Reusable vs Disposable

[missbumpy]

Sorry if this is a topic that's been covered a million times before.

I'm expecting my 1st baby in Oct and I'm starting to wonder what nappies I should be getting. I have no idea where to start .

I'm quite environmentally minded so I'm interested in reusables but I live in a small flat with no dryer so not sure how feasible it is. Would I be better off with an eco-friendly disposable nappy?

Also, what brands should I be looking at? There just seems to be so much to choose from.

Thanks SITSMH

Miss Bumpy, I started out with prefolds which I fastened up with a nappi nippa (a rubber thingy that saves you using a nappy pin). If you look at the bottom of the blog, there is a photo of my little boy wearing his nippa prefolds, just to give you and idea of how that worked. I really liked them for the first 6 months, because they were quite cheap, slim-fitting and dried super fast. I am rubbish at folding terry nappies, but I found prefolds easier because they were smaller and I could hold them in one hand without them flopping around and coming unfolded. At around 5 months I bought my first shaped nappies a second hand tots bots cotton and a second hand little lambs cotton. After that I kept buying and selling on nappies.
I remember thinking second hand nappies would be yucky, but everything I bought was in very good condition, and most sellers will be very honest about the condition of the nappies they are selling.
The hygiene issues are going to be there whether you re-use a nappy you have bought or a nappy someone else has bought. You couldn't really use washables unless you believed they were clean when they came out of the washing machine. If you felt worried about a second hand nappy you could add a nappy sanitiser ti the washing machine do a 60 degree wash before using, and it should be absolutely fine.

Maisiemog, you're right about the hygiene thing. I'm just being stupid. Just the concept of 2nd hand nappies sounds a bit grim when I first heard of it.

You're right that the whole point of reusables is that they should be clean after a wash.

I'm still feeling baffled. There's too much good advice. I'm going to check out the nappy lady.

Thanks again

I'm actually impressed you are thinking of it now-I'd seen Kushies and Bambino Mio advertised when pregnant, and toyed with the idea of getting some to use at home but it didnt even occur to me to use them full time until much much later! (dd was 3 months when she first wore cloth and 5 months when she started wearing them every day).
I live in a tiny house with no dryer (although i do have a washing line outside i can use in fine weather)and have no problems getting nappies dry, even though i use mostly bamboo nappies which take ages! I have an average size airer which takes a full load and a radiator airer which i use to speed things up in winter when the heating is on. In summer i put the airer in front of open window to get some fresh air through them. If i also have another load of washing i need to do i'll wash the nappies in the evening and hang them up overnight so that they are not so wet by morning and i can then stack them in airing cupboard and free up airer for other washing.
If i didnt have the washing line i'd probably sell some of my bamboo nappies and get some more pockets or fluffles/teddies for when i need a fast turnover (but i couldn't get rid of my bamboo nappies altogether!)

Thanks BabiesEverywhere and MissBumpy - really interesting links. Will definitely try this!

Claireybee, good to know I don't need to make my mind up now. I think someone had told me that if I'm going to use reusables I have to use them from the beginning or else I'll get too used to the convenience of disposables. I like the idea of starting off on disposables while I get my head round having a newborn baby and dealing with nappies.

You don?t need to make your mind up yet, but it helps to get an idea of what?s out there, which you?ve already done. But just a thought though, have you tried the nappy finder for a local agent to actually bring some nappies for you to touch and feel so you get a real idea of what?s available?

That's useful. I've just had a look. There are mostly just retailers near me (mothercare, waitrose etc) but there is one company that does coffee mornings with demonstrations of different nappies.

I would never have thought I'd be going to a nappy coffee morning . How things change!

Message withdrawn

missbumpy

1. some london councils offer a refund of £50 to buy reusable nappies

2. it's not true that if you start with disposables you won't change - we use disposables mainly but bought some terry squares and some simple wraps (cheapest option - I so resent paying £10 for a fancy nappy, when terries were fine for our parents) at about 3 mths. We use reusables in the house (occasionally when out) and I aim for at least one a day. It's not that difficult, we folded them one way when she was littler and now she is 16mths just fold them in four and stick them in the wrap with a liner.
   We bought a big fleece blanket from Ikea for about £2 and cut it up to make liners and cloths. (I do throw them away though if they are too pooey and grim.)
   We seem to do a load of washing every day anyway and they just go in normal wash.

We do it to save money rather than eco - but I figure every reusable is one less in landfill, eh?

Why would you be needing to change at night in cloth but not disposable?

I'm also getting ready (baby due in November) and what I want to do is basically EC with cloth backup, but there may be some occasions when I go with disposables, like on long trips. The thing with cloth is that you pretty much have to change it as soon as it's wet, while disposables are designed to absorb several wees.

I figure disposables would only be marginally more convenient, as you have to keep buying them all the time, and I hate the chemical smells and the idea of letting the baby sit in a wet/dirty diaper.

For more on EC (Elimination Communicaion) there are a lot of websites and a couple of books which will give you the basics. I found Laurie Boucke's book most helpful, though the others are fine, too. Basically, having travelled in a lot of places where babies go bare-bottomed as a matter of course, it made sense to me. However, I haven't reality tested it yet, and am not going to be too fanatical about it (I hope).

Just wanted to add another vote for Terries after Mummymagic's post. they're cheap, dry quickly, can be folded in various different ways so that they fit your baby's shape and can be altered to accomodate growing baby - once you get the hang of the folds, they're as fast as a shaped nappy to get on (using a Nappy Nippa) I dyed mine all different colours so they look cool (and hide the yellow poo stains).

Also, to speed up drying times, get a "Sheila Maid" - one of those drying racks that is on pulleys so you can hoist it up to the ceiling - keeps drying nappies out of view, and they dry quicker up there cos hot air rises.

Best nappy wrap? MOTHEREASE!

HTH and good luck with the new baby

missbumpy, as a newbie cloth user, I just thought I'd stick my oar in as well...

Like you I was utterly baffled by the vast array of nappy types out there and what would be suitable. I got some great advice from threads on here and from Flame, who tailored a trial pack from my individual requirements. All of the nappies she advised have been great, and have allowed me to work out my preferences.

I also bought a job lot of 2nd hand nappies from a classified ad in small/newborn and got 10 nappies and four wraps plus 12 fleece liners (some of which hadn't been used) for £35. This has allowed me to try out various types for not much money, especially as they are in the small sizes for such a short time.

They were all very clean and in good condition with no staining, but I washed them befroe use and used a nappy sanitiser on them before using on my DD. I wouldn't hesitate to buy 2nd hand again.

I also bought some terry squares as a back up for when the shaped nappies aren't dry and find them really good too, absorbent and quick drying.

I didn't start using them until my DD was about 6 weeks old as her poo was explosive and every 2 hours (we were getting through 16 dirty nappies a day), but am now a total convert.

I hope you have the courage to give it a go, you won't look back!

First few weeks, when poo was like green mustard, I used eco friendly disposables. After that I used Mother Ease cotton nappies. Fab. Did that for number 2 and 3.

For number 1 I used Kushies, rubbish imo.

Mother Ease were great. I would use them again or look for something similar.

Go to the Baby show, I think it's in October. Great place to see all the nappies on offer.

aikigypsy, Cloth can hold much wee! All disposables do is lock it away from skin. My cloth nappies last 4/5 hours in the day so don't need changing as soon as they get wet. With cloth, the child will feel wet which help when it comes to potty training (so I'm told .

Funny that this should come up today - i was thinking this afternoon how easy I am finding my cloth nappies with DS2 who is 17 wks. I use moltex eco disposable at night (usually with a real nappy cover) or when travelling and then imse vimsy nappies with bumpy/imse covers the rest of the time - I got them from Green Baby (I think!). This might sound odd but when I was preparing for the arrival of DS2 there was something really nice about getting the nappies that I had used for DS1 out of the attic. My only problem has been that our loo does not seem to cope well with flushing liners so they have to go in the bin - better than a disposable though I guess. I soaked nappies with DS1 and hated emptying the bucket full of pooey water - this time I have taken advice from mumsnetters and just put them in the bucket with some teatree oil - works v well.
BTW I only really started using the cloth nappies when DS2 was about 6-8 weeks.
I think that DS1's nursery's heart sank when they knew that DS2 would be coming along with all the joys of real nappies - they are not that keen and were glad when DS1 was out of them. (on the down side - DS1 was not an early potty trainer despite what people say about children being more aware in cloth nappies - he might have been aware but could not be bothered so don't be too hopeful on that point!)

After reading all of your brilliant advice, I think I'm going to stock up on some eco-friendly disposables for the first few weeks/months when I assume I'll be too knackered to deal with any extra washing etc and then look into the different kinds of reusables once I'm a bit more into the swing of things.

Sounds like the best idea to me ? it?s what we did !

Anneme - our toilet isn't great with the liners either - but I only put pooey ones down there.... ones that are just wee-soaked get a quick rinse, hung out to dry and used again - I can get 3 or 4 uses out of one disposable liner before it starts to disintegrate!

Hi I bought Kushies ultras before DD was born - then they didn't fit her shape! Used eco-disposables to begin with but were not very good. I bought a few different re-useables to try -

terrys (great especially when teeny new baby)
tots bots fluffles (the best)
Motherease Sandys (2nd best)
Bamboozles (excellent but take ages to dry)
Little Lambs (good)

And a few more - I prefer nappy nippas to velcro as velcro ones get tangly, although I prefer velcro wraps as less futtery than poppers!

Buy some different ones and see what suits your LO - you can always sell them on on ebay if you don't like them.

Check out your local freecycle or fridayad (if you hav one), cloth nappies come up on both loads and at much cheaper prices (or free if they are from freecycle), and they are often new if you don't fancy using ones that have been used already, but am sure a good hot wash with nappysan etc would leave them very clean.

I used bambozles for the first 12 weeks but dd quickly grew out of the first size and then I moved onto motherease given to me by a friend. Love them both. The catch with bambozles if that they come in two sizes, and it does seem to work out more expensive. Loved the velcro fastening, but the poppers on motherease aren't that different, especially if you use a velcro fastening cover.

I remember when researching reviews said bambozles took quite a long time to dry, and now I'm using motherease I realise how true this is!

Wasahables tend to be HUGE on new borns so you may end up using disposables first. I also find neither cloth or eco-disposables keep dd dry now he sleeps through the night and so have sold my soul and use a non-eco disposable at night. It was either that or wash clothes, sleeping bag and cot sheet every day - which can't be great for the enviroment either.

Had a couple of weeks just using disposables, after 3 months of using washables, and I couldn't belive how mcuh mroe rubbish we were putting out. I love wasbales - I also think they smell less.

hi....I used a variety of reusables at the beginning nearly all second hand off nappy lady/e-bay as couldn't work out best for me prior to birth and while a bit more expensive rather than just buying one big lot helped ...my results- motherease- found poppers a pain and dh hated (still does) and not particularly absorbant...prefolds/liners ok but had few leaks but do dry the quickest....hemp seemed to get heavy so slid down a bit but v absorbant ...My recommendation without tumbler -rainbow totbots...good absorbancy and fit...if you use nippa version then supposed to be able to use one size but I had velcro ones at first..... also use other tots but in winter really need a dryer as take ages to dry (I hate t drying so have tested without)esp the bamboo ones. I use disposables at night though as ds heavy wetter and kept waking in mid night soaked so use tushies or bambo disposable (best deal I found spirit of nature) hope helps...give it a go is definately worth it even if you can't use all the time.

Unfortunately it really is a case of trial and error. If there?s an agent near you who does a trial kit, that?s a really cheap way to try a load out without buying them. Some online companies send out trial kits! Not sure which ones though.

Or you could buy one nappy at a time when you have the money and try it out in those precious first few months, then when you do make a choice buy the ones you do like and sell any you don?t.