Talk to me about reusable nappies!

[blondie87]

Hi,
I’m having my third baby and feeling a bit guilty about the environmental impact of all the nappies. I did use disposable for my first two but I’m keen to take a more eco-friendly approach. I know nothing about resuables; brands, practicalities etc. If someone could advise on brands and how they are used etc I’d be really grateful!

We went for reusables with our baby. It can be a difficult thing to choose as there are so many. Essentially you have all in ones, ones with inserts and outer waterproof wraps and they come in different styles with poppers, clip like fasteners or Velcro. There's lots of companies and the nappy lady reviews a lot of products and it depends on price range. Amazon usually have a lot of lower priced ones and you can get second hand ones on ebay too.

We went for little lamb nappies at first but found them too bulky and got a full refund (a fantastic offer this company does to return within 6 weeks even if used just not damaged).

Now we have bambinomio ones which are less bulky but were still quite expensive as we hadn't looked on amazon etc, so it can be worth shopping around

There's a recent thread about them - I'll find it.

I think its worth trying a selection to find what fits your baby best.
I dont know if same brands around now, but i liked tots bots with nappy nippers and motherease rikki wraps

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/3668357-To-wonder-why-more-people-dont-use-reusable-nappies

People posting about their own experiences on here too.

this thread is going on too it gets a bit ranty in places, but there are done good and bad points argued, with varying degrees of eloquence.

X post!

We had reusable ones except in emergencies. We used a hire service via the local council. It cost less than equivalent price of pampers. We had a bin for dirty ones which was collected weekly and they also picked up the bin from our childminders. We didn't have a tumble dryer ( for the covers) but we found it no hassle at all. Google "hire real nappies"

We used bumgenius v4 (there may be a v5 since then) with two kids, just waiting for dc 3’s legs to chin up a little more so we can start them on him. With poppers rather than Velcro fastenings, as they stick to everything else in your wash. I used disposables at night as I tried a few night options and didn’t get on with them. Loved bumgenius though. There are lots of small businesses selling them and the people are super helpful in talking you through it. So maybe call one or two. I went to a short talk at my local library and that helped me understand different options. A great place to start is washable wipes, cheeky wipes are fantastic.

Go to a nappy library as you need to find the right nappy for your baby’s bum.
Get a good wet bag. That’s my best advice. There is nothing worst than being out and the constant smell of poo.
Oh and you need to wash your washing machine on 90 degrees once a month.
Honestly once you get into it it just becomes a way of life.
I’ve never figured them out camping or overnight though.

i used little lamb. they were fine for day time, but i still used a paper nappy at night as they did leak after a while

it was easy to do though, and i just bunged them in the washing machine, so although it was extra work, it wasn't loads iyswim

I use reusable in daytime and disposable at night. My little boy is 6 months now and frankly thinks weeing is an Olympic sport!

I use bambino miosolo all in ones.

They are NOT the most absorbent as they are microfibre and absolutely need boosting. I use little lamb triple layer bamboo boosters and it works well.

Because he’s a boy and all the wee is at the front I double the booster over and pop it in so it’s at his front if that makes sense!

Wow thank you! I’ll look into a nappy hire scheme- that seems a good place to start!

From what i have read, all in ones seem like the easy option for the daytime, and you want a bamboo-based with a separate wrap for overnight (as they generally hold more wee)

The tots bots range gets good reviews

We've been using Baba and Boo one sized nappies with bamboo boosters and a bamboo liner (to catch the poops). We had to wait for DS to chub up a bit at first because he was very skinny in the legs so there were leaks. But now they work fantastically.

It is worth watching a video on putting on the nappies as I didn't realise you had to do it differently to the disposable ones and that contributed to the leaks.

We have been using them since ds was 2 months - if you get a birth to potty set they often don't fit newborns so it might be worth waiting a month or two, or getting a hire kit. Totally agree with library - our council also offers a £30 voucher towards the cost so worth looking to see if yours does. I just put the dirty nappies in a lidded bucket, lined with mesh bag and then wash every other day at 60. I like Velcro all in ones because I fine them easiest to put on my wriggly baby - totbots are my favourite because they are not to bulky but this does mean they take ages to dry. Also top tip to stop leaks - push the fabric right into the leg creases, so it's not sitting round the thighs