Convincing my partner to use cloth nappies

GreenQueen

In our area there is a "cloth nappy" group who offer advice and let you trial different nappies - I think they also have 2nd hand bundles for sale. May be worth looking to see whether there is something in your area - through a local eco facebook page or something similar. They may also have some eco and money saving ideas that you haven't thought of.

Drawingaline

I used cloth with all four of mine. They are now 17,15,12&8. Within that time there were huge changes in types and styles although for me Terry squares with nappy nippas were what worked for us. My husband wasn't keen but I just told him tough, and as I was going to be the one staying home I just got on and did it. It was something I felt strongly about.

However I didn't use them exclusively. With each child I used disposables for the first month and while on holiday and I always had one disposable in the changing bag for emergencies, and I never did cloth wipes or liners. 

As with everything to do with environmental impact, any small thing is worth doing, if that is a mix of cloth and disposables then do that.

Bucket sat in each toilet. No need to soak, just shove in machine when the bucket is full. I actually found dealing with a grim nappy much easier if it was a cloth one, hated bagging up and putting stinky ones into the bin. 

Drawingaline

And definitely look to see if there is a nappy library in your area.

ladyholly

I used terry nappies about 40 years ago and had no problem. Either the poo falls off the nappy so no problem or if it stuck hold it in the toilet and flush so the poo is gone and then chuck in a bucket with napisan in it. This is a mild bleach so will kill any bugs and then fling in the washing machine on as near to a boil wash that you can get. The bucket needs a lid. I would add reusable nappies are a lot better no than the squares that needed to be folded. I would however use disposables if you go away purely for convenience.

Good luck with all your plans.

hob_nob_bob

So many great responses! Thanks all! Definitely lots to think about. 

hob_nob_bob

Well I've had a couple of positive pregnancy tests this morning so it seems like this might be happening sooner than I thought!

HampshireH

hob_nob_bob said:

Well I've had a couple of positive pregnancy tests this morning so it seems like this might be happening sooner than I thought!

How exciting. Congratulations

hob_nob_bob

Thank you @HampshireH!

Solarjunkie

I timed myself one day how long it took dealing with nappies, and it was 15 minutes. That included folding, changing, washing, for a day. The best piece of advice I was given was to keep a pile ready folded, this was terry squares and I used the "origami" fold which can be adjusted as the child grows and puts the maximum thickness between the legs where it is needed. The only time I ever used disposables was the day before we went on holiday so they were all ready to go! I hated the waste.of single use nappies.
We used thin liners known as paper liners, if they were mucky they were binned if not they were rinsed and reused. Nappies went in a lidded bucket of water, no Napisan as we'd heard it rots the fabric, popped in the machine each night, put on the line in the morning if possible, tumbled if we had to. Not only did we save money we also felt in control, if we were low on nappies we just washed some, no dashing to the shop before it closed. I have never used a baby wipe, I used muslin squares which were washed along with the nappies, having been used as thin nappies for newborn in the first place.
Now there are shaped nappies, nippers, bamboo and all sorts, I do wonder if they take longer to dry as they can't be unfolded, but I think the myth that washables are hugely time consuming is completely wrong. 
Best of luck with your future family, go with your instincts and you'll do fine.

yksi

Point out that breastfed babies' poo doesn't smell? I'm not even joking, it's the truth. The stench that hit me when I switched my eldest onto formula, oh my dog. You just don't realise how pleasant newborn poop from a breastfed baby is, until you witness it for yourself.

If for whatever reason you can't, or don't want to breastfeed, then my apologies. I just thought it might be a useful bit of info for your other half to know.