Give me the reality of cloth

[UntoldAngel]

Okay so DP and I are keen to do cloth nappies and have purchased a mix of flats, pre-folds etc I grew up with my brothers and sister in cloth (as all us kids were) and it doesn't worry me to do cloth
My mum and best friend are completely supportive of our choice for cloth and are happy to cloth bub if they are looking after
BUT, DP's family are soo about the idea. I know it shouldn't matter what they think, but it is really starting to annoy me because as MIL told me today, she didn't try for very long before going to disposables. I don't want to be putting bub in disposables everytime we visit the in-laws because they don't want wet/pooey cloth nappies around
So I guess my question is, is it really that hard to do cloth nappies, and am I going to get bogged down with the constant washing? Or are people just soo use to the idea of put a nappy on, take it off and throw it away, that to do cloth is just seen as unnecessary work with a newborn bub?

[Ca Plane Pour Moi]

Dead easy. Liebling's grandparents were all pretty unsupportive, despite having used cloth themselves (my mother insists on buying me disposables, as cost was a big issue for us, and insists I can't use cloth when I stay with her: MiL "forgets" I use cloth so offers to throw the nappy in the bin should I need to change Liebs there!). I ended up just saying "tough, I want to try this." I tried it, it worked, I still use cloth nappies.

I had just flats when DS was tiny, they were great for drying quickly. Then I got into all the different styles, but still use some flats. I also had a special waterproof drawstring bag when I went anywhere, so dirty nappies could go in there and not bother anyone - they're not "hanging around", they're stored properly and out of the way. Yes, for short trips out I can use normal nappy bags and sometimes I don't take a nappy and DS ends up in disposables (Mum and MiL have stacks at their homes for when I give up cloth... three years on you'd have thought they had got the picture!), but cloth is fun, easy and in wet old England I don't find the washing/drying that difficult.

[ss_storm]

it's really not that hard once you get used to it...I wash nappies about every 2nd day and until then they just sit in a bucket in the laundry, hardly even notice they are there.

I would much rather have a bucketful of cloth than a bin full of sposies! I would ignore your in-laws, your bub, your bub's bottom and nappies...DD has never had a bad case of nappy rash (only a couple of very mild episodes which were cleared up overnight with a bit of cornflour) and I believe it's because she is in cloth.

[~Raven~]

It's pretty easy I reccon. Admittedly there are times when I'm over it and I go buy a packet of sposies, but I never buy two packs in a row lol.

So the harsh realities are you need to clean the poo off them, wash, peg out and then fold and shelve. They are a bit bulkier under the clothes and you need to change them more often that sposies. They also have a different smell ie can be a slight ammonia smell but I don't have that issue except for night nappies. That's it.


Disposables don't stop leaks. I had more blowouts with sposies and the last straw for me was having to do a full cot strip and bath with my tiny little baby C-man at 4am because one blew up all up the back and soaked through to the mattress. Added to the rest of the blowouts the day before and it was a no brainer to me really.

I can't really compare my wash workload with yours but believe me when I say that if I'm having a hard time keeping up with it, it not because of nappies.

[Bathsheba]

The money you save makes all the washing etc worth it! I used 90% cloth with my first baby... got a bit slack with my 2nd and 3rd but also always felt really frustrated during those times that I had just changed a wet nappy and then literally 2 minutes later discovered that it was pooed in. Some sposies cost 50c each. Considering that a newborn can use up to a dozen sposie nappies over a 24 hour period think of the savings if you stick with cloth. I "nappied" my first baby for a few hundred dollars... impossible if you are using sposies... full time sposie users are looking at thousands until say 2 years or when fully toilet trained. Do the sums and tell your MIL.... most people don't have a clue how much it costs to "nappy" a baby until they have one.

ETA: my babies also got less nappy rash in cloth.... less nappy rash = happier settled baby.

[spooky]

I use both at home with 2 in nappies. I use sposies for creche, long car trips (hoping that it will last the trip with no poo), overnight, and if I am too far behind in the washing.

I don't like the smell of the cloth, but I keep them in a sealed bucket and put them on to wash when the kids are in their bedtime sposie then hang them out later that night or the next morning.

I slack off a little in the middle of winter as I'm not too keen on using the dryer.

It's definitely cheaper to use cloth even though I use Aldi disposables which work out to less than 30 cents each.

The scraping poo seems a small price to pay when I take out the wheelie bin on a slack week and it's full of pooey nappies. A bin full of poo and wee is much more disgusting than scraping a poo and putting a nappy into a bucket. Looking at the amount of nappies in the bin always brings me back into line to using more cloth.

When I first started on the cloth, I bought a couple and kept track of how many changes I did using them - it didn't take very long before they had paid for themselves. This was also a good incentive for me if I felt a bit slack - I wanted to get my value out of them, and once I did, I bought a few more and did the same thing.

HTH

[DaintreeDream]

I have two in cloth full time and it is really easy.

My older daughter wears AIO's and AI2's with night nappies overnight and my younger daughter wears prefolds with covers.

Now that I have two girls I have to wash everyday but when it was just the one I washed every second day along with her clothes and any bedding. I always pre rinsed any poey nappies which only took a minute and then when it came washing time it only took a minute to chuck it all in the machine and turn it on. I also keep a clothes horse inside so it I cannot make it to the clothes line I can at least put them on there and chick it outside the door, once again when I had just one I would put them out on the line while she was napping.

I too had the comments and looks of disagreement, my oldest has been in full time cloth since she came home, I still have all the disposable that were lovingly bought for her when she was born, the when my second was born people bought me more , they are still sitting there as she to has been in cloth since she came home.

Good luck, I know you won't regret it.

[~Kim~]

I agree, with Raven.

Nappies out and about are no different to sposies. The only difference is othat one goes in a bag (I just use nappie sacks - as you would of you had sposies) and your nappy bag, and the other goes in the bin.

I only wash every second day. I think sposies smell just as much as cloth.

I have to admit though, my mum and my ILs were very resistant to cloth - but who the hell cares? It's my baby. They didn't really approve of BFing either...but I do that too.

Heck babe, it's your little bottom that needs to be changed and your wallet that has to buy the nappies.

[Doing my best]

I normally use cloth, but in the last week have been using sposies cause my darling DH broke my washing machine..

And I have noticed a difference, and much prefer cloth. I can smell the chemicals in the sposies each time they do a wee, but then you do also have the smell of amonia when the nappies are stored in the bucket before washing..

Like Bath, I get really frustrated (not with my child, but the circumstance) of changing, then to find a poop a few mins later in a sposie. There goes another 50 c into landfill..

I have a mix of MCN and flats, and wash every day. I could probably easily go 2 days before washing, but leave that for emergencies.. It probably adds about 10 mins to my day of hanging out, and then I sort them out when the kids are in bed.

My parents are a bit skeptical, but if I don't have any sposies, then they either have to buy them or use cloth. When I had DS, my MIL really embraced the cloth, on the days she was watching DD.

You might be a rarity when you go out, but none of my friends give me a hard time. I respect that they are happy to buy and use disposables, and they respect that I am happy to wash and use cloth.

All in all, it is a lot cheaper in the long run to use cloth, and in our current circumstances, buying dispoasbles for every day use is not doable.

[DaintreeDream]

I think sposies smell just as much as cloth.

I can smell the chemicals in the sposies each time they do a wee.

That chemical smell is HORRIBLE and to think it is so close to babies bottoms.

[UntoldAngel]

Thanks for all the replies, really helps knowing there are people out there that can make it work, especially with more than one child. This is our first and I want to give it a go, it is just disheartening when people are so 'you won't be able to do it', but i'm also getting that response with planning a wedding 2months after bub's due, a honeymoon with bub and breastfeeding.... grrr can I please make my own decisions and find out what will and won't work for me myself!!
I'd look at washing every two days, but if I have to, I'm sure the washing machine will handle washing everyday. I'm sure bub will start going through clothes pretty quickly too that will need washing, so I may as well be doing a load of nappies as well as a load of clothes
My mum had 3 of us in cloth under the age of 3, and she managed, I think it just takes the right mindset and unfortunately some people aren't supportive of it if they can't make it work
Sorry... think I needed to vent a little in there...

[DaintreeDream]

... it is just disheartening when people are so 'you won't be able to do it', but i'm also getting that response with planning a wedding 2months after bub's due, a honeymoon with bub and breastfeeding.... grrr can I please make my own decisions and find out what will and won't work for me myself!!

You can do it! My DD1 has special needs which were high when she was younger and when she was 6 months old I started planning our wedding which was 2 months later and I was also expressing breastmilk full time as she was/is fed through a naso-gastric tube, you can do anything you set your heart on, trust me. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise.

[Heaven]

I thought I would never keep up with the washing but it's easy!! I find I want to wash them bc I don't want her to wear sposies bc cloth looks so much cuter!! LOL. So that keep me washing so I always have the cute ones ready for when we go out

[spooky]

If you are worried about when you are out and about BBH make a great wetbag (I'm sure there are other brands too) that is great. You can fit a couple of dirties in there and it zips completely shut. When you get home just turn it inside out and wash with the nappies.

I get a bit of grief from some of the family when they see the cloth nappies. The most popular is "what is he wearing?" from people who know exactly what they are as they have been seeing them for a few years. I also get them same passive agressive queries about the HAB (isn't he a bit old to be carried?) and the amber neclace (that's a bit girly isn't it?) everytime I see them....

I no longer try to explain, but my current response if I can be bothered responding at all is "if I see something new or different I like to do some research before I pass judgement" you should see the look on their faces

[Heaven]

LOL, good one spooky.

I get the 'looks' about stuff like that too, I am just embracing my inner hippy. Now I feel like doing more 'alternative' things just to annoy people

[Bathsheba]

I really agree with Spookies comments... especially the guilt at wheeling out a bin full of dirty sposie nappies yucko!!!... that really got to me and motivated me to keep up with using cloth. I mainly used flat cloth nappies with pins and pilchers BTW only had a few pre-folds. The least arduous part was folding them and stacking them into my hanging nappy stacker! I found that really relaxing actually... and I quite miss it!

[Beautitude]

Im the laziest person in the world and i find cloth easy!! We used sposies till ds was 12 months old when the cost of sposies became incredible seeing as ds would do a poo about 5 times a day. We have changed over to cloth (not quite full time yet but hoping to be there soon) and i find it helps me keep on top of my washing as i have to wash them every 2 days so the rest of my washing gets done too. Otherwise i used to do 3 or 4 loads on a weekend which is much harder. We are going to use cloth for our next bub too.

[Bathsheba]

Oh yes... I'm also a VERY lazy person But my favourite job is hanging clothes out on the line... so maybe that's why cloth wasn't so arduous...