Re-usable nappies? Any good?

flyingmamma

Been thinking of trying reusable nappies for a while ... Baby no 3 is 12 wks and I feel v guilty about the landfill waste. I usually get my groceries delivered but tonight I was out an popped into a huge mr t's and they had reusables in stock! £49 for 3.i opened them up and they seemed good but at £49 was a bit pricey so I thought I'd better discuss with DH first! Any feed back wud be great thanks! Ps I'd like to know if they are a nightmare to wash and dry and are they leak proof!

Kayalana99

Will be watching this thread as it got me thinking about it now!! Thing is my lovely nan buys all our nappies for us... DS is 8months old and only ever had to buy 2 loads I belive !! (And still have 3 packs left for the next one due as he grew out of them before we could use them lol)

But your comment about the landfill got me wondering as our bin is full every 2 weeks and sometimes we are really stuggling...I can't belive how much waste we have for just two pple and a baby!! ...cutting down on nappies would really help.

sweaty_betty

I use tots bots nappies, which may be the ones you're talking about as I think they do sell them at tescos.

I really like them, we've used them from birth (have the birth to potty ones which are adjustable as the child grows) and just used disposables on holiday/where washing isn't an (easy) option. We've definitely saved money (and landfill) and will do so even more if used on a second/third child.

However, it's worth bearing in mind the following:
- different nappy types fit different children, so it's worth trying out a few different brands before you commit to large sums of money
- have a google for a cloth nappy "library" which allows you to do this, these are really good
- they're quite a bit cheaper if you buy them second hand from ebay or other websites - it makes it even more eco-friendly

Gillyx

Love my little fluffy bum can only really echo what sweaty Betty has said, different brands suit different babies, so I wouldn't buy loads of one brand. They do re-sell well though and there is a great second hand market for them. We tend to use one disposable a day and that's over night

Gillyx

Washing is pretty easy, store dry in a bucket/wet bag, pop them in the machine, cold rinse, wash at 40/60 with a small amount of powder and rinse again. Some brands can be tumbled, others need to be line dried. Pocket nappies the inserts come out so will dry quicker than all in one types but they do have to be stuffed before use. All of my nappies are birth to potty so they should do until potty training.

mysk_girl

I use little lambs and I got 40 (20 each of 2 sizes) for £260. They are fab, don't leak (but I do use a disposable overnight).

Aimless

We never got on with Totsbots, different body shapes suit different nappies. I have a mixture here, a couple of Totsbots that are my least favourite, a few Bumgenius (lovely but sooo expensive), a few Little Lambs of various types, and mostly Ebay cheap nappies as I could afford lots of those.

See if your local council does any trial or cashback schemes. Mine was doing £30 back on a £50 spend, and took Ebay receipts too, back when I got mine!

hawk30

See if there is a 'nappy library' in your area that allows you to borrow the nappies to test.

lowlitmemory

I love the Bumgenius Freetimes. They are completely all-in-one, no need for wraps, boosters or tedious stuffing. Easy to wash, just do as Gillyx says... I take them off my LO, put into a bucket lined with a mesh net bag. When the bucket's full I just pick up the bag and pop it in the machine... no need to touch the pooey/wet nappies again, they come out of the bag during the wash. Then the Freetimes fold out to dry... we don't have a tumble dryer and my LO was born in January and we've not had a problem drying, just hang them out overnight. They are birth-to-potty too so technically won't need any more. Mine don't leak either but I do make sure I change them regularly (every 5 hours at MOST even if he hasn't pooed, usually more like 3-4hrs) and I just check the leg elastic is snug when putting them on.

There wasn't a nappy library near us unfortunately, so I just bought a few second-hand and new ones to try out, and sold on the ones I didn't like.

lambanana

Agreeing with others, they are easy to use and they're so cute too! We use a mix of bumgenius freetime and version 4, totsbots, smartipants and various pocket nappies including some that were very cheap on ebay which I just bought extra boosters for to make them absorb more. I'd agree to try different styles as some fit babies better than others. They hold their value pretty well and any that you don't get on with can be sold on, there are lots of cloth nappy groups on facebook for example for buying/selling and general advice. We use them full time including overnight and have done since we brought her home from hospital, I have used sposies but find that cloth actually leaks less, especially with newborn poo! The other thing though is cloth does need changing more frequently as it doesn't have the chemical absorbing properties of a disposable.

Lola888

I use reusables I have Bumgenius, Totsbots, Baba & Boo (my favourites!), Itti Bitti, Babybambusa, Bambino Mio, Little Lambs, as well as some others that I can't think of!

It's a shame you are only posting this now as it was Real Nappy Week in April and loads of people were doing discounts

I have used them full time since my LO was about 2 months old, I can't remember exactly as I had loads of free newborn disposables. I got loads of mine 2nd hand from eBay, facebook groups, NCT Nearly new sales. I also got some cheapies off eBay and they are pretty good too. They do some really cheap bundle deals on there or try Tiny Nippers who do cheap pocket nappies in the UK.

I would say that you might need quite a few if you are drying them naturally. Mine sometimes take a couple of days on airers inside the house. I would say £49 for 3 is quite steep I have never paid anything more than £10 for a brand new nappy, but I'm tight! :rotfl: