Ok it's a while since i was asked to put this on...

[MrsD'ville mkII]

I must confess that with three other children and a no kitchen roll/tissues/other disposable paper products culture I have so much laundry that I prefer to have shedloads of nappies and not have to turn them around within a short time. When the DDs are really no longer going to stretch round Max I'll look at Huggles - thanks for the tip.

Only 25 days to go, that's getting close!

[Tay]

It's been a while since I posted on Ish; I've now got a 6 month old boy, so thought I'd check out the eco-parenting section.

I, like many others it seems, started out with the best intentions. I bought some terry nappies, some Bambino Mio prefolds & wrappers, and got some Freecycled Cotton Bottoms ones too. At first, when he didn't pee too much, it worked well. However, he started to get a sore bottom, and as he drank more, he peed more. He needed to be changed every three hours, and thanks to the leaky wrappers, a complete clothing change was necessary too. Every time.

So, after doing some calculations, taking into account washing costs (detergent, electricity, water etc), I found that bulk buying disposables worked out at the same price as the minimum of one machine load of washing per day. A trip to Netto later, and the bairn was in disposables. Much less stress, less time-consuming for me (drying so many nappies and clothes in winter is not easy), and he no longer has nappy rash. As well as all of those reasons, he is much more comfortable too. Those wrappers really dug into his thighs; given their leakiness, I'd not been doing them up tightly enough either.

I may try him in reusables again in the future, but until we get some warmer weather (so I can dry the nappies/clothes more easily), he'll be staying in disposables.

[MrsD'ville mkII]

We have the digging into thighs issue too, and DS gets welt round his tum. Not sure which wraps would be leakproof but soft?

[mrsflibble]

we had the thigh digging problems too when she had them later on. i tried the boots plastic overpants and although they had soft leg holes, the cotton they'd used to make them soft caused wicking, which meant much leakage. in then end we gave up and had a chat with her about pants....

[rockchick]

We've had problems with various bits rubbing, nothing too serious just looks a bit scuffed and doesn't seem to worry her. I'm not going to spend any more money finding the perfect wrap. The trouble is once you've made the decision and shelled out lots of money it seems a bit pointless to start trying the whole array of options, unless of course you are surrounded by willing donors, but we are surrounded mostly by disposables. Could do with some kind of more coordinated system for collecting donated nappies and giving them out for people to try. However, as soon as the weather is a bit milder we can move into the garden and start on the potty!

[Annpan]

I had no problems with motherease wraps and would highly recommend them. I settled down with terries quite happily and I was really upset that no-one had ever recommended them. I think it about time we had a cull of all the millions of types and shapes of nappies, terries were good enough for our grandmothers, and they didn't have the benefit of washing machines.

And... I managed to get my nappies dry on the line 90% of the time, the rest of the time it was infront of the woodburner. We have a considerable amount of wet and cold weather. I don't understand why people think you need great weather to hang your washing out especially terries which, in mid November with snow on the ground, still dried in 2 hours of brisk but freezing wind. As long as it isn't raining my washing goes out.

[chilitony]

Having 2 youngers, 1 just out of nappies and the youngest just 11 months, cant wait till she is out of nappies-really dont want to start any experimenting now.
Fair play, good luck to ya!

[MrsD'ville mkII]

The experimenting is a pain. Having just taken a colossal drop in income I won't be buying any more naps!

[barefootlinzi]

i havet had time to read all the replies but mrs F's post made me chuckle soI wanted to reply!

I am a nappy advisor, and i absolutly HATE HATE HATE prefolds! They are so rubbish and do more harm than good in promoting cloth as they put so many people off! the nappy rash issue.....cloth nappies themselves dont cause nappy rash but there are some things you must bear in mind....the biggest reason for acloth nappy to cause a rash is if there is still a soapy residue in them.If there is, baba wets, it causes a soap and irritates bottom. The way round this is to use 1/2 the reccomeded dose of washing detergent AT MOST, and make sure your machine rinses them effectivly.

and i agree with having to find the right thing for you and your baba, thats why i think its best to see an advisor who can help you find the right nappy for your needs, cause like me they are obsessed and one of everything!

[rockchick]

I had no problems with motherease wraps and would highly recommend them. I settled down with terries quite happily and I was really upset that no-one had ever recommended them. I think it about time we had a cull of all the millions of types and shapes of nappies, terries were good enough for our grandmothers, and they didn't have the benefit of washing machines.

And... I managed to get my nappies dry on the line 90% of the time, the rest of the time it was infront of the woodburner. We have a considerable amount of wet and cold weather. I don't understand why people think you need great weather to hang your washing out especially terries which, in mid November with snow on the ground, still dried in 2 hours of brisk but freezing wind. As long as it isn't raining my washing goes out.

I so agree Annpan. Another benefit is that they tend to have a lower environmental impact during manufacture - an aspect which is often overlooked when people talk about nappies and waste production. I wish terries had been talked about more when I was trying to decide - mostly our local nappy lady seemed to have got freebies from big-shiney-trendy-nappy-dot-com. There was no hard sell as such but there didn't seem to be much practical advice around other than the various marketing leaflets.


I've used prefolds and have no tumble drier and generally have found they are relatively easy to dry on the line, although when they really can't go outside I've found I have to put them directly on the radiators as they dry really slowly on a airer.


**Just edited this, realised I managed to insert part of my comments in Annpans quote - d'oh!**

[MrsD'ville mkII]

Very interesting about the detergent as I've noticed my washing machine full of suds when I wash the naps even though I use half dose at maximum and do an extra rinse (not very eco-friendly). In fact I've come to the conclusion that there's not a lot to call between disps and cloth when everything's taken into account from the first cotton boll to generating the electricity to all the water to wash cloth vs the oil to make disps, the gels in it and the landfill. For me it's a general antipathy towards anything disposable and knowing I've made my financial outlay and don't have to keep finding £20 a week or whatever it is in ready cash to buy disps. Not sure what we'll do when Max outgrows the Diddies - he's already only just in them. Maybe some second hand Wonderoos so wraps aren't an issue.

[Penny Lane]

Another terry nappies lover here!
Also hated prefolds and they really did put me off for the first few months. I experimented after not being able to put DS in a terry overnight because of leaks and now, with the wonderful motherease wraps & a booster, he stays dry!

I've got a couple of shaped nappies and a couple of all-in-ones and they're excellent for when we're out.

[Tay]

We have a considerable amount of wet and cold weather. I don't understand why people think you need great weather to hang your washing out especially terries which, in mid November with snow on the ground, still dried in 2 hours of brisk but freezing wind. As long as it isn't raining my washing goes out.

If we were back in France with our long washing line and woodburner too, I wouldn't have a problem. Here in the UK, we're in a ground floor flat with a back yard, and our delightful upstairs neighbours take great pleasure in throwing bread from their windows into our yard to attract hordes of birds to poo on the washing. They throw plenty of other rubbish too, but none that dirties freshly cleaned nappies/baby clothes.

Perhaps I'll try some Motherease wraps with the terries and see how he gets on with those.

[barefootlinzi]

motherease wraps are the best imo. I also think terries still have a place but these days parents see them as old fashioned and fiddly, which is unfair. I am currently trying to decide which nappies to get for when baba number 2 arrives in june, as ds1's nappies are all 3rd hand and some are on their last legs. They dont last as well as terrys do. i like terries but unfortunatlymy oh is a bit put off by the folding and would prefer a shaped nappy, like onelife http://www.onelifeworld.co.uk/ but the difference in price between them and terries is huge!

[Annpan]

My OH worked out how to use the terries, I dare say if you explain to OH that they cost a sixth of the price (boots 6 pack terries for £10) and they dry quicker (thus less cost in drying them) you can bleach or boil them (should you need to, unlike shaped nappies) they have untold uses after use (unlike shaped nappies) they last longer (no buying new nappies for baby 3 or 4 )

All for the sake of folding.... and you can even do the folding before hand and leave them in a nice pile.

Sorry, but for me it is a no-brainer.

Tay, sounds like a nightmare, sorry