why doesnt everyone use cloth nappies?

[misdee]

sort of carry on from the breastfeeding thread.

pros and cons of cloth nappies to be discussed lol.

Totsbots are the most absorbent, IME. The flap can be folded to the front for a boy, or underneath for a girl. The fit around the legs is very good, so big wees don't escape before they're absorbed. My dd is still in her size 2 Tots at nearly 3, but is quite petite. You could try size 3.

I got my nappy washing bag from \ link{http://www.twinkleontheweb.co.uk\Twinkle Twinkle} , but when it gave up the ghost, I didn't bother with another one- dry pailing isn't at all yucky, I just threw them into the machine with my hands!

oops! Twinkle Twinkle

hmc

Caligula, agree about totsbots, but also Bumbles are great. They look very similar to tots but are covered with a fleece liner which keeps the bot very dry over night. Plus, as it's sort of a pocket nappy too you can really boost it as much as you like. Only very occasionally do we get a leak at night and that's always cos ds has drunk too much too late. We went away with just disposables one night and boy did we regret it. He was sodden in the morning.. never again and having just come back from a week on holiday he wore disposables in the day and I took four cloth nappies for the night! phew! no wet sheets!

I want to add my vote for reusable nappies too.

I was pretty much committed to using these even before my daughter was born. I had alwys complained about the amount of waste produced by disposables that my parents and friends woul dhave held me up as a hypocite if I hadn't gone the reusable route once I had a baby myself.

We started to use them at 2 weeks. We used a Cotton Bottoms laundry service. I knew that the first few weeks would be the toughest. After 2 months we bought our own and have never looked back.

Not that I'm a great fan of Cottom Bottoms. Their wraps were no use for my dd but I have found my way through the masses of confusing cloth nappy info. and found systems that work well for us.

We also dry pail. No-one coming into our home would have a clue that we use cloth nappies. There's no smell and certainly not a ton of nappy-filled buckets hanging around.

We wash them every other day and sometimes every 3 days, now that she's two. I can't say we have never had leaks but I can't think of an actual occasion off the top of my head so it can't happen very often. Disposables? Yes, we've had leaks with those too.

After using cloth nappies, I hate they way dd looks in a disposable. And I hate the way they look when they've puffed up full of wee.

I find that disposables smell more when they are in use. Cloth nappies are breathable whereas the sposies hold in the smell. Whenever my dd farts (which is, quite often actually) is she's i a sposie I will assume she has had a pooh because the smell is just trapped inside and it lingers. Same with when she has had a pooh.

I agree, reusables aren't perfect and have their faults. And it is unrealistic to think that the day will come when all parents or even 50% of parents use them. For that reason, I think the government needs to be investing some money in making the gel free nappies cheaper, promote the biodegradable nappies more and have the councils pick up nappies as separate (toxic) waste, so they don't end up in the landfills.

Whenever I buy sposies, I buy Nature boy/girl. They aren't that environmentally friendly. Theys till contain chemicals and things that are buried in a landfill take 100s of years to biodegrade since they are buried so deep, without any light. But, I still buy the Nature boy/girl as it is a vote with my feet and shows how many people are concerned about the environment.

Just like it possible to mix feed, it is possible to mix nappies. Ds wears cloth except when out for longer than 3 hours and at night (sleeps for 13 hours).

Now he's out of his shaped mothercare jobs (too small, but got 14 months out of them) he has nappy squares folded and placed inside a wonderful wrap which I bought off the internet, which is just 2 layers of polar fleece. It has never leaked, can be washed with normal clothes, is brightly coloured and gives him a cute "big bum". The best bit was the price: $10 (about 3 pounds fifty) for the dozen nappies and $12 each for the wraps (I need 4, but could get away with 2 if I washed every day). Huggies are about $10 on special, so the cloths paid for themselves the first week.

I bought a whole laods of cloth nappies, can?t remember the make but they were nice "posh" ones with disposable liners, inner washing folding bit then a soft outer shell and finally waterproof bit. Apart from the oragami bit that was not so bad when i got the hang of all the layers (not great as a new mum in middle of the night) I had one MAJOR problem. DD1 was fairly small (well, she was over 8 lbs but tiny bum) and fed alot and filled a lot - constant leaking as the smaller size napy to fit could not physically cope with her "demands". I ended up not only having loads of nappies to wash but loads of bedding too - about two sets a day at the worst. After tearfully struggling on with the load (had already forked out for the nappies so didn?t feel able to justify the laundry service on top) I jacked in the whole lot and gave them away to a neighbour. Once I began disposables my life transformed and the relief more than made up for my slight guilty environmental-want-to-do-my-bit part of me.
Sorry - call me lazy if you want. I gave it a go, it was hard work, ultimately expensive up front and as I jacked it in even more so. The nappy bin did stink (disposables went in bags straight outside) and I hated the fact the washing machine was constantly on a white hot wash cycle so never got round to doing any laundry for me or DH.
Of course, the best way would be if the nappy companies could find a way to make easy to use, cheap disposable nappies that used 100% biodegradable products - why not shift the blame to the larger companies for a change instead of always making the soft target the evil sinners?

You can at least get some disposables that lessen the environmental impact. Moltex Oko are very good
and aren't full of those weird chemicals.

A point about the reusables.
They do start fitting better as the baby fills out.Also the more they are washed the more absorbent they are as the fibres fluff up.
Mine are going great second time around.

When drying, don't iron (you will all laugh hysterically I know, but some people are nerds like me and iron EVERYTHING. My dh has to phyusically restrain me from giving flannels a going over!)don't use fabric softener (flattens the fibres) and don't dry direct on a radiator (ditto).

As someone said on another thread, there is no such thing as a perfect anything!

i am being a bit naughty and buying different nappies for #3 already. i am impatient. want to be using cloth ASAP after birth.

I use reusable and TBH i have found them soooooo easy.i bought mine from a lady in Canada who is very reasonable and makes the best nappies ever!.www.mypreciousbabybyapril.com (sorry cant do links).
I have also started making my own and they are fab!!.I have made them in Thomas the Tank Engine fabric and Bob the Builder!.
P.s.My son is also the only cloth baby his nursery has ever had and its been open for 10 years~~~very sad really!

anyone on here use minkis, new to cloth and got two but ds looks enourmous in them and they leaked at the front - what would you put in a large minki? he is about 22 pounds and med to slim build - got a tots bot and v pleased with that but dh has baulked at the nappy nippa so though a minki would be hassle free

That's a really sad story Stripymouse but not a lone one I fear. It is much easier than that though really. It's a great shame about your experience - I think you should have had much more support.
If I am honest, dm had bought me a starter pack of cotton bottoms before I discovered MN when I began maternity leave. I really believe that without the support of this site I would have given up on cloth nappies. The cotton bottoms were no good for me. All the help and advice from this site helped me find a system that is excellent for us!!

Because it did my head in.

try this

My DS is a huge baby for his age, not even two. He's not overweight, he's just big. Now I have found that the regular size 6 nappies dont fit him and I am buying the expensive night nappies.

I bought a bunch of terry nappies thinking they would fit but they didnt. So, what i am doing now is getting old flannel sheets cutting them up and making my own fleece liners and hey presto, everyone is happy and I am not out of pocket. The nappy racket is a major major money maker and if you think wisely, you can save a lot of money making your own nappies. Buy some big terry towels cheap, wash them a few times and make them yourself. Cut up an old fleece sweater and make your own liners. I made 20 real nappies for the price of a bag of disposables.