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Pregnancy

Talk about every stage of pregnancy, from early symptoms to preparing for birth.

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Original poster

reusable nappy advice

14 replies

emzickle · 14/08/2006 22:03

sorry dont know if in right section on board, infact I could bet it isnt, so - sorry.

Im wanting to use washable nappies - however am getting increasingly fustrated with all information bombarded from a million angles.

Could any one please just simplify this for my preg head - what do I need... if I buy one of these Motherease Birth to Potty Pack - what I realistically need to spend after the MASSIVE initial cost?... ie... will I have to buy more of some stuff etc, from any washable nappy experienced MN'ers... advice please?

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Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

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Nemo1977 · 14/08/2006 22:11

just different size wraps for different weights but you can usually pick these up cheaply second hand or on ebay if you get birth to potty meos..they are fab by the way. Also there is a section under nappies and toilet training where people will tlak about all the different cloth nappies etc.

BonyM · 14/08/2006 22:17

You may want to buy disposable paper liners which can be flushed away and minimise mess as they catch the poo! A cheaper option is washable fleece liners - you can make your own from polyester fleece. Otherwise, as Nemo says, just different size wraps - depending on the size of your baby and at what age you potty train, you will need 2 or 3 different sizes. You can manage with 2 wraps at any one time as they don't need to be washed each time.

nicnack2 · 14/08/2006 22:21

i bought the Kooshie nappies that needed just the liner. i dont use them all the time so to go the the hugh expense ofo the birth to potty pack did not feel right. Why dont you buy a pack of 5 first of all till you know that this is the way to go.in the end i bought 10 baby nappies then 5 toddler nappies.

Original poster

emzickle · 14/08/2006 22:30

ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

literally am just getting a bit wiery of all this sorry

just want some one to sit me down, give me a slap, and say "here you go emily, give me £x and you will NEVER have to worry - all you'll have to do is wash the smelly things and learn how to put them on properly... this is how you do it all.
here is everything you need"

OP posts:

misdee · 14/08/2006 22:34

have you contacted your local council to see what incentive they offer for reusuables. here we get £40 cashback on initial purchase of nappies.

BonyM · 14/08/2006 22:34

Don't panic !

Yes, you could do what I did, which was to buy 5 different ones to try and then buy more as I went along. I have become a complete nappy addict and have probably 10 different types of nappy (about 25 in total) plus 4 different types of wrap (9 in total)!.

Take the easy route like my best friend has just done - buy 20 off the same type of nappy plus 2 wraps and be done with it. Not so much fun though .

misdee · 14/08/2006 22:37

my personal favourites are totsbot+ME wraps, for bombproof-ness. fuzzi bunz for ease of use.

currently usuing MEOS and totsbots.

lemonaid · 14/08/2006 22:52

One good thing about reusables is that there is so much choice out there. Somewhere out there is the perfect nappy for everyone, just right for their circumstances and their baby's build.

It's also probably the worst thing about reusables. There's so much out there and everyone has favourites that worked for them and others that didn't.

Have you tried the Nappy Lady's questionnaire? Granted that everyone I know in real life who's done it has had Tots Bots nappies with ME wraps recommended to them, the questions do make you think about why you are doing it and what you want from a reusable.

For example, what are your priorities? Saving money, tree-hugginess, ease of use, general cuteness of design... What are your facilities like at home? Do you have space to dry many nappies, or to put up a clothes dryer/airer? Are you in a hard water area? What are your concerns about using reusables? Is it mostly going to be you changing your baby, or is a wider network of family and childcare providers going to get involved? If your baby were already here you'd also want to factor in whether he/she was a heavy wetter or not and perhaps his/her general build (although that changes over time).

If you bought a Motherease Birth to Potty pack your ongoing expenses would be some additional wraps (not many), paper liners if you chose to use them, washing powder (or soap nuts etc.). That probably is the closest you'll get to your "here you go emily" scenario.

Your best bet may be to do that (buy the Motherease Birth to Potty), then if you find you don't like some features of them after you've used them for a while you can sell them on (an important point about the initial cost: if you buy a good brand, you can sell them on for 50-75% of the initial purchase price when you've finished with them) and get recommendations here or somewhere else for a different make that may solve your problem. But Motherease are a good general bet so the chances are good that you'd be happy.

JennT · 14/08/2006 22:57

Am using 15 OneLife as I got them free from the council. They are the same as Motherease and are really good. I didn't start using them until about 8 weeks as too much to deal with with a newborn.

Since I have been using them full time (except at night still I'm afraid) I have bought 10 extras and love Bamboozles best.

Motherease are birth to potty and so you don't need loads of different sizes, (but if like me you sometimes want a slimmer fitting nappy you might buy extra in sizes)

DD is 28 weeks and have only just realised why paper liners are good. They are one way and keep the skin dry, but they do not contain bf poo! It was a revelation however the other day when she had her first PROPER poo. I just lifted it off and put it in the bog!

Have bought a metre of fleece from Dunhelm Mill for about £6 but not got round to using yet because having second thoughts about putting non natural fabric next to dds skin.

bensmum3 · 14/08/2006 23:45

emzickle, where are you ? Iam a nappy network volunteer, but probably not near you, I could look and see if there are any nappy network people in your area, then they could visit you and let you see and feel the nappies, wraps etc.
I used meos and airflow wraps on ds (amongst others as I also became a nappy addict), but these were the ones dh was happiest using as well.
They are still in excellent condition 3 yrs later and ready to use on new baby in October, so much cheaper in the long run than disposibles.

Original poster

emzickle · 15/08/2006 03:31

I live in east anglia - so the council offer a £30 one off discount for those trying to use some thing other than disposables, that would be useful... thank you for all advice x x

OP posts:

amelie · 16/08/2006 11:05

we got the cotton bottoms birth to potty pack 2 years ago and all we've bought are some more disposable liners (and some rainbow nappies for night time). Probably saved shed loads of cash in all, but the wrap's velcro is starting to go on some of them so we might have to get some more of them...

LittleB · 16/08/2006 12:32

I have MEOS birth to potty and think they are great. Dd is 15 months now and has been in them since she was two months. Did buy a couple of extra wraps. I also bought some fleece which I cut up and made into liners and wipes (fleece with blob of baby lotion on - wash with the nappies). Go for it, or see if you can buy second hand on e-bay. Mine were brought from friend of a friend who tried them for a couple of days and gave up, so saved loads of money and they were hardly used.

Sleepymumof3 · 16/08/2006 14:57

If you contact the real nappy network they work alongside the council i think .They will provide you with a free trial pack with an assortment of every type.You can then decide which ones you prefer without spending money on what may turn out to be the wrong choice for you.You get the pack for a month i think.

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