Reusable nappies - The dark arts!

[wawabear]

Hi all

We want to use reusable nappies and despite doing a fair amount of research on the matter, I really can't work out what we need to buy.

I have looked in Mothercare at the Mio range but can't work out if we need an inner nappie and an outer nappie, or an outer nappie and a nappie liner, or what they call a 'booster'. How many do we need and will they see us through from birth to potty training? Is it cost effective to buy reusable, if so why don't more people do it?

Any advice would be gratefully appreciated.

Got to be brief, but didn't want to read and run.

Check out thenappylady.co.uk Find out if your local council offers a financial incentive for washables, or if they have a mixed kit (lots of different brands) you can borrow to experiment with.

Personally I don't know many people who got on with the Mio ones. TotsBots are often popular - their all in ones are expensive but fab. Gorgeous designs and really easy to use.

Check out lots of nappy websites. Think about if you want to use cloth full time, how often you want to wash, if you have a tumble drier/drying speed, whether you're doing it for cost or environment or just because they're cute. Don't buy tonnes of any one thing until you've tried them out. Consider second hand - there are lots of nappies out there that people bought and didn't get on with.

Not so brief after all!

Go for it! I could write pages on the subject but I'm pretty under the weather, give me a day or so and I'll get back to you properly. I saywill that we've been using them with our DS since he was a few days old, we're still using them now (28months) and we're gearing up to do it all again with DC2 in a few months time. We've had great luck with prefolds (one ofthe cheapest and most hard wearing options) and with Motherease fitted nappies. Agree with the over poster, great buys to be had on eBay. Like I said, I'll be back soon with more.

I am 37+3 and we managed to find a selection on eBay that we are going to try out when he arrives. I do not want to be a martyr to them but the financial incentive of how much cheaper they are has been the major thinking point for us. I found some good info on YouTube. Try searching for real nappies and there are people showing off their collections, explaining the basics and also going through their routines for washing etc.

Does anyone do an info session near you? I went to one of these put on by our local authority and it was really helpful.

We use pocket nappies (Fuzzibunz and BumGenius), totsbots and BumGenius flips. They're all totally easy to use and wash. The flips also have disposable liners thst you can buy - useful if you're going away or similar. Definitely buy one or two at a time, different types and see what works best for you. My friend likes flips best, and I like Fuzzibunz, it depends a bit on the shape of your baby too.

They definitely have saved us money, and a lot of rubbish - we used disposables when DS was very little and we created so many more bin bags.

Washing is straightforward - just 60C wash and out on the line/airer. We don't have a tumble drier and it's not a problem - fleece lined nappies dry really quickly.

I'm another nappy lady fan. She was brilliant. In the end I went for tots bots bamboozles and love them.

She has loads of videos on you tube that talk you through the pros and cons of each type

Against all the advice to try before you buy I've just bought a complete birth to potty set of bamboo Little Lambs on preloved. I'm not good with choices and I know if I have to make a decision after bump gets here I'll never do it!

If we don't get on with them we can resell for more than we paid so it makes a lot more sense than buying new.

I'm way too excited about having bought nappies

Another vote for thenappylady and seeing if your local authority has a trial scheme (mine does, you get about 10 different brands worth of nappies to try for free for a month). Of everyone I know who used reusables, between us we had Tots Bots Easyfits v3, Bumgenius v4 pockets, Bumgenius Flips or Fuzzibunz for daytime and Tots Bots Bamboozles or Little Lambs with wraps for nights. None of us have tumble dryers though for some reason (hence choosing relatively quick drying nappies for daytime).

I totally love totbots, they have always worked really well for my ds. I have some little lamb ones too which are good but I prefer the totbots due to the velcro making them so easy. www.thenappylady.co.uk/all-in-one-nappies/teenyfits.html

I just got a few of the ones I liked a look of and found what worked when ds arrived. I also use naty nappies which are disposable but biodegradable for when out an about all day.

I'd wondered about the naty nappies rastamam. Really hate the idea of piling nappies into landfill so will probably get a pack of those for the first few days/weeks. How do you find them?

(Obviously more than one pack if we take a while to get in the swing if things!)

We had a nappy library near by and spoke with them, they let us try a lot of different types before we made our choices. We now use wonderoos with some pocket nappies from wrigglesgiggles.co.uk too. We found pocket nappies were great as DS pees like a racehorse over night and it meant we could just add more padding!

Naty nappies aren't biodegradable. They are partially biodegradable and are unlikely to do so much at all in landfill (as opposed to proper composting). Sadly.

You get them at Boots, Sainsbury or Waitrose. We do choose them and used them in the early days. But they aren't an easy fix environmentally.

is there such a thing as biodegradable nappies? Has anyone tried using muslins in the early days? I've got some old flannelette sheets that I've chopped up to nappy size too that I'm hoping will be pretty absorbent as emergency nappies.

Pretty much have no qualms what I use but it needs to be as easy as possible for DH!

Not really in landfill. I think you can do things with a wormery...

You could try something like a bumgenius nappy as a wrap over a muslin. Personally I just made peace with disposable for thw first few weeks.

Don't forget you don't have to get the big name brands either. The cheap ones you get on ebay are just as good. I use cheap pockets in the day time and two partners at night. All cheap makes or second hand if a more expensive make.

cheap eBay pockets are fab and easy.

As are old fashioned terry squares. Most other things are also very good but are an expensive way to catch shit.

Hmm. I did make a wormery to dispose of dog poo on our old house, but I'm not sure it would have been up to dealing with nappies!

Might just be a pack of Aldi newborn size for starters then. I think I shall probably use disposable maternity pads too, so will just alleviate the guilt by thinking of all the nappies I won't be using.

shuffles off to nc to RetronotaproperHippy

are natys not biodegradable? i thought they were? thats what we use as well as cloth ones and find them brilliant. They must be better than the usual pampers etc surely. oh dear id better check up!

It would seem not fully rastamam

I would still say they were the better option though. And if you're not using many then it's definitely better than a pack of pampers a week surely?

yes, surely! I hope so anyway!

Beaming baby are biodegradable

I would also suggest looking at the close pop in nappies and Wonderoos v3. Both birth- potty. Both absorb well.

About 20 birth to potty nappies work well. Enough that if you start when baby is a few weeks old, you can still use 10 a day if needed with newborn poo, wash, and have 10 for next day whilst they dry.

Once poo/ nappies settle it's more like 5/6 a day, so 20 allows you to then wash every other day instead of every day, plus keep a couple in changing bag.

Actually 25 give slightly more flexibility as can leave some in bag, spare at parents , few at nursery later if needed etc. But can get min and add as you go.

They are better. Just not fully biodegradable rastamam.

this is a good seller

Also have a good google and see if you have a nappy library near you. there are a fair few over the country now and you can hire some nappies in a variety of commercially available brands so you can have a good selection ready for birth to see what you like best. All babies are slightly different in shape and size and all will fit different brands best. Just like disposables. sO best to try as many as possible before investing.

If you have no library then some online retailers also offer hire kits or trial packs containing one each of a few different nappies. Often these packs are priced in line with council schemes so you can get them virtually free if your council offers a nappy subsidy scheme.