nappies: reusables or disposables?

[catus]

Hi everybody,
This is my first post. I'm due to give birth to our first child mid-july, and my DH appears keen on using reusable nappies. I never really thought about it before, but why not? So what do you think are the advantages/disavantages of each kind of nappies? Thanks.

Before I had my first daughter (now aged 7) I was all for re-useables. Then I mentioned this to my mum who put me off! Said with disposables much less risk of nappy rash/soreness. (She is a nurse) So that made my mind up and I have used disposables (while feeling incredibly guilty about it) with all 3 of my children.

The new style re-useables do look great and I am sure they are much better than the old terry towelling creations my mum used (and compared modern disposables to) with me. However they are obviously more time consuming than disposables so it will depend on your circumstances. I definitely don't have time to wash nappies alongside the tons of other daily washing I have to do! But I do wish I was more of an 'earth mother' committed to preservation of the world.

All the best whatever you decide.

Hi catus. I used reuseables with my DS. They were great, don't regret using them at all. DS never ever had nappy rash. My mum tried to put me off them, she said I had lots of nappy rash as a baby, but there again she didn't have a washing machine and washed all nappies by hand - it was the 1970's.
The key to using washable nappies is getting them clean, which is easy enough to do these days with a decent washing machine. As far as washing them are concerned, just make sure you have enough nappies for two days, soak them overnight in the bucket, quick rinse in the morning and them sling them in the washing machine at 60 degrees, nice clean nappies. Easy peasy. Took no more than 5 minutes each morning to sort the wash, I even trained DH to deal with that. The benefit is you never run out of them, no panicked visits to the supermarket when you are down to your last nappy. Once they get to the more solid poo stage, you can flush the liner and poo straight down the loo, so you don't have baby poo sitting in your bin and stinking all week. Down side is you have more to pay up front to get all the nappies to start with, but if you have more than one child they get used again.
DS wore washable nappies all the time at nursery too. I was a bit worried about him starting nursery with his nappies, but they were well up for it. I just sent 4 nappies all wrapped up ready for use each day and took the bucket home each night.
You'll make your own decision, just do what you are happiest with. MY DM and MIL thought I was potty (if you pardon the pun)

Hi catus

I am also expecting my first DC, due September 1st.

I bought some washable nappies on Saturday when I went to the Baby Show at the NEC. If you are intending on using them there are lots of differnt types and brands so it's worth doing some research online before you buy any - many brands do trial packs, but if you can find somewhere that stocks them locally it is worth having a look / feel before you buy.

It may be worth finding out if your local area holds 'nappuccino mornings' - this is a mix of coffee morning, real nappy chat and an advisor on hand to answer questions and show you samples. Your midwife, health visitor or local council should have information.

Apart from the obvious environmental benefit, there is also a cost benefit, especially if you go for a 'birth to potty' variety, although there is the initial cost of buying the real nappies.

Lots of local councils offer cash back incentives to persuade you to give reusable washables a try. It may be worth finding out what is available in your area.

Good luck with whatever you choose.

Good question, I used disposables with DD but have just decided to use re useables with the next one, You can claim some money back on the purchase price from a lot of local councils (here in Wiltshire £30 if you spend at least £60)www.greenjellyshop.co.uk/council-incentive-schemes/info_17.html.
We are going to use them this time as I have just added up what we have spent on disposables over the last 2.5 years (£1000 ish and thats buying them on offer and using own brand) and I have never been very comfortable with the whole landfill thing. I did look into it last time but was put off by the fact that nursery insist on disposables. I am not planning on using solely reuseables though, will have disposables in stock for days out and nursery. Am going to use Bambino Mio brand as my best mate uses them and says they are great, added to which will be looking to buy some of them on ebay as there seem to be plenty of both new and used on there at a much better price than in the shops.
Good luck and go for it!

I used reusables from birth with my dd, and am about to use the same nappies again. No hassle at all, and she only got nappy rash when a tooth was coming through. mumsnet nappy board here for advice. I stuck to shaped two parters (motherease sandies)until she started getting more solid poo, and switched to pocket nappies.
www.twinkleontheweb.co.uk/
www.kittykins.co.uk
These are two good sites with advice to get you started!

I've used washable nappies since the day DS came out of hospital till when he came out of night nappies - have never bought a disposable at all.

No problems with nappy rash, no problems with nurserys (both we have used were totally fine with them, current nursery certainly didn't even turn a hair at someone else who used terry squares), and tbh, one load of nappies every other day wasn't much of a problem compared to all the other washing. We dry pailed, and in the early years DH always put on the nappies overnight while I sorted the nursery bag, and then put them out to dry somewhere while I fed DS in the morning.

I bought most of my nappies second hand, and then sold them when I'd finished with them - that way, most of them cost less than 50p

I used reusables for my ds and will be using the same ones again. Not only was I unhappy about adding to landfill, I also didn't like the idea of all the chemicals that go into disposables.

The best advice I can give is to go for a few different types as they all have advantages and disadvantages. For example, I use slimmer fitting nappies during the day (bambinex, bumbles, motherease) and more bulky, absorbent ones at night (motherease sandies, tots bots organic).

I found like many people that ds has never got a rash from reuseables, but does if he is put in or more disposables in a row (initially, disposables at all). Other babies seem to be the other way round, probably depending on detergents used.

I'd get some second-hand - small/newborn sizes are dirt cheap on MN/clothnappytree and even new unused ones Ebay because people get given them and never use them. I got a pile off Freecycle.

Basically, nappies aren't rocket science - there's a wad of absorbent stuff and either a layer or a separate wrap to stop wetness wicking out onto the clothes. That's it. Until 6 months you don't need paper liners or anything.

I thought reuseables would be tougher for my dodgy hands but turns out that since velcro and poppers have been invented it's not an issue and the disposable tabs are much harder. I used some disposables at night during the first couple braindead months, then from 10 months when he started waking wet and perhaps by luck Pampers seemed to lead to fewer wakings. Now he's finally sleeping through I plan to try reuseables again.

Dirty nappies get put in those little baggies you get 100 for 29p at the supermarket if I'm out, and shoved in the bottom of the pushchair along with any dirty clothes etc.

The only catch is drying time and space - now the heating's off I need to ensure there's enough dry 1-pieces for nursery, and sometimes they don't dry overnight. (but only an issue because nursery can't cope with the 2-piece ones and I've not pushed it, and only recently bought more nappies where you wash + dry pieces separately then pop together for 1-piece use) But I do own a dryer if needed. It's about 1-2 extra loads of washing a week.

Thanks everybody! Very useful information. I will do some more research but i'm definitally considering the option of reusables now. Thanks again...

I loved the idea of reusables and bought a load when DS1 was born and again when DS2 was born, but both times couldn't keep up with the washing and ended up switching to disposables. I had no trouble with nappy rash but when you already struggle to keep up with the laundry, factoring in extra nappy washes (especially when you can't afford to use your tumble dryer) is too much hassle.

I had a mix of nappies which included terry squares. They dried really quickly even without a tumble dryer especially the thinner, cheaper ones.
I had 3 in reusables at one point and didn't find the extra wash too much of a problem.

I don't find one extra load of washing every 3 days any work whatsoever. It was more like every 2 days when ds1 was younger, and when they were BOTH in nappies I did start to lose the will to live for a while but on the whole using cloth nappies does not add much to my workload. It is hard if the tumble dryer is broken in the winter, unless you have gas central hearing, but the money saved by using cloth would easily cover the cost of repair or even a new tumble dryer.

I keep my nappies in a dry pail outside the back door, and all I do is empty solid matter down the loo (surely even disposable users must do that? It would be just disgusting to have it sitting in the bin), stick the nappy in the bucket and then wash the lot at 40 degrees with a small amount of non bio powder. We live in a v hard water area and have never had a problem. Never had a problem with nappy rash either - like any nappy, you just need to change frequently.

I echo what someone said about trying a few out to see how you get on.

I was keen for environmental reasons, but also because with disposables they are festering for 2 weeks between rubbish collections whereas with washables they never sit for more than 2 days.

When DS was born I bought the most eco-friendly disposables I could find (bulk bought Moltex and Bambo online), and used these for the first 6-8 weeks, but bought one of each main type of reusable I was interested in - so an all-in-one (Bumgenius), terry + wrap, shaped + wrap (TotBots) and used maybe one a day to see which I liked, or if I liked them at all.

At about 8 weeks switched to Bumgenius - they go on and off like a disposable, and I never bothered soaking them overnight. Just put them in a bucket with a bit of teatree oil, then washed every other day. I usually do one wash a week at 60C and the other 2 at 40C and then line dry most of the time (tumble when weather bad in winter). Never had a problem with nappy rash with this routine. Only severe nappy rash we had was both times on holiday when using disposables.

After a while I started using a disposable overnight, as I found the Bumgenius and clothes were soaked through by morning, but use the Moltex or Bambo as they are the most eco-friendly disposables. DS is now 2.2 and we still use Bumgenius with disposable at night. Use disposables on holiday, or when staying overnight somewhere, but otherwise use Bumgenius.

Expecting #2 and will do teh same again.

DH was severely sceptical of reusables but now raves about them to work colleagues and friends!

I gave up on reusables as I could never get them to dry.The instructions said that if you dry them on a radiator they'd not stay soft and we don't have a tumble dryer. The nappies were lovely and BRILLIANT for explosive colmans mustard poo containment, but had a really thick absorbent layer that didn't ever seem to dry on the line.If I had a tumble to finish them off in for dc3 I'd get them out of the loft.

Reusables are a really good alternative to disposables.
Depending on how you can dry them will be an issue to which type you get. we bought organic cotton Little Lambs as they were the most absorbent, which in realith meant the longest to dry. We now have some microfleece which are dry in about 2 hours on the lin but are less absorbent.
Getting a good wrap is essential as they will stop any annoying leaks and more annoying a change of clothes.
I currently have about 4 brands of nappies and 3 styles of wraps but my favourite wrap is a Nature Babies wrap which ahs popper fastenings. google it as I have found it works with most style of nappy.

We have never had nappy rash and I don't use any barrier cream either. DD1 had awful nappy rash and was in disposables.

I do use dispos for a night and on wash days so maybe 2 days a week and we have noticed how our nappy bin is full every week. we can almost fill a black bin with our nappies (DS(SN) is still in nappies but they are incinerated rather then landfilled) so we are saving a lot of fubbish room every week by using reusables.

Try EBAY or freecycyle or MN for samples. I spent about 200 for nappies that will last birth to potty and they will last 3 children as the first size have been passed to best friend who is passing them back when new baby is born later in the year. All in all we are saving thousands

LooLOO I wouldn't worry too much about drying your nappies on radiators. It is true that they will be a little, er, crispy when they are dry but if you give them a good shake that will improve them and I have never found my DC bothered about wearing crispy nappies. If you are worried about it you could cut up squares of fleece to use as soft liners.

I have used washables on and off with 3 kids for 11 years. We have Motherease shaped ones which are great as they grow from birth to potty as they have poppers. You can get snap in liners too. The wraps come in various sizes; these are the only things you have to get more of as baby grows.
Tend to use disposables at night and I have used them 'on and off' because 2 of my 3 did get rashes in the summer; I think the wraps make it a little sweaty, so you could go without these in good weather..
The good thing is that as the wraps are seperate, the nappies dry faster.
Planning on using them with DC4; all I can say is I would recommend dry pailing; soaking nappies can be very smelly!

Well I can honestly say we never saved any money by using washable nappies on DC2, the inital outlay, making mistakes with what suited, the washing at 60 to get them clean enough (some needed 90), tumble drying in winter and sometimes summer too.
With the special offers and coupons that drop through the door weekly for pampers/huggies I found it much more convenient and cheaper to use disposables, however you may be more organised than me and have a standard sized baby/child.

I gather nappy rash is a problem if you expect a soiled reusable to last as long on the child as a soiled disposable - although IMO, if the child's started filling their nappy, it needs a change no matter how absorbent the core is!!! I guess some parents just aren't as fussed.

There is an "Environment Agency Report" comparing disposables against reusables for an average child using nappies for two and a half years. If you don't use a tumble drier, make sure you have a full load in your washing machine when you wash them and don't wash at 90C, then on your first child, reusables are at least 16% more environmentally friendly in terms of CO2 emissions.

I've opted for washables - but, I'm not a sadist, I've got a stock of disposables for holidays etc.

I bought reuseable for DD before she was born, but as she was a low birth weight they didn't fit her they just fell off her. I started using disposables with the intention of going to reuseables once bottom had developed, but in honesty I never did sadly. They did come in useful for polishing the car though.

I found reusables very practical. Saved me a fortune, didn't add that much extra to the washing and they are far more environmentally friendly than disposables.

My big brother and big sister both used washables with their families, and they seemed to have such a great system lined up that DH and I are going for it. We'll be using disposables for the first week or so I imagine, cos of the tarry poos and the exhaustion, but then we'll hopefully get into our washable groove. We've got Bambinex teddies because they're the quickest drying I could find. I appreciate this makes them slightly less absorbant, so might mean more changes or we have to get a bamboo booster pad - we'll just work it out, I suppose.

I got a brilliant deal on ebay (someone was given a teddy starter kit and never used them) and spent about a hundred and fifty quid on a bazillion nappies (ok, maybe it was only 27) but even with the cost of washing them, that's going to save us a lot of money, which is key!

We have to use disposables for daycare, which will be 3 days out of 7 - and I expect we'll use them for holidays and things. We aim to go with washable the majority of the time (because we'd heard they gave you LESS trouble with nappy rash, oddly enough) but not be masochists, if that makes sense.

Good luck with whatever you decide! If you're trying to pick a type (and there are SO many) google The Nappy Lady - it was incredibly helpful to us.