shall I bin the disposables? come advise me please

[frazzled74]

I am due dc4 in 2 weeks and am tempted to try real nappies. partly for financial reasons and partly for the environment.How much would it cost for me to buy the initial nappies, liners etc. ? where do i buy from? what kind should i get? i have seen a terrys set at tescos which was cheap, will that do? will i just be giving myself loads of work? I really know nothing as have always used disposables.

If I were you I'd contact your local authority. Many areas have real nappy trial schemes where you can be given or borrow a few different types of nappies to use so that you can decide which type you want to go with. You can also buy nappies cheaply on ebay to try them out. I'd do this rather than buy a lot before your baby is born because some makes fit different body shapes better than others. I'd also not worry about using disposables for a few weeks after the baby is born. Although many makes say they do from birth to potty they only fit babies of eight pounds or more and none of my 3 DCs were that weight until at least a month or so after they were born so I used disposables initially. You can buy tiny sized nappies but babies grow out of them so quickly that I don't think you recoup the initial purchase price and are just as well using disposables for a few weeks.

The only other thing I'd add is to look at 'the nappy lady' website. She does a questionnaire on your lifestyle, washing/drying habits, money you want to spend etc and sends a list of recommended nappies. You're not obliged to buy from her (although I have because she's so helpful! ) but I've sourced a lot of nappies on eBay that she recommended, she also does great YouTube videos where you can see how different nappies work...

Oh, and btw... I've not started using them yet (due in Oct) but even if you use them half the time you'll be using a lot less landfill, spending less money, allegedly cloth bum babies have less nappy rash and there's potentially evidence that they're more supportive of their hip development.. There are lots of benefits and if you get the nappies to suit you the only downside is an extra wash every other day.... Try it I say!!!!

My advice is to do some research, start slowly and buy just one of a few different types to try them. Different people seem to get on with different nappies. It isnt a waste because just having one of a particular type doesnt stop you using it (although it bamboozles my dh lol). Buying a load and not liking them would be an expensive mistake.