What made you stop using washables?

[YellowCecil]

Hi all

I'm pregnant with my first and am planning to use washables, for all the usual reasons.

However, in the course of my research I've noticed that there are a lot for sale on ebay as "completely un-used despite my best intentions" which doesn?t exactly instil me with confidence. What makes me think that I am different from all these women who went out and bought lots of quality washables, only to never get round to putting their baby into them?

So, I was wondering, did any of you fine ladies start out with all the good intentions of using washables but gave up (or never even started)? And what were your reasons: the washing? the drying? childcare issues? smell? leaks? I?m not trying to name and shame, I?m really interested to know, just to give me an idea of what to prepare myself for!

I realise that a lot of the girls on this board seem to be cloth-users but wasn?t sure which other board might be appropriate for this post! You may still be able to help me watch out for the pitfalls in the road.

Thanks

I started using cloth when DS was about 4mo, and stopped when he was about a year because he suddenly started getting lots of nappy rash despite frequent changes/airings. Was gutted to stop tbh, I found cloth nappies really great and they looked much comfier for him than creasy paper.

I also tried several different kinds, in ones and twos, and some worked better than others for his particular shape, so that might be another reason why there are unused or hardly used sets going spare.

Although I was happy using cloth, DP always carried on using disposables, as did DS's nursery - I did send him in cloth a few times but they didn't seem to realise how much more frequently he would need to be changed, and he ended up with scorching nappy rash.

I used washables on 4 dc. dds 1, 2 and 3 I stopped when they potty trained. With ds until he was around 18months (he's 2.7 now).

I stopped using them with ds as I was juggling too many things at once and the extra 3 washing loads a week on top of the 15+ I was already doing were just too much. That and the fact I could get shorts that went over his huge bottom!

I think a lot of people try sell them on as they buy a whole set of nappies before the baby is born and find that particular set up doesn't work for them. Either due to fit and shape of child, or the style of nappy. I think it's much better to try a few different types before spending all your money.

Also I think used nappies can't be sold on eBay any more, so they have to say they're unused. You might find if you win any of the auctions the seller emails afterwards to say they are in fact used and offers you the chance to back out of the sale.

could not get shorts!

I think a lot of people just never start... What with everything else you can sort of find yourself thinking I'll start tomorrow, and then the tomorrow after that and the one after that.... and so on.

I didn't use most of my size 1's for ds2 as he had a problem with his bowel and we were in and out of hospital for the first 3 months of his life. I didn't start using washables until I knew we were going to be home for more than a day as I didn't want to be rushed back into hospital with him and then come home weeks later to a festering nappy pail!

I think quite a lot of people have good intentions, but then (particularly if it is their first baby) are overwhelmed with all the other stuff you have to do with a newborn and so use disposibles to start with and then once you are used to them it seems quite difficult to go the cloth route.

FWIW i'm still using washables on DS and he's just turned 2. We're using FuzziBuns now but used Weenees when he was smaller...

I think some people just don't get into a routine with the washing and drying of them and think they are much more working than disposables.

I used them from birth with dc 2,3 & 4 until potty training. Never considered them with my eldest although that was 13 years ago! Of course when I had my 2nd dc I knew how to look after a baby it was just the breastfeeding and nappies I had to get my head around so I wonder if that makes a difference.

Couldn't keep up with the washing (or drying for that matter) and often found the smell lingered around more with wet/soiled nappies in a bucket than with disposables which can just go straight out in the bin. After particularly explosive bowel movements trying to clean off dirty nappies made me feel pretty ill. I tried cloth twice (really wanted it to work) with DS1 and DS2 but just couldn't do it. Oh, also, loads of clothes just don't fit when you use cloth.

Bamboo nappies are a much slimmer fit and I found my youngest could wear any clothes over them easily. I loved stretchy trousers and dresses anyway which made changes quicker

I've used washables for my DC, almost all of the time. At one point I had two in washables (18 month age gap).

I've stopped using then for short periods, the longest period that I didn't use tham at all was probably about 1 1/2 months and was due to extreme stress and teetering o the boundaries of not coping at all with anything.

Other reasons for breaks or periods of using disposables part time have been, mostly, down to sleep deprivation or good old fashioned laziness.

I think a lot of people are put off by the relative bulk of washables. Others plan to use disposables for the first few days/weeks and never get around to changing over. Mother or baby being unwell after the birth is another common reason to never get around to using them.

TBH research and trial is key if you really want to use washables. Some nappies are better than others (obviously), if the nappies are less effective than disposables there's no motivation to use them. If the nappies are so good that you actually have less washing than with disposables (which are often horribly leaky) then the motivation is massive.

My advice would be to get one or two of a few differnt types of washable and try them on your baby to see what suits you best. Much better than buying a whole kit before the birth and having to sell them on.

TBH, washables really aren't that much extra work at all

Sorry, got chatting with my neighbour and x posted with everyone who posted before me...

I Bambino Mio (we had no tumble drier to easy to dry) used washables with dd. From 3 months old until 20 months. She just refused to wear anything else other than pull ups and then potty trained shortly afterwards.

We did use disposables if out for the day etc. I always carried one change of washable nappy out and then any more she just got put into disposables.

I did it because it really was much cheaper and I got most of mine from freecycle and then gave them away once I'd finished.

I also used washable wipes,found these brilliant.

We stuck with them for a couple of years with DS, stopped when DD came along as I felt I had enough to do, she had them for about a year and then I gave up. It was fine at home, but a pain for nursery, as someone else said they needed changing more often. Also, I got sick of having to unpack a bag of stinking nappies every night after a tiring day at work and repacking all the clean ones every morning, not so bad at the time of changing but when they have all been stuck in a platic bag all day, yuck). It was also another bag to carry (I had to negotiate a very busy road crossing with the extra bag plus 2 x lunch and clothes bags and two toddlers) outside nursery. I realised that it was so much easier just to take in a pack of disposables once a month or so, and eventually sold them all privately.

Used washable for about 7 months with ds1. Stopped because,
Loads of clothes did not fit
Couldn't keep up with the laundering of them
Found they smelt by end of day if stored in the storage bucket
Though did manage to sell them for pretty much same as I paid for them!

I gave up at 2.6 when size 2s began to be hard to do up round dd, which was about the same time she started to be interested in the potty

couldn't face buying size 3s for 3months use

I tried a nappy washing service with ds when he was few weeks old, I don't know what brand they were but they seemed to dig into his little legs, so I gave up. Silly now looking back on it, I should have at least tried something else.

With my dd she was in kushies from a few months old and then ellie pants which were brilliant, but I don't think you can get them anymore anyway, we only stopped when she was toilet trained.

Good luck with your baby I would agree it's probably better not to buy a big birth to potty pack. If I was doing it again now; I would go for a separate nappy and wrap I would want the nappy to unfold for quicker drying and the wrap to be adjustable. My all in one kushies were beautiful,but when the plastic started to crack after a few months I had to replace everything.

Thanks ladies, all really helpful. I don't have a tumble drier and so decided that flat nappies might be the way forward, and was thoroughly pleased with myself when I found a whole bundle of the bamboo ones in a charity shop for 25p each. The lady even threw in some nappy nippas for free! I still need a few more and might get some different shaped ones, just so I can try them out as
FerminaUrbinoDaza suggests. Also need liners, wraps, wipes etc (although I understand you can just cut up some fleece/use face flannels as wipes?)

Can't help thinking that if I get into a routine with it - washing every day or two along with all the other clothes and linen that's going to need washing then it can't be that hard, assuming I don't do anything silly like becoming pregnant again before the first is potty trained!

Nappy rash is a worry though - that was the first thing my mum said when I asked her about it (my sister and I were in terries, my little brother in disposables). Was Cyteen the only one to come across this? Do you use barrier cream or Sudocreme, or do you just need to change every two hours?

My pharmacist told me little babies really should be changed every 2-3 hours during the day as they wee so often. I would recommend conatrane cream as a barrier cream, it smells nice and doesn't seem to clog up cloth nappies like vaseline or sudocrem.

But as someone who has used both disposables and reusables I wouldn't say either made nappy rash worse.

By the way I never had a tumble dryer either and even the thick all in one kushies I used dried in about a day.

I gave up with them as they gave DD horrendous nappy rash which disappeared within a few days on being in disposables :(

I've had 2 in cloth (although not at the same time thankfully). I eased in gradually by using a laundry service with first baby, and using diposables for both of them for first month or so.

I also have no tumble drier so have ended up with squares, which I prefer to the few shaped nappies I do have as I like the way they are so versatile and can be made to fit snugly. DS wasn't in cloth so much after a year as he was in childcare a couple of days a week, but have used them much more with DD as I haven't gone back to work this time.

Have only had a few incidents of nappy rash, cured by plenty of bare bum time - I think some children are more prone to it, but cloth nappies do have to be changed more frequently than disps obviously.

I honestly don't know why DS suddenly started getting nappy rash - previously he had been rash free in cloth, if anything more prone to it in disposables. Maybe the pH balance of his wee changed when he stopped breastfeeding, I don't know.

Anyway, we don't have a tumble drier either so I ended up with a lot of Bambinex Teddies (quick-drying microfibre but less absorbent) plus a few hemp and bamboo long lasters e.g. Flexitots, with Motherease wraps. For night time DS was in Baby Beehinds with a fleece wrap over the top. They were brilliant, the only thing that could contain his lakes of wee!

I am getting all nostalgic now

I currently have 2 in cloth and agree it really isn't hard so long as you're in a routine with the washing and drying. It helps that I've accumulated a huge stash of nappies so it doesn't really matter if I fall behind a bit with the washing as I never run out of nappies!

DD1 has had a couple of episodes of nappy rash. Both times it was caused by her going through a phase of pooing at night and me not realising till she woke up in the morning which would have caused problems in cloth or disposables. I found it hard to get the rash to heal in cloth and had to switch to disposables for a few days until the rash cleared up though.

My aunt paid for a nappy service, and they used fuzzi bunz. The nappies just didn't suit DS. When he was tiny, they were so bulky on him that when he lay down his head was lower than his legs and it looked uncomfortable. And these were supposedly the least bulky on the market!

He chunked up a little bit and they worked better, but then when he started crawling they just leaked like crazy. I'm sure it was just the brand and we would have been better off with another kind, but I felt bad for my aunt since she'd paid for the service. We went on holiday for a week and I used disposables for the week and it was such a relief! I just got more and more annoyed with the nappies and in the end had to say sorry, it's just not working for us.

YellowCecil - I'm one of the people who did get on with reusables and my DD was in them until she was potty trained recently.

You do not need a tumble drier! I used Lollipop micro fibre ones in cream and they always dried really quickly, even in winter.

I also didn't do a wash every day - probably every 3 days (unless there was a poo which went everywhere and off the liner - a rare occurance). I dry-paled and used lavender oil to fragrance the bucket.

And my DD certainly didn't get nappy rash any more often than her friends who were in disposables, and I promise you I didn't routinely change her nappy every 2 hours! (of course I changed for poos as soon as I noticed). I didn't put any kind of nappy cream on routinely, unless she did have a bit of nappy rash. One tip is to ensure your baby has a bit of "no nappy" time every day - we usually did this in the period just before bed, so as a tiny baby she got to roll around, I gave her a little massage etc, and as a bigger baby/ child she enjoyed crawling and then walking around with a bare bum / no clothes (depending on weather). This defintely helped keep her bottom as rash-free as poss.

I like Motherease rikki (velcro) wraps by the way.

Good luck - you can always give it a go with a few nappies to start with, and if you find you get on well with it, then you can buy enough to go full-time with reusables.

Washables caused DS nappy rash (I tried aged about 12m) so I never tried them for DD. I gave them away on MN!

DS had been in disposables for 12m with no probs, decided to try washables, found that he would do a small wee very very frequently and so he would have wet against his skin even minutes after a nappy change. Just couldn't make it work depsite having a flushable liner in the cloth nappy and having the waterproof outer bit.