Cloth reusable nappies

Hello

So since I found out I was pregnant with Harry I was really keen on trying to use reusable nappies. With a search of google I found a lot of information on cloth nappies and how they've become so much easier to use than in previous years.

Whenever I seemed to mention my plans to people they frowned and said it would be too much work with a new baby. I wasn't really put off by this but more spurred on to prove them wrong. I looked into a lot of different brands and styles of nappies and was intending on going to a nappy library after Harry was born so that I could try a few different kinds and see which ones would work best. However I was lucky enough to be given quite a few nappies as gifts from relatives so haven't actually needed to buy them after all.

When I came out of hospital I used disposables for a few weeks as Harry was quite small and most cloth nappies that I had were to fit from 8lbs, so they were just too big. Over Christmas I tried them again on him and they fit much better so we gave them a go. The first couple of nappies did have a bit of a leak but I think this was because they were still a little too big around the leg area.

After using the nappies now for a few weeks I really like them. I will be continuing to use these pretty much full time, with the odd round of disposables if we go away or visiting etc so that I don't have to worry about the washing and carrying around dirty nappies for a few days.

I had a few wrapstyles/ prefolds and pocket nappies and found that I really do prefer the pocket nappy. This is a good thing as I seem to have the most of these. Most of the ones I was given are known as 'the ebay cheapies' as they come from ebay and are quite cheap! But I found these really good and actually prefer them to some of the more expenisve brands.

A small selection of my pocket nappies

So above is a selection of my cloth pocket nappies, I have quite a few different patterns. I also just received a parcel yesterday with anoth 6 designs!! These are the ebay cheapies and I really do like them, they have the poppers so they can be made smaller for newborns and grow with the child. With this type of nappy you use inserts and pop them inside the pocket part of the nappy. The you simply put them on as you would a disposable and popper them up round the waist.

One of my new designs

Above is one of the new designs that arrived yesterday and is a minky type fabric on the outside with the cute owl pattern. These ones are dudeybaba nappies and I really love this brand. From all the ones I've tried these have been the best to keep everything in. It all really depends on the size and shape of your baby though as theres some nappies that fit better on different kinds of body shape.

These particular nappies were £13.40 for 5 nappies and when you bought 5 you got one free, so I actaully got 6 nappies for this price. The postage was free and you did need to buy the inserts, I didn't need any more inserts (just more pretty nappies) but if I had they would have cost a little extra.

I've washed all the nappies I have a few times now and they've come up really clean and dry really well hung over the airer over night. The inserts can take a little longer than over night to dry but as I have quite a few of these this hasn't really bothered me. By the time I've run out of inserts the next lot has been washed and dried and ready to go again.

I find it easiest if I popper the nappies and add the inserts as I take them off the airer and then they go on the shelf in the babies room ready to be used at changing time. Otherwise I'd be fumbling round with a wriggly baby whilst trying to stuff inserts into a nappy. Not a good look!!

If anybody is thinking of going down the cloth route I really think it is worth a go. The start up costs aren't that big, especially if you look around and with the ebay cheapies you really can't go wrong. Plus with the cost of disposable nappies these days it doesn't take long before you've made a saving. I have bought a few packs of disposables while I was waiting for Harry to grow into them and for a box of asda own brand was around £6. They only lasted about a week!!

So here's to keeping up with the cloth and saving some pennies whilst helping the enviroment!

Donna
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