Reusable Nappies

[Ploppymoodypants]

Sorry this isn’t quite potty training but wasn’t sure where else to post.
Could someone talk me through reusable nappies and how they work? Obviously keen to avoid the disposable ones, with all the plastic etc, but do the reusable ones not creative sky high electric bills with all the washing a tumble drying, and surely you need to wash them straight away or they stink? Any basic guidance would be fab.
Don’t want to be a 1970’s mum up to her elbows in a bucket of stinking soaking nappies 😁

Hi there. I'm certainly no expert, but have had a positive experience with reusables (and no sky high electric bill!). I used folded muslins when my baby was newborn. She was quite small and the muslins were easy to fold and use. You can get small bamboo liners that soak up more moisture. Also get biodegradable paper liners (from Boots or wherever) - you can rip them to size when the baby is little. You can then dispose of most of the pool without it getting too much on the nappy.
I now have a mix of Terry's and about 6 'ready mades' which I use according to what we're up to. Ready mades' take ages to dry. I prefer the Terry's.
A good tip for liners is to cut up a cheap thin fleece blanket (Tesco's). They keep the moisture from going back to baby's skin. Get a non-white one so they are easy to spot in your laundry. So I use one of those with a paper one on top.
Get different sizes of wraps.
Lastly, I'm not at all organised, but I have found that it is really good to have systems in place with reusables. Have your stuff where you can easily find what you need and a changing station that is organised - makes life easier.
Also I take disposables with me when we go out. I do prefer the reusables (disposables smell wierd IMO), but it is a lot to carry about and I'm lazy!
That's just my experience. I'm sure others will have have more advice! Good luck, I hope all goes well 😊.

This is a good place to start as there are over 130 UK nappy libraries www.uknappynetwork.org

There’s a ‘nappies’ section but doesn’t matter! I used pockets with my first son and am using 2 part fitters with my second. Switched to disposables full time with DS1 after 18 months, as even the most absorbent boosters didn’t cut the mustard.

There’s a wealth of info out there so I’m not going to type it out, but definitely fill out the questionnaire on the Nappy Lady website and she’ll advise what might work best. You can visit her in person if you’re near (I did, she’s lovely!). Fill Your Pants are also very happy to answer any questions.

We use disposables at night this time around and to be honest a lot in the day, because the laundry is already out of hand and I need to buy more nappies (DS is so reflect but still, how can such small clothes crate so many more wash loads???). Every little helps though and we try and reduce our plastic/ single use stuff overall - stainless steel straws, beeswax wraps, cloths instead of kitchen roll etc.

No need to soak nappies either. Kangacare wet bag in the bathroom, maybe rinse poo nappies before putting in the bag, 40 degree wash with pre- and post-rinse. Obvs poo goes in the loo whether disposables or cloth!

*so refluxy, not reflect!

I've never soaked or even rinsed a nappy, no matter how bad it's been - we used liners which caught the worst of it, and then bunged the nappy into a wet bag.

Never had any really bad stains; a few small ones, but the sun bleached them out when I hung them on the line or near a window.

I think getting them dry is the main issue - choose ones that will dry quickly if you can. Your local nappy library will be able to advise you, and there's a website called The Nappy Lady (I think) where you answer a series of questions about your lifestyle/washing & drying arrangements and she advises you which nappies will work best for you.