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Honest advice on ease of use

Hi guys

I know that so many of you here get on well with reusable nappies, our baby is due in October and we really want to use reusables but from recent talks with friends i have really been put off - i just wondered if any of you could give advice on how you overcame probems.

The first moan is - they are too fiddly you will get fed up with them after 2 weeks and move on to disposables. The next one was - there are too many bits to them they create extra mess and the washing machine is constantly going (not good for the electric bill) and finally - you can only use them at home because there is so much faff with all the different bits and lugging around a dirty real nappy for the rest of the day that it's just easier with disposables.

A question that has also come to my mind is, how do family/friends cope when babysitting etc do you find they are less likely to help if nappy changing is more of a chore?

Any help gratefully received!

moominmama x

Replies

  • Right ... Firstly, apologies if this is a bit garbled - I'm on my iPhone which is a pain to type on.

    I looked at cloth nappies as my heart was in the right place but also doubted my staying power should it be a lot of hassle. I've been pleasantly surprised. I PREFER them to disposables. Poo almost always leaks out with disposables for us (huggies and pampers) so even more faf as a whole clothes change is needed.

    If you don't want loads of "bits", check out pocket nappies. We use bumgenius and they're fab. Once you've shoved the absorbant pad in the pocket of the outer piece (all of two seconds work) it is just like a regular nappy to put on but with Velcro-style tabs instead of sticky ones. Even my OH can use them so any one who can put on a disposable nappy can put on these. Actually this style cloth nappy are easier because you can keep adjusting if you haven't got it tight/loose enough without worrying that the tabs will lose stickiness!

    As for cleaning - it becomes an easy routine. I have a mesh bag in the nappy bucket. Every morning I grab the bag, chuck it in the washing machine (bag and all), cold rinse, wash with extra rinse (you use 1/4 detergent than normal so not expensive) and bung on line to dry. I'm no domestic goddess and I find it easy as pie.

    When staying with friends it depends on how long we are away for. If it's just a weekend we tend to use disposables (and get him out of bed before his predictable morning poo which would inevitably leak from a disposable). Longer than that we'd take cloth nappies (I check with friends that they're ok with us using their washing machine in advance - it's never been an issue).

    Any more questions, please just ask image
    anna xx
  • Thanks anna, thats a real help - it seems a bit of a minefield and everyone has an opinion! Hearing positives is good, i will investigate the bumgenius!

    xxx
  • Sorry, have thought of another question. What do you do when you go out for a day and you need to o a change - do you just keep the dirty nappy with you? x
  • hi we only wash every three days so two/three extra loads a week, we use pockets like bumgenius and there fab, pippa hasn't had a disposable on in over a year!
    We have a big wet bag and when we go out just take it with us, i tend to put it under the puschair when i've got nappies in it, if pippa does poo while we're out i tend to empty the poo down the toilet (most changing rooms seem to have them nowadays) and then just put the nappy in the wet bag, so just a wet nappy, never had a smell or leak from the bag, no worst then having to take clothes home when a nappies leaked on them. Not that we've had many leaks, about 4 in a year and i can put them down to me not putting them on properly or pippa having an egg intolerance and eating egg and nothing can contain those poo's
    they are a lot simpler then you think, have a go, i did and have never looked back
    xx
  • I'm another pocket nappy fan!
    We've got lots of different brands, swaddlebees, fuzzi bunz, wonderoos, upsy daisy etc.
    Basically, as is said above, you put an insert inside the pocket at the back of the nappy. The pocket nappies have a waterproof layer built in, so you dont need waterproof wraps or outers. You also dont need liners on top of the nappy.
    Inserts can be made of micofibre, terry, hemp, bamboo - different materials do different jobs, and for overnight or a long journey you can put in an extra insert to increase absorbancy.
    We've got a "stinky minky" bag to keep dirty nappies in when we are out, but really any bag which is washable would do, or even a carrier bag!
    I have plenty of nappies so only do a wash once every 2 or 3 days, and thats for my 10 month old who is in nappies full time and our 2 year old who is in nappies just at night.
    We have a lidded bucket to keep dirty nappies in between washes.
    Once all nappies are washed, I put the inserts in them ready, so they can be used just like a disposable, so babysitters, nursery staff, grandparents etc can use them with ease!
    I find pocket nappies far better than dispostables, we only very very rarely have a leak.
    A good place for advice is
    www.clothnappytree.com, and they also have a great classified forum where I got most of my nappies from as the initial outlay for nappies can be expensive! xxx
  • i really like my bumgenius nappies. i will use disposables on occasion. i bought my first pack of disposables yesterday since dd was born. but i prefer the clothies. my mum was worried aout them so came round when the nappy lady explained the choices. but she had terries so these are much simpler. hubby likes them too. we used disposables for about 3 weeks when she was born, then switched during the day to cloth, then just use clothies. when we visited nurseries i mentioned cloth and the staff said they are used to lots of different types and cloth babies tend to potty train more quickly. you might want to start with disposable as youll be washing constantly several times a day with a new born anyway at first!!!! they throw up a lot.
  • Hi I use lollipop pop n gro, all in one nappy and they are so easy to use, they don't have a pocket but we fold the bamboo liner in three and put it at the front, with bubs being a boy he pees a lot! I wash every other day, sometimes I do give a poop explosion a bit of a rinse but otherwise I just stick them in and go. I have a lean to so if it is rainy out I can dry them in there in a day, try to avoid using the tumble drier.
    They are very easy to use when out and about but yes they are more bulky in the change bag, I have a separate bag underneath the pushchair for the dirty reusables. I go to bluewater etc so all day shopping, no problem.

    I find that on the odd occasion I have used disposables they leak more than the reusables but that is my personal experience. I think the main thing is to use them as early as possible. It takes a lot of washes to get a nappy to full absorbency so if you put a reusable on a newborn they pee little and often and the nappy can cope. If you put it on a baby that is a few months old and the nappy is not up to absorbency you get leaks. I used them on bubs from day 5 (waited until his cord fell off). At first I used disposables when out and about but stopped after about week 2.

    If being honest though I would say think hard about it as I know so many people who have given up, if you are oooming than they may not be for you, they do require a lot of washing and sorting and you can't say oh I don't feel like washing today or bubs will have no nappies. The key in my opinion is to use them as early as possible, I used them from day 5 so only know about reusables, if I had, had the ease of disposables for a few weeks I would of found it harder.
  • I switched when ds was 6 mths and both hubby & I are real converts. We don't have any problems with family, friends or nursery using them nursery was my biggest worry). The ones like bg's are so easy to use DH was very, very surprised (he thought it was still all nappy pins and folding). They aren't always perfect and there are definitely some that I find better than others. I'd possibly say try and get a trial pack before you invest, so you know what suits you.
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