Cloth or disposable nappies? I need opinions please!

[BeHappyAndSmile]

Hiya,

I'm just looking for some opinions good or bad on cloth and disposable nappies please. I found out recently that I'm pregnant and to take my mind off worrying I'm trying to plan instead haha.

I keep going between wanting to use cloth and not, other half is very anti cloth but I think that's more because he's worried about poo going everywhere and having to wash them.

Thanks in advance!

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Interesting, my nappy bucket doesn’t smell? I put my wash on timer so it is on 6-9:30am (do the rinse then add detergent before I go up to bed) so if just takes me 2 mins to hang when I get up and 5 mins to stuff the pockets when dry and washing machine then free for other washes.
I pile up clean nappies ready to use so don’t take any longer than a disposable to put on, apart from the night nappies as they are 2 part and they are a PITA to fit with sll the boosting but that’s only 1 per day.
I only do 1 load per week of baby clothes? So basically 3-4 loads of nappies done early morning and 1 of baby clothes hasn’t made much difference to me. Certainly don’t take a whole day!

We used cloth during the day and disposables at night, which worked well for us, it doesnt have to be either/or.

Even if you choose disposable nappies I would really recommend reusable wipes! Much better at cleaning and doesn't add that much extra to the washing.

@Megan2018 hmm I don't have a timer in my machine so I can't prep. Also our utility room is upstairs near the nursery so I don't want a load of spinning whilst A is sleeping so can't always plan when I'll have the wash on. The bumgenious elementals take an age to dry.
Yes, I have them all folded ready to go but they do take longer to put on than a disposable.
Nappy bucket doesn't smell? The nappies are covered in pee and poo so I can't imagine why not and because I want a full load of them it takes a few days to accumulate. Although I have read other folk doing a prewash of them every second or third day until they have enough for the super wash and that keeps smells down. You say you do 3-4 loads of nappies in the morning..is that over one week? I only have 20 nappies or so, maybe I don't have enough.

Cloth all the way for us but it is a personal decision. As others have said, start with disposable for first baby as newborn cloth nappies are expensive and you will have a lot to adjust to without adding washing nappies into the mix. Once baby is ready for one size nappies (Usually about 8-10lbs in weight but so variable. My second was born at 8lb but still took a good 6 weeks until he fitted in them)

Agree with not buying too much to start with - local library hire kits are a good place to start and same with Nappy Lady questionnaire.

In terms of poo - the weaning stage is certainly the worst. We used disposable liners and threw them away too until poo was solid enough to go straight in toilet. Not completely environmentally friendly but certainly moreso than disposables

@Horehound naturally they are more work than disposables but I don't find them anywhere nearly as time consuming as you. In terms of washes - once they've been rinsed, you can literally throw anything in the wash with them. We tend to do towels and kids underwear/vest as find the agitation helps get nappies clean but if mixing washes, your bucket never gets to the smelly stage. Some do take longer than others to dry and I've come to learn that some of the more expensive nappies are definitely worth it for the convenience of ease of fit, minimal prep and quick drying. I have about 22 nappies which were at one point shared between 2 in cloth (washing every 1-1.5 days) and now used by just the 1 so you certainly have enough if you're happy with the frequency of washing.

Thanks for the replies! We spoke about it last night and agreed to give it a try but definitely using some of your advice and going for disposables until I know how to handle a baby . I've looked to see if there's a nappy library near me but I don't think they loan out nappies so we would probably just get a handful of cheap ones to try at first.

My main aim is to keep the costs down rather than environmental that's just a handy side effect of using them haha.

Cloth were great for us - we never had a poo explosion or nappy rash when we used them. The washing did add up to a mission though. You so need to find the 'right' nappy for your child. The first brand we used leaked all the time (wee!) and it was a revelation when we changed brand and didn't have to change him every 90mins.

I honestly don't know what I'm going to do. I've always thought I'll use cloth for environmental reasons and health reasons and to avoid horrid nappy rash (after seeing it with my little niece who's 6 months now - I felt truly sorry for that baby). But the fact that the whole family thinks they're some weird hippie sh*t and will turn the wash machine into gross poop container where you can't wash your normal clothing is not really helping. My own mother thinks it's insanity, that people only used cloth before disposables were a thing like she did with me.

I mean, I find disposables absolutely disgusting. I've putting an effort into eating and living as naturally and possible for years and then I wrap my baby into that thing full of chemicals... Yuck. Not to mention the inconvenience of fortnight waste collection. I just don't see it working.

On the other side, at this moment before the baby has arrived I can't imagine having a smelly bucket dedicated to cloth nappies. How unhygienic is that? Do I need to get a separate wash machine for them? Will they make the one wash machine I have absolutely gross and a nest of bacteria where washing all our normal clothing won't be possible anymore? I know this can sound silly to some, but I'm absolutely new to the world of babies and don't know what to expect with this.

@BeHappyAndSmile

I wouldn’t advocate cheap ones, best thing to do is The Nappy Lady questionnaire then buy a couple of what she recommends to try instead. Cheap likely to be false economy with cloth.

www.thenappylady.co.uk/advice-questionnaire.html

Real Nappy week is in April (I think) and there will be good discounts, I bought almost all of mine in it last year.

@Saoirse22

I’d look at the Nappy Lady website and all her Youtube posts as that will address all your concerns.
The Nappy Bucket shouldn’t smell, you won’t have poo in your machine! People who use disposables still have to wash baby clothes and sheets etc covered in poo or vomit. Nappies are no different.

I am always baffled by people who give a monkeys what their family think of their parenting choices! What on earth has your choice of nappy got to so with your mother?! Weird. Do what you want to do.

We bought the cloth ones second hand, they were loads cheaper. They were clean when we got them but washed them a few times to be sure.

We haven't started using them yet but they have good resale value so even if we never get round to using them, we can still sell them on again.

We have used cloth from a couple of days of age almost all the time, including out and about. I never got through my packs of size 1 or 2 nappies. Used disposables on holiday as staying without a washing machine and had way more leaks and a stinky bin!

They have been easy for us mostly. If there is a library near you hire a kit and see!

@Horehound
I wash every other day, so 3-4 a week depending. Nappies shouldn’t be washed less often than that as if they are left they will get damaged over time. The Nappy Lady posts about this a lot. Fabric like bamboo is delicate. I have 20 daytime nappies and 5 night (but could do with one more night). Pockets dry quickly, shells in a few hours and inserts in less than 24hrs. My night nappies take a couple of days though. Looking forward to outside drying soon which will be quicker!
Maybe you need quicker drying nappies in tour stash? I asked for drying speed to be a factor in my recommendations.

If dry pailing is done properly then it doesn’t smell? It would if left a long time but it doesn’t with my alternate day set up. Do you use liners? I use disposable ones so never much poo on the nappies anyway but BF baby poo doesn’t smell much anyway.

A timer on the machine would make it harder, but our utility room is right underneath our room and baby doesn’t mind it. White noise is good for babies I find anyway .

By the way, a nappy wash load should roughly half fill the machine, not more than 3/4 at most otherwise won’t clean properly.

Thanks, just reading the website!

I don't really give a damn about anyone's opinion, I'm quite used to being seen as a weirdo for my naturally oriented lifestyle and choices ever since I was 8 or so. I particularly don't care about my mum's opinion, she's far away anyway and will rarely see me and the baby. However, I'm not originally from the UK and having pretty much no one but my husband and his family here can be hard. Everyone's trying to fit in to some degree and life can be hard enough without being seen as that crazy foreigner. I know I'll be seen through the prism of how it's done locally and in their family, i.e. no one here breastfeeds, I want to do it exclusively; no one here uses cloth, I want to do it; everyone uses strollers, I want to carry my baby in a wrap exclusively. We live in a very traditional, small rural community and I dare to say new things are sometimes seen as eccentric here.

@BeHappyAndSmile I originally bought a mixed bag of second hand ones from someone selling locally. She'd bought them and then never actually tried them so technically they were unused. Have a look for anyone selling like that as it was a great way to try different brands and types and see what we liked.

Once I'd gotten used to cloth nappies the smell of disposables makes me feel sick they smell so strongly of chemicals!

@Megan2018 ooh thanks for that! I didn't know real nappy week was a thing. I'll keep an eye out around then!

definitely cloth for containing explosions. Why disposables don't have elastic at the back is beyond me. We use disposables for holidays and arrived at one of our nappy change stops to find baby poo up his back and pretty much in his arm pits.

Op if your local nappy library doesn't loan, I would recommend something that goes on as easily as a disposable - try looking for some Bambino Mio all in one's or some tots bots easy fits, but I'd try and pick them up second hand if I were you. I'm lucky that DH was on board with cloth from the first mention, but an all in one (I e the absorbant bit and the waterproof outer are all joined together) could be the easiest thing for him to master as it goes on like a disposable.

Facebook has several cloth nappy selling groups - you need to move quickly though, things can sell in minutes. Or you could post a "looking for..." Post then people will respond with what they're selling in the comments. eBay is also another good place for picking up some good deals.

Happy to suggest further if you would like some help.

Can you not put cloth nappies in the dryer then?

I really want to use cloth, although ive been given an absolute ton of size 1 disposables so will get through those first. Then once ive 'got the hang' of having a newborn ill add in some reusables.

Also, look up Cheeky Wipes (or an alternative brand). I have them and it seems like its a really easy system to use. I think £40 up front for the entire system, but they seem to last years and years and clean better than disposable wipes.

I dont remember ever having to spend a day washing nappies. I just put the load on at 60 whenever i had a bucketful. Its no more work than any other laundry. I didnt pre-wash either

The dryer wrecks the waterproof layer of the nappy.

@Saoirse22 I live in a tiny rural
community too and BF, cloth and baby wearing is definitely the norm. All of my NCT group are too. It does help if you can find some allies!
We also have electric cars so we already stood out but I only ever have positive comments from people.

I loved cloth. We used all different ones, the poppers were great.
I also tried a few different liners, cheap fleece is great as the poo doesn't stick to it particularly. Flushable paper ones are also fab, either way you just tip the poo into the loo and flush. Then have a dry bin in the bathroom for the day(or 2) nappies with some teatree and lavender oil on a pantyliner stuck to the lid.
We used disposable nappies from aldi for holidays or faffy days out.

Love cloth, but also use Eco by Naty disposables at night and when on holidays / days out. I would definitely say avoid cheap cloth ones - I got a few different cheap types and they are useless. I love Bumgenius and also Elemental Joy by Bumgenius (which are a little cheaper than regular Bumgenius). I know everyone has their own preferences though. You could also try to buy secondhand ones as they hold up very well.

I also agree with many PPs about using disposables until baby is a few weeks old. They need chunky thighs to fit into the cloth - mind didn't have those for a few months!

I genuinely don't find them a faff - they're much easier than I (and DH) expected. I pop on a wash every 2nd or 3rd evening, hang them on the airer, and they dry overnight. In the morning I take a few minutes to stuff a 2-3 day supply (usually when watching tv or listening to a podcast). Then they're ready to use as you would disposables. I also don't bother using liners anymore, just plop the poop in the toilet!

DS is 12mo now and no stains or anything on the nappies. I think it may help that I add a scoop of Bio-D Nappy Fresh powder in each wash.

It's daunting starting out (well, I thought it was) but just gradually get into it and you'll be fine.

We bought all in ones birth to potty but technically only do from around 10lbs. Son was born over 10lbs has thin legs so we used disposables we had been gifted for first month to get through the start of parenthood. I stick all his washing in nappy bucket and wash every other day, I'm no Stepford wife but it's honestly no bother most of the time doing the wash. I'd recommend looking at the nappy lady website and their Facebook if you have it for advice from people using different styles. Even cloth part time, doesn't have to be a full time commitment. I wouldnt go back to disposables now i am used to cloth except if on holiday somewhere without a washing machine (only 5 months old now).

(I'm so bad at posting everything i plan to initially, let's say baby brain)
Even cloth wipes only will save you a lot. We use cheeky wipes, got the starter pack and an extra 40, never run out. One wipe with water to clean, one to dry and no chemicals on his sensitive skin.