Saving money on nappies

System

My newborn daughter came out of hospital with nappy rash. I couldnt understand why as it was quite bad for a 48 hour old baby. For months i battled with her soreness, even hounding the doctor and health visitor, until someone told me to try a terry nappy as sometimes the bleach used in disposables sometimes causes a reaction.

So i did, and the nappy rash went away very quickly and never came back.

However, when i gave birth twice afterwards, i continued to use disposables.

mousie

It's very easy to slam women that don't breastfeed-just don't forget that not everybody can, oh and if you read the latest research there has been a case of dangerous chemicals being found in breastmilk..........

>:( Yes this is true, but if you read full reports or watch the whole program, health professionals and those who conducted the research will tell you that despite these toxins, breastmilk is still better for the baby rather than formula. I hope to be a toddler feeding weirdo  ;D and I breastfeed in public, never in a changing room (well, would you eat your dinner in a toilet cubicle?). I can't stand people who make bottle-feeding mums feel guilty (as I had to bottle feed for 3 days because of cracked nipples and mastitis leading to PND and have never felt more guilty in my life) but I understand the pressure to breastfeed - feeling guilty is something that happens everyday as a mother. HVs and midwives are terrible breastfeeding councillors IMO, so don't rely on them. If baby won't latch on, put your nipple into his mouth using your finger - your cracked nipples won't heal up otherwise!

I use Tescos own brand nappies on my son. They're more absorbant and much cheaper than Pampers & Huggies. Can't be doing with reusable nappies - can barely pull myself together enough to do my own washing without having to do his nappies too. I do my bit for the environment by walking (ok, it's only because I've failed my driving test but hey ho!). I'd read that Boots & Huggies are made by same factory and are actually the same nappy, just a different picture on the waistband.

Nicki x :-*x

System

Back on topic: ie saving money by using Terry nappies....

My wife and I use cotton washables for both our kids, and don't regret it a bit. They work fine, and the environmental impact is clearly lower. (Oh, and yes I do wash them as well - I don't leave that to my wife all the time!!!!) They're actually not a great deal more work than using disposables, but you do have to be organised. You can also buy genuinely biodegradable disposables if you want, by the way, for around 15% more than the big-name brands cost.

Having said that, if you're considering terries from a financial point of view, consider these points:

1. You may find yourself using disposables overnight if your child is a heavy wetter, because they simply can't hold as much pee as the hydrophilic chemicals in Pampers. So you could end up buying some disposable ones as well as the expensive cotton pack.

2. Holidays: it's not to everyone's liking to have a nappy bucket in their bathroom, or let you use their washing machine for nappies. So you may also find yourself taking disposables away on holiday with you, adding more to the cost.

3. If you plan to send your child to nursery while still at nappy age, consider that the cost of nappies is included in the daily charge of many nurseries, but you will probably not get a reduction for supplying cotton ones for them. So although you aren't paying extra, the calculated cost of how much you would spend on disposable nappies over 3 years effectively goes down.

4. You may also find that some nurseries will refuse to take your child in terries. This will probably reduce as they get more popular, but when finding a place for our boy we were told: that it was too much hassle; that they didn't have time to retrain all their staff; one even told us it was against the law because they'd be breaking Health and Safety rules by putting a cotton nappy in a bag for us instead of out in their refuse bin! The nursery we chose said they'd try it out, and we've never had a problem since.

So all in all, over the nappy wearing life of two children, we will save money by using the cottons, but nowhere near as much as you'd expect from the comparisons you'll see on websites advertising them. But to be honest, you don't do it for the money anyway, you do it because you think it's right, and if it works out cheaper too then great.

Best of luck
Andy

System

To be honest, this thread upsets me a bit, because I think there isn't a lot in it either way. I tried to cost up my use of cloth nappies plus some disps (holidays, nursery 2 days/week), for one child, versus what I would have spent for 100% disps on the same child for 2.5 years. And the costs were very similar:
£360-£370 for disps
£310-£320 for cloth+some disps, including washing powder, electricity, wear & tear on the machine.

We air dry, were given quite a few naps+wraps, and only wash full loads, which reduces costs for cloth. And, I am happy to use the super cheap shop's own disps until they are almost bursting, rather than premium brands and changing frequently, which habits bring the disp costs down a lot, too. I haven't tried to cost in my time, either... cloth does take more time, IME.

However... I will have used my cloth nappies for 3 children, not just one, and most will have some resale value -- so in fact, I would assume a total cost savings of about £400-£500 for all 3 children.

isnt there argument that the savings of not buying disposables is eaten up by the cost of extra electricity, wear and tear etc on the washing machine over the longer term, not to mention the cost to the environment. i read somewhere that the cost equaled out over time and that the cost to the envirionment was roughly the same whichever type of nappies were used

slycod

Some references for you, Sly:
http://www.wen.org.uk/nappies/cost_comparison.htm

http://www.familiesonline.co.uk/article/static/31/

I think the main WEN critiques of the Proctor+Gamble studies were that environmental costs of manufacture and disposal costs weren't properly accounted for, plus, most cloth nappies can be used for many children and I think the P+G study assumed just one child. However, (speaking with my pseudo-env.economist hat on), it is very difficult to cost those manufacture/disposal costs up, reliably, because there are so many assumptions one has to make. For instance, on materials alone: cotton, organic cotton, hemp, silk, wool or fleece -- all have different life cycles and resource inputs.

MATH

I used terry squares for all my three children (10yrs ago when it was through mad!) There were no nappy services and liners etc where difficult to find. Things seem to be much better now.
This was the first time I realised I could make choices that saved me money. Squares are more fiddly but they dry much faster, don't have to be replaced for larger sizes and have hundreds of other uses when not wrapped aorund a bum. I'm still using them for cleaning etc.
I don't know how much I have saved but over three children it must be a bit and I glow with pride and satisfaction that I did it when everyone thought I wouldn't stick it a week. (Once you get into a routine it's fine) When all my children were toilet trained which was at 18 months I even missed my old nappy routine. I didn't have to buy mine I just asked about and collected over 80 unused terrys from new mums who's mother in laws had bought them a dozen which they didn't want. It's worth asking!

Don't bother soaking in Napisan. I kept used nappies in a dry bucket and pre & main washed on hot. They were fine

Bach_Off

I can't stand people who make bottle-feeding mums feel guilty (as I had to bottle feed for 3 days because of cracked nipples and mastitis leading to PND and have never felt more guilty in my life)

Not really related to nappies but note to all new mums planning to breastfeed – I highly recommend Lansinoh for your ‘nips’ – it was fantastic - really helps prevent soreness and cracking- bit expensive (about £11 a tube) but worth every penny to those mums praying for baby to stay asleep so they don’t have to feed!!!

I would also highly recommend for baby’s sore bum a cream called Morhulin – you only need a tiny bit – doesn’t seem as heavy as Sudocrem and it is not expensive (bout £2 ish?). My sis in law works in healthcare and they use it extensively for bedsores and such.

Jay-Jay_4

curleygirlie I totally agree about the Lansinoh ointment (Available in Mothercare) Lansinoh also do breastpads which have a kind of gel in them, a bit like Always Ultra, which absorbs leaked milk instead of just going soggy .

shaznmark

Staffordshire county council offer £30 cashback in 3 lots of £10 to encourage people to use cloth reusable nappies for the environment.

I have purchased a set of cotton bottoms from Boots in newborn just to try them out, has anyone used them please. I'd appreciate feedback on them, although I know it comes down to personal choice. Can you tell me where to get some snazzy waterproof pants to go over the top aswell please. Thanks

sabah_2

I breast fed my son for 19 months – I think I would have stop earlier but my husband and his family were encouraging me to do it until he was 2. My son never use to eat anything, only breast milk and that use o worry me a lot, and every time I tried to explain why I was going to try and stop breast feeding I felt like they were thinking I was making accuses to stop.

When I stopped it was hard but he started eating proper food, he is just over 2 now and quite slim but very active too!!

sabah_2

I bough 'Kusshies'washable nappies from Tesco - 5 for £45.99, but I got mine for £25 as the nappies were discolored . When I went to buy more and was going to pay the full price I checked to see if they were discoloured and one was so I asked for a discount - and got £5