a lot during weekends, so all that combined meant the whole thing just didn't work as the baby grew. Later the collect-and-wash service was discontinued so nowhere to get them dry.

Also some serious nappy rash issues (& knew about not using sudocreme), combined with leaking.

Did try though. We really did.

With our second, I had been in and out of hospital for months, had then had a caesarean and been quite ill, had a baby who needed feeding support and a very volatile toddler: afraid I went for the easy option even in the early months.

Oh, sorry, just read an update. The decision has been delayed until a better alternative is found.

"Mothers told a consultation in Port Vila that the nappy ban would have just lumped more responsibility onto mothers and families."

If anyone on the thread is considering trying reusable nappies - it is worth checking to see if you have a nappy library locally and also if your local council offers any discounts or incentives for using them (though these are few and far between now it seems).

People are being unnecessarily harsh to you OP

This could be the tag line for mumsnet

It’s ok, I knew what I was getting myself into posting here!

But there are a lot of lazy people out there that won’t try anything new! Drives me mad. They are the same sort that were baffled by our move to electric cars about 6 years sgo. Luddites.

There is something hilarious about people being called luddites for not wanting to move from disposable (a very modern invention) to cloth (have been around forever) nappies.

But there are a lot of lazy people out there that won’t try anything new! Drives me mad. They are the same sort that were baffled by our move to electric cars about 6 years sgo. Luddites.

It is pretty lazy, not to mention lacking in imagination and empathy, not to grasp that there are obstacles beyond laziness.

I don't need convincing about electric cars - both DH and I drive fully-electric cars. But we didn't six years ago, because there were no models with sufficient range for our needs and the premium was significant.

I looked into it when I was pregnant and decided it wasn’t going to work very well for us in a flat with no outdoor drying space, not even a balcony, and no tumble dryer. I was also planning on going back to work after 4-6 months and wasn’t sure childminders or nurseries in our area would accept cloth nappies.