Cloth nappies!

[enchantedspleen]

Hi guys!
We're thinking of using cloth nappies on our baby due next year. Are there any other cloth nappy users here and what do you use? What are your personal experiences? Pros and cons?

We used them part time- reusable during the day most of the time, disposables overnight and for some occasions e.g. holidays, staying with grandparents.

The main pro for me was saving money. I also liked having colourful patterns which looked much nicer than white disposable nappies. Of course there is also the environmental benefit of far less disposable plastic in landfill.

Cons were the bulkiness making it harder to find clothes that fitted and also requiring a larger changing bag. It can be difficult to find a nappy which works for you, so I would recommend seeing if there is a nappy library locally.

The washing part was neutral to me. I didnt find it onerous to put on another 2 or 3 washes a week.

We used them for the 1st year with our 1st baby. I can't remember what brand they were but they had a waterproof outer shell and a cloth insert that we covered with a disposable nappy liner. If it was only wee, we just wiped and reused the shell but ofc if it was soiled we rinsed and washed it. Iirc we had 6 shells and 20 inserts and that was plenty. They washed and dried quickly. They were easy to use.

We stopped using them when he was one and weeing more - despite the extra inserts I bought he just kept leaking. I sold them in the end and didn't use them for dc2 because we were struggling under a mountain of washing as it was.

Thank you so much! I'm wondering how I would test something like nappies out before baby is here though, do libraries basically let you play with them and do demonstrations, etc?

I love my cloth nappies, they make me happy. He has such an adorable tush in them, you never run out and our bin is so small that we would be having to do runs to the tip every week with disposables. I don't enjoy scraping poo, but it's down the toilet is the best place for it, you aren't actually supposed to put human waste in the bin.

I'm sure if you contacted your library, they would be more than happy to show the nappies to you (at least mine would, the volunteers are a lovely and enthusiastic bunch). You could take in a doll if you really wanted, I suppose.

The best way is to get a hire kit from the library once bub is here. Then you can see what works for the both of you.

I love using reusable nappies. It took a while to figure out what works for us so using a nappy library or buying a load of secondhand ones is definitely the way to go. If you want to use them from newborn then think about hiring a newborn kit from the nappy lady. I like newborn close pop ins.

Once big enough for birth to potty nappies then there is loads of choice. Most people have separate night nappies that are more absorbant - little lamb bamboo and tots bots bamboozles seem to be the most popular amongst people I know.

Join the Facebook group clean cloth nappies to get guidance on how to wash the nappies effectively as there is a lot of misinformation out there (like not using bio powder, using half doses of detergent etc).

I didn’t for my first but do for my second and really pleased we make the switch. We use Baba and Boo nappies and find them great.
Washing really isn’t a big deal, do one nappy wash every other day. Find them much better for avoiding leaks than disposables.
To echo a previous poster the biggest pain for me is just that they’re bulky for carrying spares when out and about.
There are a few Facebook pages selling preloved nappies. We got a load from there, different brands as an inexpensive way to see what worked best for us.
Would also highly recommend cloth wipes too, they do a much better job than disposables in my experience.

We unfortunately dont have a nappy library locally but I believe they let you try them on, show you how to use them and you can borrow different ones to make sure they suit you - you probably have to pay a deposit. A bit like a sling library.

We use reusables and absolutely love them! Far far less nappy explosions than with disposables!
We use a two-part system of a waterproof wrap and a shaped nappy inner. We found this the most reliable.
The Nappy Lady will offer you free advice via a questionnaire:
www.thenappylady.co.uk/advice-questionnaire.html

Sorry - don't know how to do a clicky link on my phone.