How expensive is it really to have 'REAL' nappies? Experts needed :)

[DisenchantedPlusBump]

Have always used disposables.

I know people say 'it saves you money in the long run' but in our situation getting together that lump sum is alot harder than just spending £6 on nappies as and when you need them.

How do they work? Do you buy 1 set and they grow with baby?

How many parts to the nappys?

Is there a good starter pack available somewhere?

Thanks

I have spent just over £260 on nappies - bar the cost of washing powder, water, electricity and degradation of the washing machine. This is for 3 children.

i used the motherease one size and some terries squares. cut up lenght of fleece for liners. had about 3/4 wraps for each size. prob. spent about 200. lent them to my friend and now my sister is using them. you could try freecycle to get some second hand ones. theydo save money and they are not as smelly.

second hand is a good option if you want to try some. www.usednappies.co.uk or flame has a classified section. S lot of nappy sites will do you a trial pakc and you can recoup the cost of hiring it if you subsequently make a purchase.

the cost depends on how obsessive you get about it. I have spent a fair bit as i get sucked in by new nappies out there, but I've sold loads as well so probably whole outlay so far for two babies is about £350.

I started off with two parters, ie shaped terry and wraps, but then went to pockets as DD got bigger and wrigglier. Have been using two parters again recently as doing trials of various nappies for a baby mag.

there are sized options or birth to potty options, but ime the birth to potty ones are bulky on a newborn and rather lean on a toddler, so I like the sized options. they work out a bit more expensive obviously, but as you can get at least half the cost back when selling second hand it isn;t that bad.

Babykind have info on the pros and cons of each type and the potential resale value.

flame and nappyzone will offer you impartial adivice, as will all the nappy websites really. Babykind may well have a local advisor who will come out to your house with some samples so you can see them and see what you like.

terry squares are the cheap as chips option followed by prefolds. I've used terries with good success, but am suckered in by all the cute and cuddly fluff that is out there

I've spent far too much, but have also sold loads.

Probably about 300 for 2 children. From newborn to toddler. I've always gotten sized as haven't found a one size that was good for skinny legs.

if you want one nappy to alst through form birth to potty training i can recommend the bumgenius nappy, its sized and come with the insert to alst too and as they are pocket nappies they are usually quicker to dry.

i just brought additional hemo inserts to put in under the terry oen that came with it and it would last my dd overnight.

i did have a cloth anppy addicttion though and brought tonnes of anppies, far too many. but if iw as recomemdnign one nappy for soemoen on a budget it would eb the bum genius. i think you could probably get away with having 6 or 7 to begin with.

and if the intial outlay is an issue then you could buy one a week/fortnight until you had enough to keep you goign for two ays worth, whihc is probably 10 nappies in all.

I think if you are having trouble getting the money together you can start little by little - buy one or two nappies (possibly second hand to make it even better value) and carry on using disps the rest of the time.

That way you can judge how easy you find it, can try different kinds of nappies to see what works for you and you don't have a massive hit up front.

I calculated that the nappies (shaped, with wraps) paid for themselves after I had used them between 30 and 40 times.

I'd go for nappy nippas and fitted wraps over pins and plastic pants riven , but you have shown it can be as cheap as you want it to be really

twas the same when I looked into cloth for my sister for her DS nine years ago riven. she got the terries no problems, but couldn't even buy plastic pants! she is very jealous of my DDs lovely nappies now.

I used plastic pants for Baby1 for a few months, but they really are quite nasty compared to expensiver options (nylon pants, Motherease wraps, etc.)

Including washing-drying costs and some disposable use, don't forget most clothies use some disps I reckoned I spent about 325 quid on all nappies for first baby. That includes a fair number of terries and some nylon pants given to me. I also calculated that I probably could have gone from birth to potty in 100% disps for around £420. So a savings by using cloth, but not massive.

Where I saved much more money has been using real nappies with babies 2-4.

DD1 I used terries and plastic pants (she is 9 now) but I am now reusing the old terries (which also went through dd2 and a period as floor cloths when I thought was finished with nappes) as stuffing for very lovely pocket nappies.

You can definitely do it cheaply, but I'm on my third child, and all mine have been late to potty train, so I'm using them for longer, which makes it even more economical for me.

birth to potty in 100% dispos for £420 sounds a bit optimistic to me, unless your DCs potty trained very early indeed. even assuming £5 average a week for three years is a minimum of £750, but i know i spent more on that with DS considering the amount they get through in the early weeks/months.

so something like this is no good? It seems so simple to just buy one of these kits though

I think I'll just sick to pampers, lol.

having used little lambs, I would be more than happy with their birth to potty kit, and it is a very good price.

However, I don't think their wraps are the best out there and this is often the case with nappies/wraps from the same manufacturer, eg baby beehinds nappies are fantastic but their wraps are just not good enough imo, same with cottontails.

motherease on the otherhand have great wraps, but I'm not too impressed with their nappies.

tots are consistently good with both wraps and nappies, and their new flexitots nappies and wraps are bombproof ime

It's all about finding what works for both you and your DC though and as such I'd be wary of splurging on a btp pack and then finding it wasn't working for us.

i have spent £20 on nappy items for dc4. (i gt rid off all the nappies once dd3 was potty trained as wasnt expecting to have aother child).

sisters and friends have given things inc nappies, wraps, nippas.

al i have bought i a few extra nippas, 4 wraps (ere on BOGOF £4 for 2 at local shop) and some muslin squres for the early days.

i love plain terry squares as much as shaped nappies, purely because they are versatile and quick drying.

Best advertisement for real diapers. Bought 25 when DD was 3 weeks old. They lasted until she was about 20 lbs, and then used them for DS. And managed to sell them for over a third of what I paid for them...

Oh, and minus the 30.00 Bristol City Council put in as part of the real nappy scheme

DS1 was out of nappies day and night before 2.5yo, LackaDaisy, I know I was lucky with the nights with him, but my others were out of nappies in daytime even younger. Fiver week for just over 2 years, allowing for money off coupons and willingness to use the budget line nappies, it would have been ~ £420.

ah, that makes more sense pbkid. My 6yo DS was in nappies till he was past three and is only recently out of nighttime pj pants so we have had an extra £4 a week for those for aaaaaaages.

Ah, yes, well my others have been in nappies at night past their 4th birthday, too. .
We got some old towels off of freecycle to use as nighttime nappies for the 'children'.

Lacka - we calculated around £550 to 600 for disposables in our book (about baby products - I won't mention the name or I might get in trouble )
For eco-disposables it came out at £600 to £800 depending on the brand.
Iirc we used the 'average age for a child to be fully potty trained' from some research as the end point.

p.s. we used Pampers for the calcs though not the cheapest.