First child, cloth nappies - advice needed!

[Crossfitgirl]

I'm 6 months pregnant with my first and have just got a starter kit of cloth nappies that will fit from about 6 weeks old or so. We had planned on using disposables to start with, however I've been thinking about it and wondered whether it's worth just doing cloth from the start?
Get into the swing of it and not know any different, rather than have it easy with disposables and possibly put off using cloth ones for longer if everything is a bit hard / new /overwhelming and I've got to think about extra washing.

Any thoughts?

Disposables to start with. I did the same as you re planning to start at 6 weeks. Turned out a nasty c section infection and generally being overwhelmed with a newborn meant I didn't start until nearer 10 weeks.

I did cloth from day one as I had birth to potty ones. Everyone is different but for me I knew if I started on disposables I was unlikely to go to cloth.
My friend is the opposite. She wanted to find her feet with parenting and then started them.

See how you go and how you feel. Remember you are doing a great thing by using cloth but you can't save the world on your own so don't over pressure yourself.

If you need any advice, message me or their are loads of fb groups out there for cloth. Also find you nearest nappy library. I've never borrowed from ours but the lady has a wealth of information and problem solving tips

I planned to use disposables to start with and then switch, in fact the only disposables we used were in hospital, we put on a cloth nappy at the first change when we got home to try it out and then just kept going. For us it didn't add a huge amount more work - a load of nappies to wash and then fold in front of the TV every other day and that's it. I found the cloth was so much nicer and softer for my DCs bums than disposables. We also used fleece wipes with a squeeze bottle of water and dropped them into the same bucket with the nappies.

Do what feels right for you. If you're doing it for environmental or for cost reasons, even just a few cloth nappies a day replacing disposables is of benefit. We cloth nappied 2 DCs and used disposables when travelling, I had friends who only used cloth when at home and disposables when out and about - lots of different options.

Agree with those saying start when you are ready, and even if you do one cloth per day, that is still one nappy not in landfill.

The main issue I had was not being able to bend meant I couldn't physically do the washing or drying until about 10 weeks. Hopefully your recovery will be much better than mine.

I also used disposables when away. A lot of the places we went didn't have washing or drying facilities. I did spend a lot of time with a naked little one to try and use fewer nappies!

Started using cloth at about 3 months.
Even from birth ones were just too bulky on newborn.
There are lots of eco disposable nappies which are at least plastic free - we use bambo overnight and cloth by day.

You can get gorgeous newborn size cloth nappies. Cheap pocket ones or close pop in or totsbots are my favourites.
We did daytime cloth from newborn, even if just a couple a day to get into the routine. Then we did full time including overnight from 8 weeks. Don't put pressure on yourself but also don't build it up in your head as something difficult.

I bought all the gear ready- started in hospital on disposables, c section and b fed so baby poohed 10/12 times a day. Meant to change to cloth asap- never did. Sold all the stuff I bought on ebay and preloved

Thank you for the responses, it sounds like maybe doing disposable for a bit is still a good idea. I'm going to have a look for biodegradable ones though or as mentioned more eco ones that aren't plastic. It's more for the environment than cost for me, I'll see how I go. I may get a couple of newborn ones just to see, and if I can manage it can always prime order a few more :-)

We used disposables for the first few days before using some of our smaller cloth nappies (most of the all in ones are from 9lb upwards).
She’s now 8 weeks and still under 9lb however the tot bots ones and bumgenius have been really good for use during the day although at night we still use disposables as she sleeps better in them.

We used disposables in hospital (4 days) then tried our reusables once home, so pretty much all cloth after a week (meconium really is a cross between marmite and tar, so didn't mix cloth with it!).
We only had a few very small nappies so mostly went straight to shaped ones in a wrap which could be adjusted to fit, but did mean needed bigger babygros to go over them.

Ahh this is making me all nostalgic for my cloth nappying days (not nostalgic enough to repeat them, mind you...) By the end we were seasoned origami pros and mostly used bamboo terry squares, a nappy nippa and an airflow wrap or wool longies as that was the most bomb-proof combo of any brand we tried. Newborn size terry squares are basically the size of a flannel and so adorable and are practically dry straight out of the washing machine. And once you know how to fold a terry square you can use ANYTHING in an emergency - a napkin, a tea towel, a micro fibre cloth... I carried a nappy nippa in my coat pocket for years afterwards!