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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@Megan2018

That's good to know! I might be overthinking everything a bit too, it's just the anxiety of forever being seen as a foreign weirdo. Our little niece will be a year older than our baby so everything is kinda being seen through how her mother (DH's sister in law) did things with her children, which honestly annoys me and I keep being vocal about my own ways. The way she did things and the way my mother in law did things with all of her children are as far from natural parenting as it gets (i.e. they both never even tried BF and see it as nuisance without any health benefits).

You're right, I definitely need allies. Fortunately DH is very open minded and always in my side. Currently trying to socialise a bit more, thankfully the sickness is getting better so hopefully I'll be able to go out more and meet some like minded women. Using natural fabrics and products, skin to skin contact with my baby etc are simply the most important thing to me.

Thank you all for sharing your experiences, you all made me much more confident about using cloth

We used cloth quite a bit with our two DC. My favourite nappies were Bumgenius Elementals - they are not cheap but in fact when our DS came out of nappies we sold them for about 50% what we originally paid, meaning that their cost per wear over 2 kids was ridiculously low. Obviously it costs money to launder them but still a substantial saving.

Our main reason was environmental, but we weren't overly strict about it - we used disposables when they were first born, and on holiday etc. Also let them use disposables at nursery as they were included in the nursery fees.

I never had a poo leak with a cloth nappy, but had several with disposables. Also wipes are terrible at cleaning poo, you're much better with a cloth wipe.

I am planning to use cloth. Have two packs of newborn disposables to get us through hospital and the first few days and then planning to use cloth. Have ordered a load of nappies which I am hoping will work well. BUT I am undecided about what to use when we go out and about. I hate the waste that disposable nappies create which is one of the main reasons for wanting to use cloth but the thought of carrying around a nappy covered in poo all day fills me with dread, so I might do cloth at home and short trips out but disposables or nappy liners in the cloth nappies if we are planning to spend the whole day out of the house so that I don't turn into the lady that 'stinks of shit' as I wander around everywhere 😂

@BumbleBeeFlower that's exactly what I do, for exactly the same reasons

@BumbleBeeFlower there is no smell if you use liners and a proper wetbag inside your Nappy bag. I recommend disposable liners when out especially-then there is rarely any poo on the nappy anyway.
But I did use disposables out for a little while until I was super confident with them at home. The transition sounded difficult but was actually easy

BumbleBeeFlower If you get a zippered wet bag to pop under the buggy it's honestly fine - all mess and smell contained. Honestly, if you use disposables out of the house I would take a wet bag out with you as well as there will be several occasions when you have to put a poo-soaked outfit into it.

I think when I used cloth for my daughter 6 years ago some of the people I met thought it was a bit weird - now people carry around coffee cups and cutlery and are so much more ecologically aware, it is much more of a mainstream choice - though oddly not as much as it should be.

@megan2018 yeh so I put them in the bucket for max two days never longer but by jove the smell. Although even in a disposable I can smell when A has weed. Maybe he just has string urine Smell. Actually Arthur hasn't pooped in over a week so we aren't exactly having loads of shitty nappies to contend with maybe I need to do as a pp said and put them on a rinse daily and then bung in with all other washing.

I have a mix of bumgenious elementals and pockets. I much prefer the pockets as these do dry quickly. The elementals are just far too bulky so they fill out all his clothes too. I just hate those ones and rarely use them now which means my stash I suppose is more like 12. The other ones I use are the tots bots easy fit which are ok to use. These are my husband's favourite. Although just using one today and I see a big red mark where the top of the nappy has dug in when A has leaned over. I'm losing the will with them, close to selling them.

As for the environmental issue people speak about..well, we've had children so that ship has sailed! I don't get why it can be used as a factor considering everything about having a child is pretty horrific for the environment. Yes, yes, I know it's alleviating some landfill space but really it's a drop in the ocean.

I’ve used reusable nappies with four DC, they’re brilliant. I have some nappies that have lasted through all four of them which is just amazing, saved me a fortune! They’re not really difficult to use because washing machines exist... I find them really easy, even when I had three in cloth at once.

I have bought for our upcoming new arrival. We have used reusable other products ie cleaning cloths, sanitary protection etc for years, so It would feel weird to me to throw something away after one use.

I am sure we will use disposables on occasion when the need arises, but I figure for each one we can wash we are saving money and the environment. Our bin is also only collected once per month, so the stench from disposables in that will be worse than washing.

I also plan to stick other laundry in the machine at the same time. A 10 minute rinse cycle of just nappies, then open and will happily add baby sleepsuits, muslin cloths, towels or bedding. The rinse will rinse out all the worst of it, and then a 60 degree 2 hr wash will get anything else. Baby clothes/bedding etc get dribble, sick, pee, poop on them anyway and they won't be washed alone.

I find it quite amusing when people say they can't do disposables because of cleaning poo or washing machines being 'full' of poo. I can guarantee my washing machine is significantly cleaner than the majority of people who use disposables. The filter gets emptied at least once a month and the entire machine is cleaned with clean cycle as well as rubbing down all the seals, door and washing the detergent drawer. I don't know a single person using disposables who cleans it at that frequency yet they all have to wash bedsheets and clothes that get vomit, poo and wee on them too. Funnily enough, I have also never found a single bit of poo in the machine when doing that clean over the past 3.5 years.

It is also ironic that the one Mum friend of mine who most hated dealing with poo - to the point that she would throw entire outfits away if poo touched them when our children were babies - had the toddler who chose to open his poo nappy when he woke from his nap and smear it over his bedroom for her to clean .

Disposables full of wee smell way worse than a wet cloth nappy - think it's the reaction with the chemicals.

Also, if your cloth nappies smell when being worn (especially if you've just put them on & they start to smell after one wee) it may be a build up of washing powder, which then reacts with the wee when the baby goes. An extra rinse cycle should help, as does using less powder per wash.