New mum to be - recommendations on green nappies please

[Nuala01]

Hello, I'm about to be a new mum in 10 weeks time and I'm only now starting to get organised. I hate the idea that nappies go into a landfill so I would like to be as green as possible. I'm not sure how much time or space I will have for washing and reusing nappies but I'm willing to try. I suppose it would be good to have a mix, disposable, eco nappies verse reusable nappies. Any recommendations on brands or collection services would be greatly appreciated! Thank you

That is much the same reason we use cloth nappies (DS now 14m). I don't use them absolutely all the time, but use them when I can, as I hate the idea that I am sending so many nappies to landfill (I hate sending the ones that I do, but sometimes we just have to use disposables for a while).

My suggestions:

• Have a search online for any local reusable/cloth/real nappy groups, and even if you have a local nappy library
• Check your council website as some councils offer subsidies/vouchers for trialling cloth nappies
• have a search for The Nappy Lady, she can offer you tailored advice if you fill out the questionnaire on her website. If you live near her, you can even visit for a demo.
• buy second hand/preloved if you can.

There are so many different types of cloth nappies, and which suits you best will depend on your washing/drying facilities, the size/shape of your baby, what type you find easiest to use, etc.

Hope that is helpful!

www.nappies2go.co.uk not used them myself by someone on another forum recommended them. They collect an recycle disposable nappies.
25 weeks myself with my first so still looking into nappies.
Found in my area that there is a company that drops off reusable nappies and then collects the dirty ones the next week for washing so you get all the benefits of reusable nappies without the washing. May give them a try

Check to see if your local council has any incentive schemes. Gloucestershire is great for example - they run a free trial scheme for a month to try over 10 brands of reusable nappies. They also have a discount/rebate scheme for buying cloth nappies. I might sound enthusiastic but it's encouraged me to give them a go!

Nappies come in three main materials

Cotton - which is tough and absorbent.

Bamboo - which are super absorbent. However they cannot be washed at a high temperature and can only be dry cleaned on low. And they take an age to dry

Microfibre - which is the least absorbent but takes the least time to dry

Then nappies are either in three parts. The nappy itself, a booster (a pad of material which lies in the nappy like a sanitery pad) and a waterproof wrap around the nappy. Or the nappy can be build all in together (an all in one). That have all those elements but build in together. The three part are more effective however the all in ones are less hassle.

Most people use a three part bamboo nappy at night. As they are the most absorbent. Esspecially when they sleep thought the night. And All in one nappies though the day

In terms of biodegradable nappies, I found Bambo the best brand. I didn't use washable ones so can't advise on those.

I found all biodegradable nappies underperformed at night for my DS (DD not a problem as wee tended to spread out more; front and back) and usually had to put him in Pampers Active or he would have leaked every night. Even those aren't perfect.

Natural Collection are a good company for all things eco.

I've always used Earth Friendly Baby wipes and find them fine. Their bubble bath also bubbles the best (massively, actually) - or the Humphrey's Corner ones. We are using the rose bath at the moment and it's nice.

Some fab advice here already! I'll just reiterate looking into your council's schemes - we got £40 back from our council which paid for a few nappies! Also can't recommend the nappy lady enough - her questionnaire really helped to pinpoint the nappies that suited us (our washing needs, budget, DS shape) - I've experimented with other types but her suggestions are the core of our stash and work brilliantly for DS! She has a lot of info and videos which educated me on nappies as I found them really confusing before I was using them too!
It's worth knowing that you can buy nappies preloved too (eBay, Facebook pages) I've saved a fortune and it makes them that much more Eco friendly if they're used by more than one child.

Oh... And you talked about space for drying... I recently bought an ikea octopus drier... It's totally shrunk the room I needed to dry my nappies! It's gone from a whole clothes horse for 2-3 days worth to just the octopus dryer and I can easily transfer it from house to garden and back depending on the weather - we only have a small house so it's made a huge difference and is much more convenient!!

And... It takes up no time... An extra wash every 2-3 days... Less time that going to the shop and buying nappies... Can you tell I love them

I use ye olde terry squares and they are brilliant. They dry super fast, are versatile, cheap and you don't need different sizes.

Look at clothnappytree and other second hand nappy sites - technically they aren't allowed on Ebay. Find someone selling loads of small baby nappies for around £20. See how you go.

I found shaped nappies with a wrap were wonderful for containing poo explosions in a way that disposables didn't, so actually did no more laundry with ds than friends who had to change baby clothes twice a day!

I don't have loads of experience, my baby is 6 weeks now and I've been using cloth since she was about 2-3 weeks.

I bought a load I different kinds to see what we liked. Had the most success with Charlie banana and bum genius v4 for day time pocket nappies and for night (although I do use the in the day) little lamb bamboo. The LL ate sized but cb and bg are birth to potty.

I would recommend getting poppers where you can. They don't stick together in the washing machine... Also a toddler could take Velcro off pretty easily. Fuzzibuns are like Charlie Banana (adjustable elastic for legs) but the pocket opens at the front not the back so less likely to have poo on. Itti bitty didn't seem to contain for us :( I also have tots bots which is like a less good version of bg IMHO. I have some flips but the legs look a bit gapey so I'm waiting a little while.

If your interested in bum genius they're 3 for 2 in mothercare which is a v good deal, they're not often discounted by that much in my experience (over my pregnancy)

Nappy lady is fab! I like Charlie banana best! All in ones or me as ds does not like nappy changes!

I used nappy lady and she recommended me gdiapers as I hated the fiddly prefold slot pouches on most cloth.

I can use prefold cloth/inserts and disposable inserts with them.

Pick up some second hand ones on The preloaded nappy website! They're v cheap and you can try different types without breaking the bank.