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 suppose everyone is different but i actually find cloth easier than disposables.

My bin isnt filled with nappies so theres no room for anything else and the binmen can empty it without moaning the lid isnt down.

I actually find disposables smell more than cloth nappies.

When it is throwing it down with snow i dont have to trek to morrisons to buy disposables i have all the nappies i need. Come to think of it i dont have to trek out to the wheelie bin in the snow in my dressing gown at 7am to put the buggers in the bin either!

Yer theres an extra load of washing to put in before i go to bed every 2 days but so what? the machine does the work while i sleep. We dont have a dryer but just choose nappies that dry quick on the airer!!

If DD has nappy rash i pop in a silver liner before bed and its gone by morning, strip washing each mnth sorts it out too.

I love my cloth nappies and i wouldnt swap them for any disposable

I have used cloth for my ds from 3m till 3years and also used with all my foster babies/toddlers for the past 6 years.

My cotton shaped nappies just go on and on.

Can't begin to think how much money I have saved myself and I get to polish my helping the planet halo..

I have a little two week old in them now, so cute with a big fluffy bum. I do usually use disposables till the cord has dropped off, then its cloth all the way. At one point I had three little ones in cloth at the same time.

You do need to get into a washing routine, I usually wash in evening/overnight, dry during the day (i now tumble) and fold them that evening. so wash and fold each eve on a rota. I also use cloth wipea and wash bibs in with nappies at 60deg. I do a rinse of nappies first in washer then add bibs.

Nappy rash is often caused by too much washing powder, you need very little in a 60deg wash.

I found disposibles easier for nursery. I still use cloth at home, but I have to admit I wince at the pooy nappies now.

A lot depends on the weather. Its easy to use cloth when there are lots of hot sunny days, but harder when it is raining.

I used cloth and cloth only with DS1. I even took a weeks worth on holiday with me as I didnt want him in disposibles.

Then we moved house and the space was smaller - no real space for the nappy bucket.

Then DS2 came along. There is 19m between them, and for 6 weeks I juggled both in cloth before i admitted defeat - 2 in nappies, 1 breastfed, running the house, I just couldnt add more washing and scraping to it so switched to disposibles.

Then I kept thinking about putting DS2 in them when DS1 potty trained, but he is dairy intollerant and his nappies were fowl. And I really didnt fancy much other than putting them in the bin.

Then I moved again to a small council house, on my own with 2 kids, needing them to go to nursery whilst I worked and it died a final death! I sold most of them to a friend, I have some of the older more stained ones in the cupboard. DS2 is now potty trained.

So all in all, I loved my nappies. I loved cloth. I found them fine until circumstances in my life meant they slipped!! I would still advise every mum to give them a go.

My favourites with DS1 were 2 parters. With DS2 it was Mothercare Smart Nappies, which were fab

We use Bambinex nappies on our 7mo. They are a nice snug fit, not too bulky and generally very good.

However.

They just can't hold a whole night of wee and she was waking up soaking every morning. So she's been in a disposable at night for months.

At first I found the scrubbing and washing of cloth nappies too much on top of everything else, esp as newborns poo several times a day. So I'd kindly leave them for my dp to do at the end of the day! But when things settled down it quickly became part of my normal routine, and as she started pooing less frequently I only need to launder once every 2-3 days and there are fewer nasty ones.

Overall we're pleased we went for washable.

A lot of Ebay nappy sales (when you see a full birth-to-potty set) are unwanted gifts.

A relative asked me for loads of advice about cloth diapers. They try to be ecofreaks, and often spout off extremist eco-warrior words, but then they drive an SUV and when I asked "How'd you get on with cloth diapers, which system did you decide on in the end", they declared "When you have a baby in the house there isn't enough time in the day to take a shower, much less do cloth diapers" -- I think some people don't really know themselves very well, so end up buying stuff they'll never use.

I would second the advice about NOT buying a big pack before your baby is born. Try one of a few different types (some washable nappy places do trial packs) and see what suit you, your baby and your lifestyle.

I heart my cloth nappies and, 3.5 years down the line (on to second baby using them), I still get a warm feeling when I put a nappy in the nappy bucket rather than the landfill.

Also, don't feel bad if you don't use them from birth. There's plenty else to be getting your head around with your first born, so don't worry about delaying using them for weeks/few months until the poo frequency lessens and you feel more on top of things.

Ps My midwife with my dd advised that we use just olive oil (no water) to clean as a newborn. We did this with both for a few months - then used washable wipes with just water - and neither had nappy rash. Water and wipes seem to be what dry out very new skin.

Olive oil, that is a good idea. Thanks Rosebud!

We are using Bumgenius on DS and have done since he was about 6 weeks old. We stopped for a couple of months from about 4 months as DS was getting awful nappy rash and nothing seemed to clear it. However since moving house and changing washing machines, the nappy rash has cleared and never come back!!! I suspect that despite multiple rinses the previous machine wasn't getting the detergent out.

I really don't and didn't find it a problem with a tiny baby. Dry pail the nappies, if EBF then no need to scrape any tiny amounts of solids off and pick up the bag from the pail and chuck in the machine. Drying is easy, either on the line, over the backs of chairs, on the bannisters or radiators. Rather sadly, I find restacking the nappies a rather pleasant task - nicely mindless IYKWIM.

Now that DS is weaning, any solids roll off into the loo or need a minimal scrape with toilet paper. I do a wash every other day and use a few drops of teatree oil under the lid of the bucket and no smells.

HTH.