saving money on nappies / wipes / talc. etc

fsdss

its only taken me 4 years to realise that by buying baby wipes is expensive considering that i only wipe the baby's backside with them and does it really matter that the more expensive ones make the baby's backside smell better?

anyway i have been buying the cheaper brands (value / wilkinsons own etc) for the past 6 months, especially when they're on offer. and to clean faces etc i've been using flannels. my monthly bill for wipes have reduced considerably (more like half).
i've also since bought value baby talc at a fraction of the cost of the more expensive products available, and to be honest i've not noticed any difference.

so if this were so on wipes could i do the same with nappies? or perhaps anything else?

i noticed that lidl do a bumper pack of nappies for about half the price of pampers / huggies but i am reluctant to buy as i'm unsure of the product. has anyone else tried them and what do you think?

washables are really not an option for me at the moment as i have too much commitment of time with working / studying. and managing a home which i feel i'm struggling with (in terms of cleaning etc).

rchddap1

Some people use just plain cotton wool and water on babe's bum, or a flannel and water....and miss out the wipes altogether. Planning on doing something similar myself. But I'll probably have a secret stash of wipes for when out and about.

astonsmummy

i find cheap nappies r carp, they leake during the night, have always used pampers, then huggies pull ups, as they are easier to get on and off as they get older.

Thriftylady

fsdss wrote:

washables are really not an option for me at the moment as i have too much commitment of time with working / studying. and managing a home which i feel i'm struggling with (in terms of cleaning etc).

you'd probably be really pleasantly surprised by how little effort washables actually are. If you just throw the used ones into a bucket with a net bag, it only takes about 30 seconds to walk the whole lot to the washing machine and throw it in, in one go. I always think that it saves me time because otherwise I'd be walking to the dustbin everytime I changed a disposable. With washables its a walk to the washing machine once every second day. And I have washable baby wipes too, which just get washed along with the nappies - they are basically just miniature flannels.

Jet

I always used cotton wool and water on my son when I was at home but bought a small pack of wipes for when we were out and about.

I reckon I saved a fortune and it was kinder to his bottom too. It really isn't much of an effort getting a small bowl of warm water at nappy change time.

bylromarha

Agree cheaper nappies are not alwasy good value...I used to get value tesco ones for my lad at nighttimes (reuseables during the day) and they always leaked. Swapped straight back to pampers at night as tescos own leaked too.

Why not try value nappies during the day and pampers (or own brand if they hold it all in for your children) during the night...and obviously stock up when they're cheap.

Do Lidl have a product guarentee on them? I know tesco allow you to get your money back if you aren't happy with the product. Maybe Lidl do too?

Am using cotton wool on new baby when at home, although OH isn't too trained in this yet and reaches for the wipes still...grateful he changes the nappy, so not too fussed about this yet!

rchddap1

otherwise I'd be walking to the dustbin everytime I changed a disposable

My nephew got into a routine of throwing the nappy bag at the dustbin from the back door. It became a little game of his. Then the next person near the bin did the sorting.

fsdss

Thriftylady wrote:

you'd probably be really pleasantly surprised by how little effort washables actually are. If you just throw the used ones into a bucket with a net bag, it only takes about 30 seconds to walk the whole lot to the washing machine and throw it in, in one go. I always think that it saves me time because otherwise I'd be walking to the dustbin everytime I changed a disposable. With washables its a walk to the washing machine once every second day. And I have washable baby wipes too, which just get washed along with the nappies - they are basically just miniature flannels.

i do have a couple of washables, however i find them an effort so only use them in desperation.

Lillibet_2

I use water & washable wipes with Spud then throw them in the bucket with the washable nappies, however when out I use cotton wool & water & wipes only very occasionaly & then they're the cheapest I can buy. Don't know about talc as I have never used it on Spud, I thought advice was not to anyway? As for nappies, I use disposabels at night & when were out for long periods, washables the rest of the time. If washables don't suit your lifestyle then don't beat yourself up about it, I think it is hit & miss with all nappies which ones suit your child anyway. Sainsburys leak like mad on Spud but Tescos & Boots own brands are fine, Pampers sometimes leak, Huggie never. Try the cheaper brands & if they leak take the bulk of the packet back & ask for a refund, I have done this several times, get a few funny looks but they shouldn't offer these money back gurantees if they don't want people to use them!

Good luck;)

Mamabear

I'm really missing my 'real' nappies, but since the house has been on the market, I can't have the airers out so I've been experimenting and imho Lidls and (to a slightly lesser extent) Aldi's nappies are seriously superior to Pampers & Huggies especially overnight.

Give them a try

skintas_2

i use tesco own nappies the purple pack or in netto the bambino, big pack for £6 they lasted about 10 days no problems, just use cheap wipes from poundshop. my boys are older now, i was on a budgett no problems with bambino nappies, no leaks