Reusable nappies - be honest!

[firstimemamma]

Hi, I have a 19 month old ds and he has been in disposable nappies from day 1. I didn't really feel like I knew enough about reusable nappies (poor excuse I know!) and to be honest thought I'd find the whole thing a bit overwhelming so we've been using disposables (but with cheeky reusable wipes).

Now I think more and more about making the switch and have been looking on the jo jo website. The only thing is I don't know anyone in real life who has used reusable nappies so wondered if mumsnet had any words of wisdom. What's it really like? Any tips or advice?

Tia

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MNHQ

We used them from day 1 (6 years ago), and I would do the same again. We had a mixture of brands, mainly things I picked up on eBay/at second-hand sales, and we had lots of them, which is important IMO. We tried different liners, and found that fleece (chopped-up Ikea blankets, though we had to be careful which, as the really cheap ones didn't wick the moisture away and DD got horribly chapped) worked best for us. As much pooh as possible went straight from the liner into the loo, and then the liner and nappy went straight into a nappy bin lined with a net drawstring bag, which lived by the changing table (never had any issues with smells), then the net bag would go straight into the washing machine, with the drawstring loose to let the nappies out in the wash. We line-dried where possible, or left them on the drying rack before finishing off on the radiator (taking care not to let PUL touch the raditator). Sounds like a faff, maybe, but it really wasn't.

I suggest getting hold of 4 or 5 second-hand and seeing how you get on with them.

Some great advice above. we've also used them from birth. We brought a 'kit' from one of the popular brands, but sold the nappies recently and reinvested in a different brand that work better for our child.
Honestly, I prefer them to disposables. They contain poo far better as they have an elasticated back.
Do you have any specific questions re what it's really like? That's quite wide 😄

I would suggest heading to your nearest nappy library and hiring a kit. It's the easiest way to see what works best for you. There are so many different types that 'try before you buy' is worth it.

Go to The Nappy Lady website and take her questionnaire - brilliant advice which considers the age/size/sex of your child, your budget and things like washing and drying preferences.

We’re on our 2nd child in reusables, although tend to use disposables overnight or when we’re away from home for simplicity. It is as simple as chucking them in a zipped wet bag when dirty (poo down the loo first) then turning that bag inside out into the machine every 2 days for a long wash with as much water/rinsing as possible. We wash overnight ready to dry in the morning. Tumble dryer is helpful but not essential. Having more nappies than you need is also helpful but not essential, for days when things are taking longer to dry.

With both DC I have had a phase of a few weeks where we get frustrating wee leaks, but each time we’ve then found a new combo of nappy + booster that works as it’s often when they’re changing sizes of clothes or disposables too. And I have never had a poo leak from a reusable nappy.

I have started with reusable wipes and nappies when my lo was around 4 months and it has been fantastic, he is 11 months now..I wish I have done it with my first..these nappies are reliable, friendly to my lo sensitive skin, super cute and the thought that I am not sending any nappies to landfill to lay there for next 450 years is also great..would definitely use these again if I was to have another baby and will use from day 1..

DH was keen to use them and I reluctantly agreed. Personally I found it all a bit of a faff in terms of extra laundry and lots of leaks (we had a heavy wetter and a lot of trial and error with different nappies and boosters etc and it was a pain to resolve it). We did have a difficult time in general (CMPA which was undiagnosed until about 9 months, bad sleeper) so if it found the whole parenting experience easier, maybe I would have felt more positive about the cloth nappies! Of course they have lots of advantages but we did stop using them in the end. However when it came to potty training we used washable potty training pants rather than disposable pull-ups. They are not very absorbent but they do contain small accidents better than regular pants.
Oh and we also used a reusable swim nappy, that was no bother (and I don't think he ever pooed in it!)

@Namechangeymcnamechange11 I just meant is it really as hard as everyone says? Are you forever washing and drying nappies?

Thank you all for some great advice!

I was thinking about the bambino mio starter set but a quick google and I see they're made using microfibre - which surely undermines the whole environmentally friendly thing a bit? It's such a minefield!

"Are you forever washing and drying nappies?"
Yep

As to the washing and drying, we do a load of nappies every other day. I have a separate clothes airer which I keep just for the nappies so that them needing to dry doesn't interrupt the rest of my washing (this is honestly a game changer!!)

We use bambino miosolo nappies. They've been great up until now but recently don't seem to fit as well and are leaking a bit (my son is just about to turn two)

Yeah you basically do at least one load of laundry every day (alternating nappies and clothes, sheets, towels) and in winter you will have laundry hanging up to dry everywhere, fine if you have loads of space but annoying if you don't. In the summer it's fine if you have a garden to dry laundry in (plus the sun bleaches the lovely yellow poo stains!)

I've used them with both children from when the cord dropped off. We mainly use little lamb bamboo 2 parts with mother ease wraps. Absolutely bomb proof, no leaks not poo up to the neck.

How easy to use, fair easy. 2/3 extra washes a week and we dry outside under a porch so can still dry in the rain. I have loads so no pressure to get them dry. The only difficult bit I find is that they're very bulky so if I'm going out for the day I take disposables.

We used bambino mios and found they got fine until around 18 months and then we started getting a lot of wee leaks. Upto that point they were great and certainly better at containing poo than disposable.
They also arent suitable for night time use (we just used disposables at night, although I'm looking at bamboozles for baby #2)

Are you planning to have any more children? If not it might not be worth the cost to move to reusable now. My DD toilet trained at 22 months so would have been a waste of money for us to buy them at thr 19 month point.

Thank you everyone.

@RhymingRabbit3 yes, we'd love 1-2 more children.

Used them from about 8 weeks. Would definitely use them from birth for a second. We use BambinoMio Miosolo and Alva Baby pocket nappies with charcoal liners. We use the Alva ones at night with a booster as we found DC stays dry all night that way.

We do a wash every other day and yes, in winter they take up drying space. But the Alva ones and their charcoal liners dry quite quickly. Plus, I love seeing them outside on the line on a sunny day and love the patterns!

@firstimemamma - I do 2 nappy washes a week. In the summer I dry on the line, and on an airer in the winter/rain. I'm lucky though in that DH is on board with cloth nappies so will hang them without needing being asked, or MIL will etc, so it's not a huge amount of work for me. Although that may change in a few weeks as I will have 2 in nappies.