I've had it with reusable nappies? Am I a bad person?

[Ernestina]

They were fine when ds was small and we were in or near the house a lot of the time and I wasn't trying to actually achieve stuff. But now he's 9 months old and I have stuff to do (trying to work around looking after him) and the reusables need changing so ridiculously often.

Also he will definitely grow out of the large Motherease soon (which I naively thought would last longer than this) and I don't have a lump of cash sitting around to buy more, or any time to do the research.

Please reassure me I'm not a bad person. I've done a little bit of good for the planet but now I just want to be able to walk to my local shops (a mile away) and not have to change his nappy before we leave the house (even if it doesn't need it) then make sure I'm back within 1hr 45m before it leaks...

Of course you're not a bad person for wanting to use disposables! I'm not using cloth so that people think i'm a good person, or even to 'save the planet', i'm doing it because I prefer the feel and look of cloth, find it more convenient and mostly because I believe it's cheaper, so if those things no longer apply to you then why on earth would you persevere? Looking after children is hard enough without setting out to purposefully make it harder.

Out of interest though, what are you using because you shouldn't have to change that regularly.

It sounds like the ones you've got dont suit your DS's shape or your lifestyle tbh.

Could you look on the wanted/for sale section and perhaps swap them for a different sort with someone that might suit you better?

Thats if you do still want to use re-usables of course if you could find some easier to live with ones?

If your current ones arent that old, you should be able to swap for something else quite easily.
Then if they are no good either - sell them on and switch to disposables and DONT FEEL BAD!

Of course not, for all the things lollipopmother said.

Have you tried boosting the ones that you have?

And re growing out of them; once he is more mobile and slims down a bit you should find that they will fit him for much longer as well.

And have you checked your wraps? if they have become delaminated it may be them that is the issue rather than the nappy itself.

You can always sell your ME and then buy more nappies with the proceeds and then add to that as and when until you have a full time stash again. It doesn't have to be all or nothing

Of course not!

If you are set on switching to disposables then you could either put your cloth aside in case you have another DC or sell it all and treat yourselves to something nice

If you would like to try again with cloth I think that would be very achievable. If you are using Large Motherease nappies they must be Sandy's right?

I'm quite happy to help you stick with cloth if you decide you'd like to give it a go but if you've had enough don't beat yourself up about it - it's not worth it.

I do prefer the idea of cloth nappies to be honest - they seem to be better to have next to the skin than disposables. And I do like to try to live in a sustainable way - avoid excessive packaging, put a jumper on instead of turning the heating up etc. But I have gone from just using disposables at night to using them pretty much 50% of the time.

I feel disappointed that I can't seem to cope with the constant nappy changing - but my days are much easier when I use disposables.

I use Motherease Sandy's with Rikki wraps. I have a couple of boosters which came with the birth to potty nappies which I tried but they only seem to give me an extra 30mins to be honest - and they're really bulky so make ds v unstable - frustrating for him when he's trying to move around.

Thanks for reassuring me it's okay to switch - I just feel a bit of a failure. I like the idea of swapping to a different sort of reusable but the choice seems overwhelming... so any advice gratefully received...

I switched, Ernestina.
I didn't mind the washing, it was the constant changing and the wriggliness of ds which got to me. I used Bambino Mio, which were great when he was small, but kept falling apart as he got older and moved aobut while I was trying to get them on him. You have avoided a lot of disposables already, so do not feel bad about it.

ernestina - even if you switch to disposables now, you have saved so many nappies from going to landfill already that you should feel proud. i use reusables with my 7mo as don't find them a problem, but if i had to change them as often as you then i would switch to disposables no question!

in terms of new ones, i wouldn't go with a birth to potty now that he is 9mo because many birth to potty don't seem to last that long (am really hoping our bumgenius do though as i love them!)

could one solution be to buy one of each nappy that you are interested in to see what you like and what lasts longest between changes before you commit? that way the outlay would be smaller and you could see if it is reusables that you no longer like (and hence switch to disposables knowing you have tried) or just your reusables that you don't like (in which case you can then buy the nappy you like the best)

Leaking through a Sandy's + Rikki - eeeek!

Where are they leaking? Can you tell? Have to say I find the Rikki not reliable over a Sandy's - they are far better with the airflow. With the Rikki there is a tendancy to get leaks around the bottoms of the legs. If they are the MEOS boosters you are using take heart in the fact that they really aren't all that absorbant. I'm guessing the riser is the issue with the Sandy's and that is why you think he'll be out of them soon?

rise not riser - still haven't mastered the art of simultaneously BFing and MNetting!

Yeah, I preferred the airflow and that's what I thought I'd ordered but when the lollipop lady brought them round they were rikki and I was too sleep-deprived and shell-shocked to argue at that point in my life!

They do leak through the legs - but I can't really blame them as they are usually pretty sodden by the time they leak. Ds wees A LOT! BigBadMouse - Do you really think it would make a difference to use an airflow if the nappy is sodden anyway?

We are already on the last popper on the legs and only one popper to go on the waist so can't see how they will last till he's out of nappies. But maybe if his legs slim down a bit...

Really feel too mentally tired to research nappies. So I'd love some recommendations as to what is super absorbant for a very wet boy... Which boosters should I try?

Thanks for all the support and advice by the way - it's reassuring to know others have switched to disposables.

Don't feel bad! Also remember that you don't have to use reusables all the time, you can just use them when you're at home, and use disposables when you're out. Try Moltex disposables if you want the greenest option. They are unbleached, and pretty much as absorbent as any others.

Hemp is a really good booster to put behind a terry nappy. Another thing worth considering is you may have detergent build up, which is causing the nappies to be less absorbant. You can strip them by putting them in for a wash with nothing but a couple of squirts of washing up liquid, then putting on for a rinse about 5-6 times to remove residue. There are a couple of good second hand nappy site. www.clothnappytree.com www.usednappies.co.uk
and one that you can access through another baby website,don't think I'm allowed to put name but you could google the cloth tots msn group and you'll be able to find it, you have to ask to join, but I have bought a few nappies from there and the ladies are very good. You could use these to either try some other styles or sell yours too! Another thing I found is I prefer the thirsties wraps as they have a good elasticated leg to keep everything in.Hope that helps!

Forgot to say thar hemp needs pre washing about 6 times to get the absorbancy up. You could also try bamboo nappies, again they need pre washing a few times

oh yes i use that clothtots one and its v good.

No you are not a bad person.

Ernestina - The airflow will make a difference but not a huge one. My DS is a superweer and has Sandy's and Airflows. Quite often his nappy is dripping wet when I take it off but I haven't had one leak yet. That said, DD2 has leaked through her EH Day Nappy and airflow when I forgot to boost - I was really shocked . Bad timing too - I was doing a cloth nappy demo at the time .

He is very likely to be at the chubby leg stage at 9mo. They do start to thin down again so all hope is not lost.

You could try boosting with some microfibre dishcloths as a cheap option (3 for 89p in tescos, 3 for £1 in Asda I think) or something hemp for thin-ness. I'll have a look later as I am looking for some cheap boosters for a client. If I spot anything interesting I'll let you know