SOOO over the cloth hate!

[Inanna]

I second Rach. The parenting mantra is: "smile & nod"... It's your choice. Your baby. Just stand tall and be firm. Cuddles. xxx

[Doing my best]

Don't worry about them.. Thankfully my friends that aren't cloth users have never put me down for using them. For us, we had no choice. We bought them while we had a reasonable income when I fell pg with DS cause we knew we couldn't afford to keep 2 in sposies...

But in April this year, I unexpectably had to return to work, and full time was I all I could find at short notice, so back so sposies we went.. After 3 weeks, I broke down in tears and said to DH I want normality, I want my cloth nappies back... So no we fit them into our week

[aussienic]

While I don't like cloth I don't understand why anyone would say anything.. I found them too much work so I made a choice.. Why do people feel the need to comment on something so trivial..

Well done.. I think those who use cloth are doing a great job. If thats what you want then go for it and enjoy doing it no matter what anyone says..

[AngelPants]

i am so useless with anything housework and my only issue with cloth is getting a big enough stash that i dont run out if they dont dry and finding enough sun to sun out the stains. admittly i do use sposies when we r out but thats becos my wetbag is waiting for me to find the time to sew the zip on....

[berrme]

I have been really slack with using my cloth nappies over the past few months since I went back to work and the boys have been at daycare, but just in the past week or 2 I have started using them all the time at home and at night again. I didn't realised how much I missed cloth. I had a real sense of contentment hanging out a full load of nappies this morning. weird huh?
Don't listen to any of the rubbish. If you want to use MCNs then use them. It isn't like the other people have to wash the nappies for you. MCNs are sooooo much cuter too. And as far as water goes... we were on level 6 water restrictions, had 2 boys full time in cloth and still used under the recommended amount of water for just 2 adults. Do what makes you happy.

[Kamarine]

It's funny how someone can tell you that *they* think it will be too hard for *you*. It's like, you don't do it, keep your opinions to yourself already.

Water for washing them - they use more to make the disposables than you do washing cloth nappies!


Snuggly. Only YOU know what YOU can do, and oddly enough its YOU who does it

[turtleschell]

Well, if it makes you feel any better, I feel like a total loser scumbag for using disposables!
And you're right, cloth only requires one extra wash load a day. Easy.
And cloth bums look way cuter. And less nappy rash. I vote cloth all the way. I wish I had learnt about them before DD was born so I could build a stash and actually know how to use them. Now I'm too exhausted to even comprehend what the acronyms mean. But my next one will be cloth for sure!
People who hate on cloth are probably just in denial about their own abilities to use cloth; as in, they think that coz they were too lazy or just never thought of it, that no one else can, IYKWIM.
People who do Elimination Communication get the same reaction! You should see the smirks I get from family members when they see me hold DD over a toilet.

[entreat]

i use both for the moment, but i can tell you, the first few weeks, you'll need to be quite determined to make it work. but you certainly can do it, and once you're used to it, it's easy.

i find fitteds dry better, but AIOs are obviously a smidge easier to use (no cover). my assessment is that fitteds are easier because of the dry time. (if you want a brand suggestion: LovelyBums organic cotton are a great fit and super absorbant - but aren't OSFM, so you need multiple sizes)

Stay strong, and you can do it. And there's no shame in being part-time (Sposies at night) until you get in to a routine. Xx

[briggsy's girl]

turtleschell - you still have months (maybe well over a year) of nappying with your DD - i wouldn't give up on the idea of cloth for her. getting gender neutral one size fits most (OSFM) nappies for her now would probably do her until toilet training AND can be used from early for any other child!

[Kamarine]

Yeah like BG said. I started cloth when my first was 18months.

[Bathsheba]

I used cloth Flats and pins back in 1994 before MCNs became popular and you should have heard some of comments back then! I used to say that we couldn't afford to use sposies (half the truth). I would also tailor my response to the person. To my penny pinching friends (the ones with no kids and on professional incomes) I would say "oh but it costs about 50c per disposable and sometimes the nappy is only on the baby for a matter of minutes before they poo in it! Some days we go through 12 nappies a 24 hour period! Have you added up the cost of doing that???" Then you see their Scroogey brain cogs turn, their eyes pop and then they nod as the penny drops. Argument over. I then add that my mother made most of the terry flats for free (she got scraps from the fabric store she worked at) and that they would probably last over a year. Argument definitely over. I could have also added that my baby was less likely to get nappy rash and would therefore sleep better without waking up screaming as the wee stung their bottoms in the middle of the night... but that was my trump card

[Cassius2]

i find cloth easy as doing my ABCs lol!

the only thing that flummoxed me in the beginning was that DD was too tiny at first and i had to get some sposies until she chubbed up. other than that we never noticed or felt that it was too much work?? they dont need soaking and are just a load of washing. no biggie here, especially when you have two adults sharing the housework anyway!

[Dr. Tal]

I haven't had a chance to read through everyone else's replies, but I had to say something.

Don't doubt for a second your choise to use cloth.
I've only been using them for a few weeks now but they are by far HEAPS better then disposables. Unfortunatley I don't have enough yet to use them exclusively so I have to use disposables once in a while (soon I'll have enough...soon). When ever I but B in disposables he gets all red and hot looking under his diaper, he gets a nappy rash and they don't even come close to containing his pees. So I get to change my clthes and his if I'm holding him or if he's in bed I have to do his sheets and mattress protector, his wrap and sometimes his blankets (so as far as being more work beadcuse you have to wash them it's actually more work for me to have to use the disposables.
I've never had a single pee leak with my MCN's and I've only had one or two explod-a-poos make it out (but I don't think anything would have contained those).

[berrme]

I used cloth Flats and pins back in 1994 before MCNs became popular and you should have heard some of comments back then!

You really got comments in '94? I would have thought most people still used flats then. My little sister was born in '88 and everyone we knew used cloth. Maybe that was just in North Queensland?? The disposibles I remember were REALLY yucky and plastic then.

[Roryrory]

Like the others had said, cloth is no big deal. And every one does it differently - we use flannel flats (DIY things - I bought flannelette from Spotlight and had MIL hem them into squares) and home-made Procare covers. Our boys are in sposies overnight. So like everything in parenting, you'll end up finding your own groove

[damprye]

I love my terry cloths, I am so uncoordinated with disposables/conveniance nappies that it is really easier for me to fold, wrap, snap and cover lol noone around me understands that but I guess I just feel more comfortable with the structure and really what is an extra load of washing? You chuck it in the appropriate bucket till you are ready to do the laundry, it takes all of 2mins to chuck them in the washing machine and switch it on, 5-10mins to hang them out, 2mins to bring them in and then 5-10mins to fold and put them away. What's that, like 15-25mins out of a whole day, not even? I so do not get the hating on cloths, perhaps they are just jealous that they cannot be bothered taking out the time to be bothered? My DS is now fully toilet trained (has been for months and he is almost 3 ) and I attribute that to being in cloth and lots of nappy free time so that is even less money spent on disposables lol.
I used to be niave and thought cloth would be great for home and diposables for out but I tried that the day I left hospital... I gave all the newborn nappies away after that. I hadn't even brought then myself anyways, I was brought them even though I had told everyone I was using cloth because, according to them, there was no way I was really going to go past even a couple of days using cloth *sigh*
I will definately use my terries for #2 and hey, no set up fees this time, I can reuse DS's ones lol, jokes on them.

[Bathsheba]

You really got comments in '94? I would have thought most people still used flats then. My little sister was born in '88 and everyone we knew used cloth. Maybe that was just in North Queensland?? The disposibles I remember were REALLY yucky and plastic then.

No one we knew used cloth. As far as we were aware no one had used cloth since the 1970's. Or that's what we were always being told.

[Bathsheba]

(double post)