So overwhelmed by Re-Usable nappy choices

[excitedbyfirstbaby]

Hi everyone, I am new here and really hoping that someone has some advice for me on re-useable nappies.

I'm expecting my first (ages away yet, July) but am a research freak and like to know the ins and outs of everything. So I realise this question is a bit premature, but it's just how I deal with stuff, I'd rather obsess about practical things than negative things. Anyway..

I've had a look around google and it seems to me there re-useables are pretty funky these days and nothing like the Terry towels I grew up with? But the problem is that there are so so many.

Different sizes, materials, brands, inserts, liners, flat nappies, shaped nappies, all in one nappies, pocket nappies and they aren't exactly cheap if you get the wrong ones.

How do you know which ones to get?

The main things for me are that they don't leek wee/poo, dry quite quickly as I don't have a tumble drier and don't look massive under clothes. I'm hoping to BF (but who actually knows what will happen until July!?) if that matters.

Any tips would be fab. Thanks.

Try the nappy lady [http://www.thenappylady.co.uk/]

I looked into it before I decided it wasn't going to suit us - we'd have ended up using too many additional disposables to make any environmental benefit worthwhile. I also found all the "comparison" calculations totally unrealistic so the cost savings simply wouldn't have been as much as the various sites claim - they state newborns get though something like 8 - 10 nappies a day - maybe I'm just an evil slovenly mum, but my 3 month old actually gets through about 4.

The nappy lady is really very good though and even if you don't buy from that site, it will give you an idea of brands to look for on eBay etc.

Sorry, that link clearly didn't work - hopefully you get the idea....!

I was in the same world of confusion as you - spent such a long time looking at all kinds of expensive types and reading conflicting reviews or which ones leaked and which didn't - so I bought a load of cheap old fashioned terry squares, and used them right up until potty training.

I did also splash out on some Motherease airflow wraps to go on the outside, which you do have to buy in different sizes, and some bamboo liners for night times once DS was a little bit older.

The reasons I like the terry's were:

• Could change the fold/fit very easily to fit my baby so didn't have many leaky episodes
• They dried quickly as only one layer
• Oddly satisfying to fold up and they stored flat.
• As DS got bigger it was only the wraps I had to buy in different sizes, not the nappies themselves which lasted all the way through.

Hope this is helpful. Also I know where I live there is a real nappy group that will come and give you a demo of different options - maybe worth googling to see if there is anything similar locally so you can have a look at some of the funkier options, or maybe get a trial pack, before shelling out for them if you are tempted.

Thanks Grubbalo, I have looked on the nappy lady,still not sure how you know which one is right? You'd have to have a try really first, but they aren't exactly cheap. And you can't try until the baby comes. And when the baby comes I'll be sleep deprived and half crazy so I wont be able to decide! It's a conundrum for a control freak like me!

I think the costs aren't accurate either, I've worked out, based on Lidl nappies that it'd cost about £560 for 3ish years of disposables. Re-usables are about £330 assuming you don't tumble dry and have a good machine. I might look into a laundry service too for the first few months, so that'll cost more.

I'd more interested in giving it a go because I am a bit of an eco warrior I am afraid. But I'm not such a crazy person that will just fork over £250 to anyone selling pretty nappies .

If you go to the advice section, you can fill in a questionnaire type thing that then generates suggestions of brands etc I think. It's been a while since I did it do sorry if things have changed!

The environmental thing is a big thing I know, I'm just still not convinced the impact from washing / drying isn't as bad... Although you've said no dryer so that must sway things a bit I guess.

Good luck!!

MsMarple, thanks for the insight. I did wonder why they had changed so much if Terrys were still considered good; it's just marketing I guess right?

So the wraps, go over the terry and basically are like a shower cap for a babys bum, but instead of keeping water out, it keeps urine inside? Were the Terrys really lumpy though?

Sadly there is nothing in my area for this sort of thing, really weird as I live in a massive city!

I second the advice of the above poster, I filled in the consultation questionnaire on the nappy lady site and she gave me a couple of suggestions (for me it was little lamb and bumgenius nappies). The advice was v helpful and I have been using them 5 months and have found them very easy to deal with. I didn't buy my nappies from the nappy lady site, I picked them up nearly new on ebay instead and saved a fortune. I would definitely advise trying a small number first and not buying a set of 20 birth to potty. I've found that different nappies suit different occasions - eg i use cotton during the day (faster drying), bamboo at night (more absorbent) and bumgenius in nappy bag for out and about (1 piece easier for changes on the go). Aside from anything else, the more you get into it, the more you get sucked in by pretty nappies and want to try different ones!

PS.if you don't use a drier they are definitely not expensive, I'm a nerd so I've measured all my costs religiously. You don't need to wash at high temps - I wash at 40 mainly with a 60 once a fortnight and its better to use a good branded Bio powder. The key to it is making sure you rinse them thoroughly, I do 2 rinse cycles but it still only uses 1kw of electricity (15p in my area).

Oh Grubbalo, I didn't see a link to a nappy suggestions, i will have another look, thanks so much!

I think the impact might be the same, it's kind of hard to judge these things, but I like to kid myself that every little helps. By days 2 I'm pretty sure I'll be out of my mind thinking I was a loon for ever going down this path and running to the nearest 24 hour supermarket. But the thought was there .

I will give that website another go, thanks again.

Smaths, that is some serious maths, good to know the costs are worth it. I thought you had to wash at 60 so I'm glad 40 is ok, is there a powder you'd suggest? I use ecover at the mo, I have read you need to use less powder to avoid build up etc.

I think a rinse on my machine is 50 minutes, that's always felt so long to me, is that about the same for you? I'm guessing different machines use different electric, I think mine is pretty good on certain settings.

Yes, mine is also around 50 minutes, it unfortunately takes a good 3-4 hours for me to do a full nappy wash, i do cold rinse->wash with extra rinse selected->another cold rinse & spin.

I am by no means an expert, this is my first baby and I've only been using cloth 5 months. But I did a lot of research on those long sleepless nights when DD was first born!

I visit a cloth nappy forum and the method below seems to be the generally recommended method for getting the nappies really clean. It does at first glance appear to be overkill... The problem is that modern washing machines are built to use as little water as possible. This means that it is often difficult for the machine to get all the powder rinsed out of the washing (incidentally you should apparently always use powder, not liquid). The problem is made worse by the use of "quick wash" functions. If you have powder build up in nappies they can begin to develop an unpleasant smell or alternatively they can also reduce in absorbancy both of which are reasons why people often give up using them. You can over come this if it happens by "stripping" them (a method of intensive washing), but better to not have it happen at all.

I find that bio powder such as ariel works very well - I personally think it is necessary to use bio to get the wee/poo broken down properly at low temps. Many people on the nappy forum say that ecover doesn't quite cut the mustard (figuratively speaking!). You don't have to use much, I get away with a couple of tablespoons of powder in a soft water area. I was a bit reluctant to use bio powder as I thought it might be bad for baby's skin, but it has been proven that bio powder if correctly rinsed does not cause skin irritation

Wowsers, 50 mins for a rinse?!! I think mine is 5. OP just wanted to say I used ecover at first but I found that it left residue even with extra rinses and my nappies started to smell of ammonia. Switched to normal supermarket brand powder and not had that problem since. No idea why.

You can buy second hand nappies on e bay for not too much money. I'm buying one of a few different types so I can try them out when DC is born in March. Once I have an idea what fits him or her I'll shell out on more of them. I'd hate to spend a lot of money to find that they didn't suit his or her body shape.

I agree terry squares plus good wraps are fab - we also don't have a drier and they dry overnight on an airer. Mine are 8mo into dc2!

Interesting re powder/liquid. I just use a regular 40 wash with extra rinse selected and have never had a smell issue! I'll use 60 if there are any really pooey ones tho. Think the key is scraping as much poo off as poss and I use the toilet flush to rinse really grim ones before sticking them in the bucket

Sorry for typing one handed while feeding said 8mo :)

I brought some onelife/motherease cheap off eBay. Not impressed with bulk on nearly 3 month old to be honest. Found some Terries from ds1 so may start using them as nappies instead of sicky cloths.

Agree that motherease airflow are good wraps.

Buy a few different ones- secondhand and build your collection slowly.

You need to buy Napisan to use with whatever washing powder you'll go for. I use Surcare as I unfortunately found Ecover inefficient. Also have you looked into biodegradable disposables maybe for out and about? Nature Babycare, Sainsbury's Eco (cheaper), bamboo. I love Nature Babycare products.

Napisan is basically unnecessary if you read around - mainly because modern washing machines have such thorough wash an rinse cycles

Wow thanks everyone for the advice, I think my main concern is the bulk of a terry? Well the bulk of any birth0potty sized nappies really. What do you all think, will this be a problem?

Thanks for all the brilliant tips, I will definitely be doing lots of rinsing then, such a shame you can't programme the machine to do all the different cycles in one go, that would be genius!

Nappylady recommended Bambinex Teddys and Bumgenius pockets (but not for night). Has anyone used either? Are the teddys bulky?

Thanks.

Look at second-hand nappy sites like clothnappytree. Also Ebay, while not technically allowing used nappies or wraps, has loads of bundles of size 1 'washed' nappies for bargain prices. So I'd get a wad of second-hand nappies if you aren't lucky enough to get given them (SILs gave me piles of terries, Bumgenius stuffables and Freecycle provided a mountain of 4th-hand Motherease)

Result was after 2 weeks it seemed easier to reach for a clean cloth nappy than go to a shop for disposables (and it's only 2 min walk to the supermarket or 24hour garage!), and I chucked them in at 40 degrees with other baby stuff, on the standard Easycare setting+rinse. If there was a very icky load or a stain I'd add a spoon of Napisan but I only used 3 boxes by age 2.11!

I refused to use safety pins but found Motherease were fantastic up to a year (they were a bit worn in the grip area by then) - not one leak with stocky ds. SIL2 used the Bumgenius which seemed to work better for a slim baby. So I think experimenting with types is vital (I moved to stuffables and allinones at a year to make it easier for nursery and me with a child trying to escape!), and second-hand yields loads of lovely bargains which of course you can then sell on.

I have Bambinex teddie - lovely and fluffy, stretchy, virtually dry straight out of the washing machine, but not as absorbent as others I've got. It's quite a slim fit width wise so not too much bulk between the legs. I'd imagine it's a good choice for a little 'un but I'm not convinced it would stretch to fit a toddler (my DS 8mo).

Love love love Bumgenius, use a teddie only if my BG haven't dried in time for the first change of the day. BG much more convenient, just like putting on a disposable so easier for relatives/nursery etc. Had to buy bamboo nappies for nighttime though. I try to change every 3 hours but a BG will last 5/6 hours in emergencies.

Hope that helps :)

Hello again, the terries definitley aren't lumpy. To answer your question about whether terry's have a bulky feel or not, I'd say it depends on what you are comparing them to:

There is more bulk to them than disposables, but I think they compare well with other reusables - main advantage being that there are lots of different ways to fold them so you can put the bulk where you need it for absorbancy/find the perfect fit for your DC.

From a practical point of view, I didn't have any trouble finding trousers to fit DS - he always took the same size as his age - so from that you can hopefully see that they didn't give him an utterly mammoth sized behind!

There are about a gazillion websites with loads of excellent folding suggestions on them, but here is the ones I happened to use:

www.time2changeuk.co.uk/foldingterries030305.html

I used number 2 (butterfly/chinese) when he was newborn as it was a small fold and lots of central absorbancy, and number 4 (corners) after that as it gave a snug fit and easy to adjust the size depending on how big a strip you folded over to start with.

Sorry, meant that to be a link:

www.time2changeuk.co.uk/foldingterries030305.html

Lots of good info given already, but just wanted to add a few things.

Regarding cost, most comparisons between cloth & disposables do not take account of the fact that: a) most people use them for more than one child, and b) that most eventually get sold/passed on, so continue to be used.

Did you realise that if you use a nappy laundering service, you're not getting the same nappies back each time? Personally, I wouldn't be happy with this.

I've used cloth on dd since she was 10 weeks old (now 22 months), and I would highly recommend Bumgenius, for a number of reasons: nice slim fit (dd is very petite, so this was a big plus for me), quick drying, adjustable size. Downside would be that they're less absorbent than some, so we also have some Itti Bitti snap in ones, which I find more absorbent (and look super cute!). These are also a very slim fit, especially on the hips. However, the absorbency only becomes an issue as they get older and do bigger wees!

I would advise against buying a set of anything until the baby's arrived. Then order one of a few you think you like, and go from there. I made the mistake of buying a birth to potty set of Lollipop Softees before dd arrived, which are great nappies in themselves, but I just hated her huge cloth bum in these! I also prefer the convenience of an all one (rather than nappy plus wrap).

Regarding washing, I've tried so many different methods since starting with cloth, but the method I've found that doesn't result in smelly nappies is:
1 rinse (this is necessary, otherwise you're basically 'washing' your nappies in wee!)
1 normal 40 degree wash, with 1/2 quantity of non-bio
As already stated above, Napisan is not necessary, and can actually damage the waterproofing on some nappies. I also found (after many months!) that I wasn't using enough powder, as I'd read so much about 'build up', and that was why the nappies smelt!

Anyway, best of luck with whatever you decide, and with the baby when it arrives! We're expecting dc2 in August, so will be reusing the cloth!

I second the ebay line of thought, but if you have an active free-cycle group in your area, I'd try posting there. I passed on a whole load of real nappies, different sorts, sizes, colours etc to a couple of ladies with new borns - I was too lazy to try and work out which manufacturers they were and the postage on ebay was going to make selling them silly. If you're lucky your group will have a few members who either have a whole load they no longer want or who will have smaller ones they no longer need. And while you'll probably have little say in the brand, you'll get to try ones out hopefully.

Who doesn't like free ?

I second Freecycle or Freegle as it now is in some places.
Lovely lady gave us a mountain of Motherease, some wraps, nippas and a few other ones to try, and even came round to show us how they worked.

The Mothereases will be on their 6th baby shortly, though they are really beginning to die!