Scepticism...

[trellism]

I'm pg with my first and have always intended to use reusables. I have a couple of friends who use them too without any major problems.

However, everyone I've told about this plan has reacted with utter scepticism and have said that I will pack it in after a couple of weeks. I think they think I'm going to use terry squares and a safety pin.

My intention is to use disposables for a short while until (if...) I get bf established and then move on to either washables or a nappy service (DH has been nominated as nappy tsar, so he's in charge of all that).

My question is, are reusables really that much harder to use and get along with than disposables? The thought of having a bin full of little plastic bags of poo turns my stomach.

Any advice/tips/motivation would be much appreciated.

Wouldn't recommend a nappy service as they tend to use prefolds and there is no joy in using them plus they leak.

Don't buy loads of any one type of nappy.

Consider buying second hand.

Pocket nappies are fantastic but two-parters are better for nights...

Come see the clothies on the General Chat thread (or threads as there are two on the go at the mo).

Disclaimer: you can get seriously addicted to fluff!

Theya re skeptical because:

they think it's hard

and/or

they think having a baby is hard enough as it is, even taking the easiest options for everything

and/or

if it turns out not to be hard they think you will judge them for having used disposables

and/or

they used reusables back in the day when there was no other option (and they weren't as good then)

This is why we have MN, there are enough people to always find someone who can help out with your less-mainstream choice. Good luck.

One of my friends said: "Ugh, I couldn't do that. Putting poo down the loo!"

I figure nothing could ever be as bad as cleaning up cat diarrhoea from the bathroom floor, so I'm OK with poo. Really.

I used washables (prefolds) and never particularly felt I was doing any extra work, or putting in any extra effort.

We started with cloth nappies as soon as our baby started producing nice yellow bf poo nappies instead of micronium. Exclusively breastfed baby nappies

I think that pad folded muslim squares are the best for a newborn with a good wrap. I liked the motherease air rika wrap for a newborn. Muslim squares dry really quickly

I also had some diddy diapers which are a very neat nappy for a newborn. They are also quite cheap on ebay or you can get them for about a fiver brand new.
It is useful to have some shaped nappies for husbands, baby sitters and shaped nappies are better for containment when nappies get really explosive at about 6 weeks, but don't poo as often as a newborn.

ebay aution for diddy diaper

You can get diddy diapers quite cheaply off ebay. My duaughter is starting to outgrow hers at 16 weeks and they are still in excellent condition.

We are now using a mixture of terries, motherease and tots. Although I am thinking of getting some size 2 micro diddy diapers. I

What's wrong with using terry squares and safety pins? I've always used terry towelling nappies secured with nappy pins, and plastic pants over the top. It's the cheapest and most versatile system imo.

It's really not that hard. Once the meconium clears, you just get on with it, and all that needs to happen is that DH puts a load of nappies and muslins onto wash every night.

I started with XS Sandys, then small Sandys and Motherease one size. Have never bought a disposable nappy or pull up and DS is 3 and out of daytime nappies completely

It is extra work but having a baby creates a lot of extra work anyway! And it's not that bad, really, just a couple of extra loads of washing a week.

Definitely try out a few different kinds to see what you like. We use pre-folds and have always liked them but lots of people don't.

If I were you, I'd try out some terry squares. Even if you don't get on with them, they may be useful for stuffing or boosting an older baby's nappy and there are 1,001 other uses for a terry square!

It needn't be all or nothing. We use disposables at night (after trying a lot of reusable types - DS outpeed them all) and when out and about.

I think terries are great. They are so verstile and you can use them as small towels/ face cloths/ dusters after potty training. Unlike shaped nappies you do not need a range of sizes, you just change the way you fold them. Typically a terry nappy costs about £2 so you do not have to use it as many times to be in profit.

Nappi nippas are much safer than pins. I'm not even sure where you would get nappy pins from.

Brilliant advice, thanks all. I am going to watch some instructional videos on YouTube.

Just a cautionary note if you are going to pin nappies. It's important to use proper nappy pins, and not safety pins. Nappy pins have locking heads to stop them coming undone, and to stop them being opened by little fingers. I much prefer them to nappi nippas, because the nappy fold I prefer is the 'kite' fold, which I find needs to pinned each side when DC get bigger. It's impossible to do that with nappi nippas imo. You can buy nappy pins from Boots, Mothercare, or any good chemists, and even on eBay.

Cloth is more work, but it's much nicer, even with having to put the poo down the toilet! And if you just start with a few nappies, particularly if you buy 2nd hand or use terries at first, you really haven't got much to lose.

I like the idea of dh being nappy tsar. Mine loves gadgets so he's very keen on our itti bitti d'lish with their popper system.

Terries were our favourite nappies for many months with dd, but only from about 8 months.

Nothing wrong with terry squares and pins
I used the for years.
Straightforward, easy to use, quick to dry. Low cost. Brilliant.
I used reusables from my babies being around 12lbs (about the first 6-8weeks). Before that I used Nature Boy/girl disposables.

Awwwwwwww! There really can be no joy in terries and pins! They are the hair shirts of the nappy world. Now, an Itti in every colour, a few Easyfits and a couple of other nice pockets and a couple of Bedbugs... That's joy!!!

I loved my terries

All soft and fluffy and loved the origami/bat fold. You can get them in different colours too. Very reliable, very absorbent.

Yes the others are fun too. But the terries are great.

Lots of joy with them and definitely not the hair shirt of the nappy world

I did enjoy a bit of baby origami when DS1 was tiny five years ago but the novelty soon wore off.

Didn't wear off for me

Had a nice stack of bat-folded fluffy nappies ready-to-go.

Tried the others but always came back to the terry squares. Although I did have a soft spot for Totsbots shaped nappies,too.

a whole line of terries blowing in the breeze gives just as much joy as funky shaped ones. Plus you can buy pretty colour squares or dye them. AND unless you're on pockets any nappy gets covered up with wraps anyway so it doesn't matter what it is. (Says me who pretty much stuck with shaped and pockets).

To me, the people telling me I couldn't do it made me more determined

Just repeating earlier advice. Get a few different types, try them out on your real live baby, and then get the ones you like. Buying in bulk before having the baby is the way most people give up.

Terries are cheap and practical. They dry quickly, they last from birth to potty, you can wash them at high temperature if desired. If you get bored of one fold you can always do another fold.

What is the point of cloth nappies that are expensive and require a tumble dryer to get them dry. You are neither saving your pocket nor the planet. I know that some shaped nappies or wraps are pretty, but I would rather spend the money on some nice baby clothes.

I have a some shaped nappies as sometimes it can be hard to fit terry nappies under some outfits. Also shaped nappies are useful for baby sitters. My favourite shaped nappy is the Diddy Diaper by nature babies.

[doesn't tumble emoticon]

It's not that hard, and you don't have to worry about running out, like you do with disposables. Keep an eye on Freecycle too. Plus you only have dirty nappies hanging round the house for a few days till you wash them, rather then for a week or 2 (depending on how often your bin is collected) with disposables.

Good luck. I'm sure you'll soon get into the swing of it.

I've used terries, motherease, fluffles (but they don't make them anymore), with nappy nippas where applicable. I've always enjoyed it - and we're three years in. I spent a happy few hours before DD was born practising different terry folds on a teddy bear. The nappy lady has some good ones - the origami one was great, we still use it with a booster for nights with DS.

erin99 - my DH is also taken with the gadget qualities of Ittis

OP - we used disposies for about 6-8 weeks which was about the time it took for me to get BF really nailed. We did some reasearch into different fabrics and decided to go for Bamboo. We wanted to have a whole set of all the same nappies, mainly for ease, and have used our Bambinex (shaped bamboo) for almost a year. Recently we've started to branch out - DS was overpowering the Bambinex at night and we have found some good alternatives.
We have also got some Itti Bittis - the plan was to use them mainly under trousers because they are so slim and it was more cost efficient to buy nappies rather than a whole new wardrobe. Now that we have started using them - we love them and if I am out and about then they are my default because they are so slim and lovely.

Cloth is very addictive

I actually don't think it is more work. Yes you have to wash and dry the nappies, but that really takes very little time, and can fit in with your routine. (I found) cloth holds mess much much better than disposables. So with a disposable, you get many more leaks meaning a whole change of clothes and just as much washing, plus carrying around spare clothes etc. And if you have to buy loads of disposables you have to go to the supermarket in the car (which I find a bit of a hassle) instead of walking. Also, disposables smell foul all the time. With cloth a smell means a change!