Can You Recommend the Easiest & Best Reusable Nappies Please?

[Toothache]

DH & I discussed this the other day and we decided that we would give the washable nappies a go! I've heard loads of people rave on about this cost effectiveness and convenience so thought we'd try it our selves.

However, I can't think of where I'd get them from, where do I start??

I'm looking for ones that don't involve ANY folding.... can you get preshaped ones that you just fasten with poppers? How many will I need and are there different sizes? And what about liners? Where do I buy them?

Any advice welcome as I haven't even SEEN a washable nappy never mind used one....

TIA.

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MNHQ

Toothache - I've been using them for 2 years since DS was born and have not looked back.

I used the nappylady and thought the service was excellent. Good advice and they sell pretty much all products. There's no real advantage to searching for better prices on the web - although you can get 2nd hand.

We used Motherease One Size (usually called MEOS) to start with and they are brilliant. No folding as they are a shaped nappy and they do up with poppers. You then have a wrap over the top (the waterproof layer) which is either popper or velcro. The one disadvantage of MEOS is that they do not fit larger children very well unless you have a slender toddler. We now use TotsBots (size 2) which do up with velcro (there is also a non-velcro version where you use something called a nappy nippa for fastening which is basically a pinless-pin) with the same wraps over the top.

I would really recommend you try the nappy lady. You can fill out a form online and get a really long advice letter back (mine was about 15 pages). They include advice about washing etc.

Best of luck and if you need any more advice there are quite a few real nappy users here all willing to contribute!

Thanks FC! Fantastic advice.... I'll go have a look now (ahem...honest I'm working hard to day. ).

i use motherease one size, they are fab really and truly, i also went through the nappy lady, I have also bought some kissluv contours from twinkle twinkle as they are so cute and my dd is small and a light wetter.

Good luck!

I would second Fereddiecat's recommendations, but I also use Sandy's shaped nappys as well.

Ecobabes do a trial pack of loads of different kinds of washables. Nappy kits for hire on their front page menu. We tried their newborn kit and it was certainly comprehensive!

I've used Totsbots since ds was 2 weeks old and loved them! We've never had him in anything else. The size ones are very cute, and can fix with aplix (soft velcro) or without, using a nappy nippa. For size ones, I would go with the aplix as it is easier, especially if anyone else is changing. DS is now 18lbs and I am moving from the size 1 to 2 - but they've lasted me 8 months. White are very absorbant, thus a little slower to dry, but the pastel bots are so, so cute. I just love my tots - that plus a motherease wrap has proved to be failsafe for me (no leaks, ever!). In winter they dry very quickly over a radiator, in summer, less quickly! When DS was a tiny toot, he was so funny in his tots as it didn't half give him a large bottom!!

Nappy Lady is fab - you get an advisor that you can ring and speak to - that was worth a lot in my book. I think most nappy users use the Nappy Lady at some point!!

As for liners - tbh, for newborn, you may want something flushable. You can get "ultra" liners which if you have a good plumbing system contain breastfed pooh quite efficiently. After weaning, when things become more "compact", fleece liners are great - you drop solids off into the loo. Washing nappies at 60 gets rid of stains - but I find that if there is a residual stain a squirt with vanish or using that vanish oxy stuff in a 40 prewash works really well.

At the risk of sounding like someone who walks barefoot through sunflower fields with children roped to her back (I've done neither!) you'll find a lot of real nappy users make their own wipes - on the premise it all goes in the nappy bucket and into the machine. Just get some cheap faceclothes or similar, soak in whatever takes your fancy (water with some essential oil, or baby bath if you're lazy!) and wipe and bucket. Easy peasy!

If you haven't seen any real nappies, try giving your local council a ring - there might be a real nappy library or similar in your area, or they might be able to put you in touch with a nappy user in your area. Our council offers money back to real nappy users, and there are a lot that do this (nothing exciting, about £15, but that can buy another couple of nappies!) so if you get the right person they should be enthusiastic about it.

I bought some terry squares but didn't get on with them as a nappy - I wasn't any good at origami! However, they are very useful on the changemat to dry off baby's bottom following cleaning, and also insulate the mat in the early days when they hate being against anything cold.

Just beware - buying nappies is terribly addictive - but good luck and enjoy. There's quite a few of us here . . .

Kushies - all in ones - no folding etc. Work fine for us!

I would also recommend tots bots with applix, and motherease wraps.

I've used them since dd was about 4 weeks (admiteddly now I have ds too, both wear disposables occasionally though). You don't need liners with tots bots size 1s.

Also I'd second freddiecat's recommendation for the Nappy Lady.

how about trying out a nappy service? we've been using one for a few weeks now, I can't keep up with the laundry anyway so didn't want to add nappies, plus ds is our last baby so didn't want to buy all the stuff. It's so easy and convenient.
We use pad prefolds with proraps. The proraps are great, very light, hold everything in and a lot more comfortable than other wraps I halfheartedly tried with my dds (only to resort to disposables again). You do have to fold the prefold but only twice, not exactly tricky.

These allsound great I have 1ds and we insisted that we woudl use washables after the first day or so but he is now 6mths and the start up pack we bought obviously does not fit. I feel so crap for not doing so but I found all the other issues of feeding sleeping etc such mile stones that needed to be overcome first. I have also been lazy lately because there is no real reason now for not changing... However, I do wonder how you manage when out. I try to get out of the house during the week for as much of the day as possible, and this involves a few nappy changes on the run, how do you get your nappy full of poo back home without loosing all of your friends in process?

We use ones that do need folding and honsely they are no trouble. They are so cheep and quick to fold and last a long time. Honeslty consider them because they really are no trouble. We do have other ones as well, but I find the terries easier. We don't use pins just plastic pants tp keep them togther. We had never seen a nappy either!

We also use fleece liners which are brilliant and booster thick liners for nighttime. We use twinkle on the web.

Definitely look at the nappy lady and fill in her questionnaire, she will respond with some recommendations based on how much you want to spend, what drying facilities you have etc etc (for e.g. all-in-ones can be slow to dry, terries dry quickest but can be more fiddly to use etc etc).

Thanks Ladies!

I've had a look at all these websites and have a catalogue winging it's way to me. But I must say I'm shocked at how much I'm going to have to fork out up front! I know it'll pay off in the long run, but I just don't have £300 lying around to use. Do they REALLY cost that much or have I added it up all wrong?

Lysa, what you do when out depends a bit on where you are going to be! Firstly you need a waterproof bag to hold your wet nappies- sold by all good real nappy sellers! Wet nappies go straight into bag to take home and wash. Dirty nappies....probably the best option is flushable liners, as long as you have a loo to hand you drop the liner in and flush- the nappy goes in the bag! If no loo to hand, then fold up nappy with poo inside, and put in wet nappy bag to take home. If your bag is waterproof, it is likely to be smell-proof as well!

If you're out hill- walking you could dig a hole and place poo-filled liner in hole and bury... sorry don't mean to be facetious, but in that situation you would have to carry a disp home with you,so a cloth nappy would actually be less smelly!!

Toothache, a lot of people get away with paying a lot less... terry squares are the cheapest, but can be fiddly if you're not used to folding.Yes, if you're going to buy enough shaped nappies and wraps to get you through potty training and out the other side all in one go, it might turn out to be that much, but there are other options.

Firstly try a couple of different sorts before you buy a load- different nappies suit different babies- we love Tots bots, but didn't get on with MEOS at all...

If you're short of hard cash buy a few at a time and phase them in.... you'll then be using fewer disps, so will spend less on them. Start with say 5 nappies and 2 wraps, and add to your collection as you are able to afford it. Work out how much you spend on disps per week- I bet it's loads!

You can buy secondhand- UKP has a cloth nappy Buy and Sell board, and you can get some really good bargains- but beware! Tots and MEOS tend to go quickly and for good prices.

You can get cloth nappies on Ebay as well, and both the Nappy Lady and Twinkle Twinkle have buy and sell boards as well.

If you buy new, you can sell them when baby outgrows them, or if you just don't like them- same place, but do a search and work out how much to ask! I bought our first set of Tots Bots size 1 for £6.50 each (new) and sold them 9 months later for £5 each, so had 9 months use for £1.50 per nappy- MUCH cheaper than disposables.

HTH

toothache, some nappies have a very good resale value on ebay, or you could try a nappy service first and see how you get on with cloth, and then when you're hooked buy your own.

problem with nappy services is that they are not all that cheap, and if you don't get on with prefolds, may put you off real nappies for life! They are however the greenest option by far, as all the washing is done in bulk.

Fantastic ideas girls!! I hadn't thought about buying a few at a time and phasing them in. I thought I would need 20 nappies, 20 liners and 4 wraps all at once!

AND I also hadn't considered second hand. Must look again at the Nappy Lady.

A cheap backup option can be terries folded into pads. This is what I'm using, largely 'cos it's my third baby and I'm too mean to go out and buy one of the lovely new systems that weren't around 9 years ago when I had dd1.

I fold the terry square into quarters, and then into three lengthwise to make a pad. With tiny babies you can use muslins instead. Good nappy covers like Motherease or Bumpy will hold it all in place very well, and it saves all that fancy kitefolding and fiddling around with pins or nappy nippas.

Toothache..

I am in the process of ordering nappies from Totsbots...

I am ordering 20 nappies (10 size 1, 10 size 2), liners, wraps (x 6) and it all comes to £210 including P&P - so quite a lot less than £300 - it's also cheaper if you are prepared to go for seconds...(about £2 per nappy cheaper).

HTH
Dejags

I am going through the nappy lady at the moment. Today I have ordered the trial suggested by my advisor for £19. Seemed like a good option to me.
My dm bought me a small baby box of cotton bottoms before dh was born. Tbh I didn't much like them to start, and when I started using them liked them even less - they leaked everytime!!
A trial could be the best way forward... and it's easy