hi,this is my fourth and always used disposables with my others though always felt guilty when bin day came !i have bought some disposables to help out but seriously thinking of using real ones instead just concerned about extra washing and drying(especially in winter!)has anyone used them before i make an expensive mistake?! thanks amanda xx

Hiya Amanda, i am using cloth nappies on my 8wks old little boy and i love them! I'm using tots bots bamboozles and wambamboo's. They arent any hassle at all, i wash them every other day and it doesnt feel like an extra chore.

I would say wait til baby is here and try a few different ones as everyone prefers different types. The bamboozles take quite a while to dry so anyone without a tumble drier would struggle really. So try a few and see what works for you.

You can also get a laundry service where you sort of rent the nappies off a company, they deliver a weeks worth of nappies then pick up your dirty ones and wash them for you! Think it costs about £8 a week.

Hi Amanda, I am planning to use 'real' nappies with my first baby (due Oct).

I have read quite a lot about them and they seem easy to use and in the long run much cheaper (even taking into account washing machine use and electricity etc).

I know in my area they do trial packs that give you 1 of each of their real nappies to see what you get on with best, as there are so many choices, I'm sure other places must do something similar (some councils will even pay towards the intial cost).

Oh yes forgot to mention that! My local council did give me a voucher for £45 to help with costs.

hi,thanks rach and sara,my partner works for the council so will get him to find out on mon thanks for the tip!looks like i need to get my drier fixed then!lol! amanda xx

I've used real nappies since my little boy was born and he's now 15 months old. I use Cotton Bottoms from Boots and find them no hassle at all. In fact I actually find them easier to put on a wriggling baby than disposables as there's more to get hold of. Initially I needed to do a nappy wash every other day, now I'm down to about 1 a week. The only slight downsides I've found is that I need to use disposables of a night as the real nappies just can't cope with 12 hours worth of pee, and they do take a while to dry, so would definitely recommend a tumble dryer!! They are bulkier than disposables, but it doesn't seem to bother my little boy at all. I'm currently 21 weeks pregnant and will definitely be using them for baby number 2.

hi katy,congratulations on baby i am 23 weeks with a little boy do you know what your having?just been looking at the boots ones in town they look really good so glad to read your message!how many did you have when your little boy was newborn as i don't know how many to buy?did you use the liners and booster pads aswell?they feel so much softer than disposables too so must make baby happier.thanks for your reply amanda xxx

Katy, i have just started to notice that my nappies arent coping well as Ellis is starting to sleep longer at night. Did you try any other nappies or boosters for night time or just decide to use a disposable?

Amanda i use fleece liners and i have tonnes of diposable liners although i havnt used them yet! The nappies i use have a sewn in booster too. I have 22 size 1 nappies 20 fleece liners and 4 wraps and have to wash every other day. x

hi sara,do you use terry nappies?there are so many types i don't know what to buy? have any of you used the all in one type?as i am thinking of buying these but worried about the drying thanks amanda x

ladies, excuse me for being crude and a little naive - i'm expecting my first. when i told my elder sister i would be using disposable nappies she looked at me with shock and horror and began to ramble about the environment. now, i see her point, but the problem is - is that i have no idea how a re-usable nappy works. when baby does a big poo do you simply put it in the washing machine? or is this me being silly? please help as i like the idea - but have no idea how it all works!

steph
xxxxx

Amanda i use the totsbots which are shaped nappies. They are just like a disposable with the velcro fastening with a seperate waterproof wrap. I've heard that the all in on type take quite a while to dry so that put me off. Theres a website i think its called the nappylady, that helps you choose what type of nappy would suit you.

Steph when baby does a poo you just 'plop it' down the loo then into a nappy bucket until wash day. You dont have to pre-soak them anymore. If you are planning on breasfeeding the poo is completly different as its sloppy (sorry tmi). My baby is breasfed and i just put the dirty nappy straight in the bucket and the washer gets rid of it all. It doesnt smell either as the nappy bin should have an airtight seal.

Hi ladies.
I'm not due till Dec but your thread has got me thinking.
I checked with my local council and they actually have a 'Nappuccino' meeting once a month where they have loads of samples of 'real' nappies you can look at and buy and there's a supplier you can talk to. They even put coffee on!
Mine can't be the only lot who do this so I'd check what your local council offer.

Hi Amanda, congrats on your baby too. Don't know what I'm having, will have to wait for the grand entrance!! I bought the birth to potty pack before baby no. 1 was born - I think I got 24 newborn nappies & 6 covers. I'd definitely use the liners, you can just scoop it up (complete with poo) and dispose of (have to say though I've never flushed liners down the loo - even the flushable ones - as our drains are prone to blocking). I bought a pack of booster pads, but never used them as they'd make the nappy even bulkier (didn't really know what they were before I bought them).

Hi Sara, I didn't try boosters of a night time - I went straight for the disposables. My little lad sleeps through from 7pm-7am (sorry to rub it in if any body else's doesn't!!), and I didn't like the thought of him being wet for 12 hours - whereas the disposables draw the wet away from the skin (cos of all the chemicals!!). Have had to try several different brands of disposables though as I found some leaked!

Well i'm trying Ellis in a disposable tonight so i will let you know how it goes. He still wakes up twice in the night and we usually have to change him both times, once i didnt change him from 1-7:30 and he was wet when he woke up.But another time he went from 8:30-3am and was fine. He pees for England!

I sometimes wonder if he's waking because he's wet.

I used to change Dylan during the night when he used to wake up, but as soon as he started sleeping through I switched. Being wet didn't used to wake him, but it'd soak his cot sheets!! Good luck with the disposable tonight - best to try and elimate all possible reasons for waking :o)

hi girls,lokks like i've started something!!this response is great as it's so confusing i heard of the nappy doctor yesterday so will try it out and have contacted the council to get them to start a scheme hubbie works for them as an officer in the department so hope he can pull a few strings!
i think i'll get a starter pack ,i already have 2 packs of disposables so they will give me peace of mind as a back up in case i run out on occassions-you know what boys are like always weeing lol!!!our boots has a basic choice so will go to cardiff to see what they have.
bye for now hope ellis had a good night sara! amandaxx

Well he still woke up twice but i got away with just one nappy change.

I felt bad putting a disposable on, hubby said he felt like he was strapping a sanitary towel on him LOL. I'm sure Ellis loved having a 'normal' sized bottom though.

Think i might as well stick with the cloth at night for now until he actually starts sleeping through. He's waking up to be fed so i might as well change him whilst he's still waking up.

We nearly had accident though, he decided to do one of his usual explosive poo's half way through his feed. Its a good job i changed him straight away as it was on its way out of the sides! I hate it when i have to change his clothes in the middle of the night.

Its such a shame they dont soak up just that little bit more. One good thing though at least i wont have to buy nappies when i have another baby so they do save alot of money!

Hi Amanda, once you've found the make of real nappy you want to buy, try looking on-line to see if you can find them any cheaper. We found the birth to potty pack in Boots, then I looked at Boots on-line and they were cheaper, plus I had an email from Boots giving me 10% off any on-line purchases, I got free delivery and still got my advantage points! I always keep a pack of disposables indoors, just in case I run out of clean dry real nappies or if I go away for more than a day. Good luck :o)

hi girls,i have contacted the nappylady now waiting for the result.wiil try boots on line thanks katy!sara you hit the point there about sanitary towels!we know how uncomfortable and irritating they can be so feel rotten to put baby into similar for 3 years!!poor dabs!!lol! have a good day bye amanda x

Hi ladies,
just had to chip in as a real nappy expert! I'd recommend real nappies to anyone, and I'd say the best choice for function and ease of use is a shaped nappy;no folding, just put on a nappy that fastens with poppers or velcro, followed by a cover that fastens with poppers or velcro. If you don't want to spend as much as shaped nappies might cost (prob around £300) then go for terries - yes, lots of folding, but still a very good nappy, use nappi nippas instead of pins and you can still use a nice velcro fastening cover instead of plastic pull up pants. The prefold Bambino Mio or Cotton Bottoms nappies you mentioned, some people get on great with them which is fantastic if they do, but many people don't, they have a tendancy to get the cover soiled more than any other type, so you need to make sure you have enough covers. Finally, if anyone is is Shrewsbury, or near by, I am hosting the next nappuccino this Friday (27th April) 10 - 12 midday at the Radbrook Community Centre, Radbrook, Shrewsbury, so come along to find out more, or to buy! If you need anymore info, post a reply on this thread. Best of luck to you all,
Vicky