My council (West Sussex) gives away free reusable nappies - I have questions though!

[hopefully]

Has anyone experienced free nappies from their council? I am more than happy to take them if they'll be useful, but I'm equally prepared to go out and buy my own if they will be crappy ones.

There's no information on the website about what brand of reusable nappy it is, but they're the type with a waterproof outer, a cotton nappy and a disposable liner.

I also don't know what age the free nappies will last up until - they give you a free set of 6-12lb and 8-12lb for the first four months, then a set of 8-35lb and 20-35lb nappies for beyond. Can anyone give me any ideas what age that will last up until? I have no idea how much babies weigh! (can you tell it's my first? )

Any thoughts welcome!

The ones my council give away free are prefold nappies with very basic wraps and paper liners.

They are OK, but not everyones cup of tea - not so hot for newborn poo containment. I think 35lb would take you to potty training (theoretically). I use mine for boosting night nappies mainly.

You won't know if you like them until I try them I suppose!

wow - we've over the border in Kent and we don't get that!

35lb should technically take you to potty training but DS is just under 35lbs now and only 22 months, but he is v big for his age. He wouldn't have needed that first two sets of nappies you'll be offered.

You may find the nappy ok but want to buy your own wraps.

Can you ring them and ask?

Thing I've found with re-usables is that you can't tell which brand or style will work for your child until you have them as their shape varies so much from child to child e.g. skinny or chunky thighs, length from waist band to crotch etc. We used about 4 different ones before finding the ones which didn't leak for DS.

Hopefully, you should definately take your council up on this offer. They are prob pre-folds (which I like and have used lots) but some councils also offer a voucher alternative to spend on different nappies. They will be the same quality of nappies that you would buy yourself and FREE!

They are prefolds because this is the cheapest way of doing things IYSWIM so the voucher would not buy half as many shaped nappies for instance.

The wraps will be OK with other nappies too so go for it and then get on the second hand boards and start buying a few different sorts to add to your collection - enjoy.

*until YOU try them

I prefer shaped nappies with motherease wraps (which are the most reliable wraps IMO).

Get some 2nd hand ones to try before commiting yourself to buying some new ones.

Thanks for the thoughts. I might give them a call and see about the voucher/nappy brand, but failing that I suppose there's no harm in trying them! I think it's an incredibly good deal to get people into using reusable nappies, and I want to support it. A plan with no drawbacks...

I used a similar scheme in Manchester. The nappies were prefold which I quite liked but chose to buy shaped ones at the end of the trial (I went for Easy Peasy Bumbles for what its worth and they are great but I know other people have happily used different types.). I got to try out loads of different wraps on the trial and found (like most people I speak to) that the motherease ones are best. When we moved to Yorkshire the same scheme was operating but this time you could be given £20 if you produced a receipt for purchase of cloth nappies instead of the trial if you wanted to.
I would definately give the trial a go, if you are not sure of the size you need you could maybe wait until after your baby is born then you will know how big he/she is.

Never heard of the councils actually providing the nappies for you! It is a bit of a shame really as it all comes down to personal circumstances and preferences where cloth nappies are concerned. I would worry that if the council gave out a particular type and people found they didn't like it, they might be put off cloth permanently (as opposed to someone who had researched nappies a fair bit and decided what would suit them best).

That said, I wouldn't turn them down . From the size ranges you give it doesn't look to me as though they are all prefolds though - 8-35lb would be considered a birth to potty nappy (like a Motherease One Size).

Good luck with your PFB - you'll be an expert in no time

In 2006 when I got my free nappy pack from West Sussex, you got 5 small Sandys, 5 Motherease one size and two wraps (I think one rikki and one airflow) plus liners.

Wow, that's a good deal! Here in Oxfordshire you get nada at the moment I did benefit from their cashback scheme when it was running, but they did very little to promote it so oddly enough it wasn't very popular....!

There probably won't be many more incentive schemes running soon...maybe some in London through Real Nappies for London campaign. The money from Central Government has switched focus now and is more about developing large scale composting etc.

In my (professional capacity) view I think that real nappy rates are likely to stay at around the 15% figure and that the level of promotion will not change. Some hospitals and nurseries may adopt scemes as a money saving exercise (landfill taxes have just gone up again)but most of the domestic nappy laundry schemes are struggling to keep going.

Sooo, it's up to sites like MN to let people know how fab nappies are and how easy it is to wash your own....OK lecture over.

Go get those free nappies!!!

I would try them, you can always swop or sell them on. If they dont work for you, please don't let it put you off, try another type.

west sussex give you

a few motehr ease sandys (these are fab nappies, i love them)

a few more ME onesize... some love em, I personally dont but there ARE people who love them and use them birth to potty

a mother ease airflow wrap
a motherease velcro wrap (these ARE fab)

a roll of paper nappy liners and a 'wet bag'

go for it, its free

i assume you still get this...

my excharge got this selection 5 years ago and my friend got the same identical selection 10 months or so ago.

meant that ME airflow (rather than velcro) wrap IS fab, and i think is well known to be the best / most reliable wrap

I'm in W Sussex and I got all of the above. Consider it a trial pack. It won't be enough to keeep your new baby in cloth diapers but at least you can see how you like them and decide whether to buy more mother ease or buy something different.

Hi, I'm in W.sussex too and got the motherease pack. I got on with them so well I got enough on e.bay to use them full time from 5 weeks old to potty training. They also give you a cash incentive at 6, 12 and 18 months if you are still using them. It's well worth the very little effort of filling in the form.

hi hopefully, I am in West Sussex too, and am cloth-mad (also work for babykind as an egent if you need any extra nappies/advice lol)

anyway, the kit from the council is fab, motherease is a very good brand.
the sandys are lovely newborn nappies (my 5.5month old is only just out of them too, at 20lb)
and the MEOS are good too, we used them pretty much full time on ds1 when he was between 8m-potty trained. really impressed with them

I found this for people in Essex