anyone used or planning to use reusable nappies?

[fizzypigs]

hi! was wondering if anyone had any thoughts or experience of reusable nappies? hadn't really given it much thought up till now but the idea of costing less is very appealing! would really appreciated hearing your views and experiences - thanks!

Hi I am planning to use Bambino reusables :-) DH and I have never changed a nappy in our lives and figured we know no different! Also I hate the idea of filling up land fills .
We went to kiddicare and a lady there showed us how to use them so we are more nappy aware lol.
I'm looking forward to using them, my mum used tweets with me and my bros and Sis and with the modern day resuables they are much easier and less hassle.
In kiddicare they do a whole pack that will see the baby from newborn to potty trained :-)

WHen did resusables become to complicated?

With ds (15mo) we use a terry square, a liner, a safety pin and some plastic knickers over the top.

Saves a fortune.

Have found on very hot days that they are not too great...!

Will add my bit too. I am using popngro pocket nappies. They were pretty expensive but it was a one off payment that covers the time till DS is potty trained. I love them, they are very easy to use (they are bulkier than disposable ones, but this is not a real problem).
However, some my friends who bought them to hated them and basically have pretty much given up using them. They seem to thing they are not as good as dispo ones. Clearly dispos are thinner and more absorbing for their size but during the day I can't say I have noticed much difference. But at night I use dispos just because the real ones were really soaked on the morning and leaked more often than the dispos.
I do think it is quite important to have a tumble dryer because otherwise you can find yourself with an awful lot of laundry drying at the same time all over your house.
Also note that mine were too big for when DS was just born so I started using when he was 4 weeks old. Quite a lot of people do I think.
I would give it a try before investing a lot of money on them. They are certainly worth it if you are planning several children.

When companies realised they could make a fortune out of bewildered parents I used terry squares for all 4 of mine with a anppy pin and plastic overpants. At one point three were in nappies at the same time (oldest just at night, she was 3)
Terries are cheap, dry very quickly and easy to fold and keep folded in your nappy bag with a liner on the fold.

Oh and my terries did all four kids and are now useful cloths :)

I liked the Bambino Mio ones - I found them easy to use, but you do need space to dry them if you don't have a dryer as they are thick cotton. I used them with my eldest, and put fleece liners in them as the disposable ones aggravated her eczema. You can also get silk bourette liners for nappy rash.

With my second, I intended to use them again, but after a second emergency c-section and with another child creating even more washing, I just couldn't face it, never mind not wanting to lug the heavy bucket around.

I use eco-disposables now - I love the Bambo Nature nappies, which are very soft and flexible. They have been designed to have a lower impact on the environment during manufacture as well as disposal, and I think they use less gel than regular nappies, the bleach is possibly less harmful too. I find them a good compromise, as I couldn't get my head around buying a regular disposable, where no effort had been made to lower the environmental impact. I buy them in bulk by mail order, but Naturebotts sells sample packs. I felt a bit bad switching to these from the washable ones, but I guess there is the cost / environmental impact of running the washing machine and using the detergent to consider as well (made me feel better anyway!!).

Hope you can find a washable one that works for you, as I do believe it's the greener option!

Riveninside, I agree the terries are SO useful! I haven't used them as actual nappies, but my mum gave me the ones she'd used for me and my brother, and they are great for lining the changing mat, wiping up random stuff, putting under a fitted sheet when you suspect sick or leaks might be forthcoming, etc.

Just started to use reusables on 4mth old dd. They're so much cuter! Loving bumgenius so far, and you get really good customer service from 'fill your pants'. Second the idea of checking out what your council offers - we got £30 as an incentive.

Forgot to add they also stop their trousers falling down

I used reusables with DS (I think they were Totsbots), and for most of the time they were great. They had very few leaks, I found them easy to use, and could handle the extra loads of washing. They also gave DS a massive bum - we found that his trouser size changed if we ever used disposable nappies. However, over time I found that because we live in a hard-water area, the reusables would come out of the washing machine with a texture like cardboard. They would only be nice and soft on DS's skin if they were tumbledried, which then makes them less ecofriendly. I also found that by the time DS turned 2 (and not yet ready to potty train) they had started getting holey, some bits were really thin and not very absorbant - I don't know if that was due to all the tumble drying or not. I'm now pg with DC2, and will probably not use standard reusables this time around. I have heard that mothercare do a mixed nappy - you can use the same wrap thing with either a reusable insert, or a disposable insert - does anyone use them? What do you think of them?