Real nappies - how much?? And is this a good deal......

[fannyannie]

How much is the 'start up' cost of using real nappies (if I bought them all new) and is this a good deal - or could I get what I need cheaper????

you could go ultra cheap, and use terries nippas and wraps. that wouldnt cost anywhere near £75. or you could go second hand for the nappies.

anything that gives you money back is good

as misdee says you can get the whole lot for around £50 if you want to go ultra cheap.
or it can cost upwards of £200

it all depends what you want from your nappies

well I've never done reusables before - I didn't want to try them with DS1 and DH didn't want to know for DS2 (still had memories of terries and buckets of smelly nappies around the house from when he was growing up with numerous siblings and cousins living with them). But seen as though it'll be just me (he can use what he likes - but will have to buy the disposables himself) I'd really like to give them a go but have no idea where to start.

I guess I want something that's easy and holds everything in LOL.

will you be breastfeeding? best nappiy for containing breastfed baby poo is tots bots and mother ease wraps.

if you call totsbots they often have seconds at 25% cheaper IIRc.

yes I hope to breastfeed this one - didn't work out with DS2 but hopefully it will this time round (did with DS1 though). Not having DH around to get up in the night to fetch the bottles will probably be a big motivator to keep me going - I'll just do what we did with DS1 - fed him in bed

Yup. Tots (or wambamboo - similar shape) with a motherease wrap is definately the easiest and most reliable.

£100 for 12 WBBs, plus extra depending on the wraps you want. For full time newborn you'd be better with 18, so £150.

Another, less bulky option is the Bumble nappy. It can be folded down to fit a newborn and dries faster than most cotton nappies because it is only a couple of layers of cotton.
Hemp and bamboo nappies are more absorbent than cotton, but generally take longer to dry.
When your baby gets bigger you can stuff the Bumble with more fabric (microfibre cloths from tesco 3 for 99P) and it will be absorbent enough for an older baby.
The only downside to using a big nappy for birth to potty is that generally it is pretty bulky on a newborn. Another option is to buy smaller nappies or size ones, such as diddy diapers or bimbles and then selling them when your little one is four or five months old.
There is a very active second hand market in reusable nappies and you will get back quite a bit of what you paid. If you buy 18 small nappies then you will probably have enough back to buy quite a few larger nappies - you will need fewer large nappies around 4 - 6 for a whole day, compared with the huge amount you get through for a newborn.
Of course if you buy nappies second hand you will save even more, you could try Ebay, UKParents.net and Nappy Lady Classifieds to start with.
Have you thought about how you will dry the nappies as this will influence the type of nappy to buy and the number, e.g if you don't have any radiators it will be difficult to get tots bots cotton nappies, or any bamboo nappies dry very fast.
Other factors are how easy they need to be, whether you could be bothered with folding nappies, that kind of thing, or whether you have a tumble drier and of course, your budget.
Another great way to get a few nappies to look at is to contact a nappy agent who will give you a demonstration, and a lot of areas have nappy networks which hold nappucinos - with sample nappies.
And just to confuse you further you could have a look on my nappy blog here There are some photos of my little boy in his nappies and lots of reviews and comments from cloth users on Mumsnet.
Oh and I forgot to say, they are very addictive and cute, so watch out!!

I used a combination of Tots Bots and Motherease with Motherase airflow wraps.

I have a few Motherease that you could try out if you want to (my Tots are Size 2 so would be too big), you would have to get wraps though as again mine are too big and some have been too well used.

I bought all my nappies from ebay and spent around £75, you will pay more if you buy new I reckon. My cashback sheme just relied on my HV signing a form to say I was using cloth. Can you ring them and ask what is the situation if you buy from an individual or second hand.

I would give you the lot to be honest but I do need to re-sell the better condition ones to recoup some of my investment. (which is something to bear in mind, the money you shell out now, partly can be got back in re-sell value.