Reusable Yes! or NO!

[vintageflower]

Hello Lovely Mummys

I am looking for some lovely advice on reusable nappies. Have you had a good or bad experience with them?

And which brand you would recommend?

Many thanks for your time...

I've always done it and it's been much easier than I thought it would be.

It's a lot of money to shell out at the start, but you do save money in the long term (especially if you have number 2 or 3).

Everyone has a favourite nappy so I predict you'll get lots of different responses to your 'which nappy is the best' question.

Do your research and pick the nappies that suit your circumstances the best.

Thank you.

Its my second child, but 8 years on... I have read up on a few but my pregnant brain can't seem to take it all in and just seeing if there was a consensus on one particular make.

Oh definately reusable yes! We used disposables for about 8 weeks with our daughter then switched to cloth and never looked back!

They are so easy these days with all the new designs and everyone I know has been pleasantly surprised by using them.

As for brand, we like our bumgenius and Smartipants ones the best (have tried about 6 different types) but nappies suit all babies differently.

Probably best to try to speak to someone in person to go over the different types or do one of the online advice questionnaires which I think are useful.

I vote no. They look cuter but that's where the benefits end for me. They stink, they are expensive, and clothes don't fit over them easily. Plus babies look ridiculous IMO toddling around with a massive arse.

I never tried them, but a lot of my friends got very enthusiastic about them (including my mad BF whose plan was to dry them over the Aga - yeuch!) but what I can tell you is that every single one of them either openly stopped using them or was later discovered with disposables in the change bag (oh, just for when we're out/on holiday/in the winter/when DH doesn't know about it). But could be that my friends are a bit rubbish!

Not all cloth nappies are bulky- the Itti Bitti and Smartipants are harder any bigger than disposables at all. You would never even know it was a cloth nappy underneath.
They dont stink either- disposables smell far worse to me because of the chemical reaction with the urine.
I agree that snap fastenings are better because they cant be undone and wash and wear better.

I used tots bots with DD and loved them. Used to dry them in the kitchen near the Aga . I made back nearly everythhbg I spent ion them by selling them afterwards and didn't need to pay for disposables at all. Used motherease airflow wraps.

We tried them recently but gave up as DD was (is) such a demanding baby, it was just one thing I could do without. We have nowhere to line dry and by the time you factor in tumble drying I doubt there is much environmental benefit tbh.

Do you have a Real Nappy Project type thing near you? You may be able to borrow a trial pack with lots of different types. I hated the stuffable ones in particular. If we had kept going I'd have used a basic shaped nappy under a wrap.

With DS, incidentally, we used terries. I'm not convinced the new expensive shaped ones have much added value over these once you get the hang of folding them.

Look to see if there is a nappy project, a council initiative or volunteer organisation near you. Try the Go Real website nappy finder. You may end up with money off or at least some impartial advice and chance to see them, as almost all is internet based.

I use(d) cloth on both of mine, and once you get into a routine it wasnt much hassle at all. 2/3 loads of extra washing a week is all. My washer is always on anyway so didnt really notice.

Environment agency report says that thay can be up to 40% better for environment is you wash sensibly (ie modern machine, lower temps etc) and dont tumble. If you do tumble (and many do) then at least there are not a load of disposables going to landfill. 8 million a day in the UK. Cloth puts you in control of your nappy impact. Most parents now use a mix of disposable and cloth. Even 1 or 2 a day has an impact.

See if you can get a hire kit and try them. I like cloth, is nicer, funkier, and I found more reliable than disposables. Can save you a load of money too, especially if you use prefolds / terrys.

Good brands: BumGenius, Tots Bots, Smartipants.

Reusable YES! I'm a first time Mum and we love our bamboo washable nappies. No leaks (unlike Huggies), waaaayyyyy cheaper in the long run and knowing I'm not contributing to 1000+ nappies in landfill that take over 500 years to break down is a huge plus.

I wash when the bucket is full, every 2 days or so and no, they don't stink.

If the clothes thing is an issue, Minki make trousers that are designed to fit over the reusable nappies.

Some websites offer a nappy trial, and for a small fee plus a deposit, they'll send you a selection of different brands to try out, to see if you like using reusables and which suit your baby best.

Reusables, love love love them!!!

I'm a first time Mum and after using disposables for the first few weeks we went into cloth during the day and haven't looked back.

We mostly use bumgenius and tots bots easyfits and these seem to suit us.

I love cloth nappies! Have been using them for dd since she was 10 weeks, Bumgenius during the day and Tots Bots Bamboozle Stretchy at night. Have also bought a few Itti Bitti D'Lish recently, which are so cute and fluffy. I would say the Itti Bitti are probably better after weaning tho, when things get a bit more, ahem, solid! Don't find the washing a problem, just do a load every 2nd day (dd now 11 months), and call me sad, but I just love hanging out all the pretty coloured nappies to dry! I've never had to buy bigger clothes to fit over them, but that might be because dd is quite slim built. My husband and mum also have no difficulties using the nappies when they look after her.

I would agree with what other posters have said about trying a few before you commit to a full set though, I bought a set prior to dd being born which in hindsight was a mistake, as I found them a little bulky on dd. Bear in mind though that there's a good market for selling cloth nappies on, so even if you buy something you don't like, you'll probably be able to recoup some of the costs. In this regard, also bear in mind that the popular brands, like Itti Bitti, sell on better than some other makes.

Good luck with it all!

I don't get how you can LOVE cloth (sorry).

I have used them for the past 7 years with only a small gap and for about a year I had 2 in cloth at once.

I think they've saved us a fortune and I feel quite pleased about doing a little for the planet.

It's not difficult though can be frankly disgusting at times so depends on your ability to handle poo! One of our 3's skin didn't cope with wearing them overnight.

Don't be sucked into buying zillions of different types if you're hoping to save money!

I've used them for my 2 and they are great. I started off with sized shaped nappies (tots fluffles) as I was a bit scared of terry squares but when ds outgrew them I got squares as they were so much cheaper than getting size 2. Squares are fine, used them a lot on dd when newborn too as the fluffles were more bulky to carry around inthe change bag. They take a bit of practice but there isn't much a good old terry square cannot do.

Thank you all sooo much for the comments its been really helpful.

I definitely want to start using reusables from birth.. so I will have to take the plunge and buy in a few for the beginning and see if they work..

Thanks again...

Fine Tasisssss, call me weird, but I know there are plenty like me on Mumsnet! Each to their own. And in case you're wondering, I do have a life outside of changing nappies!

I've used pop-ins for DDs 1&2 and once DS has stopped needing zillions of nappies per day (he's just 3 weeks old) I will use them again. They're fab because you don't need to tumble dry them, and they dry very, very quickly. You bung 'em in the normal 40. wash with liners which are flushable, and the poppers allow them to be used from newborn (we used some the other day with DS1 and they fitted fine), right up to potty training, with no need to buy different sizes.

Love them...

TPM, totally not calling you weird.

I use cloth, I'm happy to be using cloth just not getting how it can be something that you love. You're right however, there are lots of people on MN who disagree with me!

In fact you've got me wondering if I might have said the same a few years back and whether my problem is that my youngest is approaching 3 and my days of cloth are very very nearly over (plus my totsbots are about to fall apart from overuse and are stained and very worn: not very lovable!!)

Fair enough Tasisssss, perhaps the novelty will wear off in a few years if I have more dc!

I use cloth during the day and disposables at night. I don't consider this a failure. I use one size motherease bamboo and wraps both with poppers, so are toddler removal proof and will be good for the next one. From what I can gather a two part system is more likely to be reliable for more body shapes. I think you could have to test out more brands of one piece to find what works for you. Somebody of course will disagree with that, but I think it's the disposables that smell!
I chose one size birth to potty, but don't really think that's true at all to say birth to potty. They would have been to big for the first couple of months. I have a one part birth to potty that my DS had grown out of by 1 year!

Geepers I vote no. They look cuter but that's where the benefits end for me. They stink, they are expensive, and clothes don't fit over them easily. Plus babies look ridiculous IMO toddling around with a massive arse.

Ignore this post OP.

Cloth smells WAY less than disposables due to chemical reaction with urine. FACT. They don't need to be expensive (15x Eco Bumbles + a few terry squares + 4x Motherease Rikki/Airflow wraps will see me from birth to potty for around £100 all in).
My DD looks far from ridiculous in her cloth - once they get nearer 12 months the nappies don't look half as big!

As for poo handling...lots of people don't realise that even with disposables you're supposed to put the poo down the loo!

Go for a 2-part system - btter fitting, less leaky and easier to wash and dry.

Apologies for long post - good luck

I vote yes! I use a mix of brands- my sister bought me 10 Motherease Birth to Potty nappies as a new baby present, which have been a fab backbone to my stash. On top of that, I have bought various second-hand nappies off the 'Net over the last 10 months and the ones I love most are Itti Bitti D'Lish, Motherease Sandies and Ella's House Bumhuggers and Motherease Airflow wraps. The washing is simples, I have enough nappies (warning!! Buying them second-hand online is seriously addictive!) to only need to do two washes a week, we use disposable paper liners so the washing is easy peasy. And I too love looking at my beautiful, colourful nappy stash hanging on the washing line.

Give it a go, you have nothing to lose- even if you decide it's not for you, they hold their value really well so you'll be able to sell your nappies on.

i use a mixture of nappies but favourites are ellas ouse bumhuggers and bitti d'lish. The nappy lady is an amazing webisite with a tailored advise service and they sell lots of nappies (and 5% discount if you've used their advice)

They are brilliant! I recommend TotsBots, Itti Bitti and Blueberry :)