I worked out at once point that the cloth nappies would have paid for themselves after 7 months of using them most of the time. That's compared with buying disposables.
Since I wanted nappies that were easy to use, that I would keep on using, I have certainly not gone cheaply into it. I tried prefolds briefly, didn't like them at all (though my sister uses them and loves them).
The main part of my stash is 12 bumgenius pocket nappies, plus 4 baby beehinds bamboo fitted nappies. We also have a few fitted nappies, as I find that the baby beehinds minkee magic-alls work well for us (especially when DH or mum is changing the nappy), so we have 2 of those in the small size, 5 mediums and have recently bought 6 large sized ones that I have yet to use. (You can see that I'm liking them more and more.) I've come to realise that since we hope to have more than one child, it makes reasonable sense to buy sized nappies, as they will get used for all the kids, and they are a bit better at each size than a fitted nappy all folded down for a tiny baby, etc.
One thing I'd add is that by far the most cost-effective thing we've bought, is washable wipes. We have about 30 of these, some cotton and some bamboo. You wet one, use it to wipe the dirty baby bum, then toss it into the bucket with the nappies, to be washed. They are a hassle to hang out on the line (30 small pieces of cloth would drive anyone nuts - it certainly does me), but totally worth it because they paid for themselves in, get this: 2 months, and that's given that went and spent $75 on expensive organic cotton etc (pregnancy hormones got me - plain cotton squares cut out of a piece from Spotlight would have worked just as well). Disposable wipes cost a fortune compared with reusable ones, and think of the savings to the environment, as well as the fact that pain water is much better for your little one's bottom than the stuff they put on the disposable wipes...
I am travelling at the moment, with a rather pooey baby (started solids recently), and boy am I missing my washable nappies. We're spending a fortune on disposables, some of which only go on for about 15 minutes before she poos again... it's driving me nuts!
I used flats too when DD was newborn - cotton terries overnight, and flannel flats (cut & hemmed by me from Spotlight fabric, a few $ per metre!) during the day. They require a little more work with folding and fastening, but a little bit of practice and you will be able to do it in your sleep! They are by far the cheapest nappy, with covers being the most expensive bit, and you only need about 4 of those as most of the time the cover doesn't need a wash. You can also use the covers over fitted nappies if you want to get a few of them for easier changes/extra absorbency.
Flats were brilliant the first few months as she was born in a Melbourne winter, and we don't have a drier! They dry even faster than pocket inserts. Plus two layers of protection (nappy + cover) against newborn liquid poosplosions... and you can use them for wiping up milk spills if you've got a chucker like mine! Every baby needs a packet of cloth flats
I'm now building a stash of all-in-ones and pockets. I found a lot of the supposedly 'one size' adjustable nappies didn't fit her even at two months; she was still pretty small, but I was glad we had the flats to use until she grew that extra bit. I got most of mine at the baby expo in discount 'trial' packs, which has been great for finding out what fits her best. But you can certainly get them much cheaper 2nd hand online.
I am also a bit of a newbie to cloth nappies, I have 4.5 month old twin girls. Sposies were costing me an absolute fortune, so I took a deep breath and bought some online. I think I have about 25 nappies in all, I use them most of the time on both girls, except at night time and on day trips. I am saving loads of money, one pack of 36 sposies are lasting me 3 weeks now as opposed to 3-4 days!!!! I can safely say that the clothies have well and truly paid for them selves with the savings I've made. I don't have a tumble dryer and we live in drizzly Tas, and don't seem to be struggling getting them dry in time for the next day. I have bought pocket ones, they can be turned inside out for quicker drying. I have found the baby behinds to be very good, but your baby needs to have chunky thighs for them not to leak, the legs don't have that a good elastic to keep the poo inside. When I first put them on my girls they leaked something chronic, but now they have beefed up a bit they aren't so bad. I've been buying from Angel Bubs on Ebay, I have found their nappies to be very good, excellent elastic around the legs and good quality, I haven't had any leaks yet. Good luck with your quest on finding some good nappies, it is very addictive once you start buying you'll want more, there are some very cute nappies out there!
DH & I always laugh when we see the 2 boxes of disposables in Woolies for $66 on special! We could get 2-3 cloth nappies for that and save that in a month!
I also recommended Blueberries, itti bittis and Baby Beehinds. These three brands make up most of our stash... But our DS has skinny legs and just about all nappies leak around his legs (BBH aren't bad as they gather a lot). Haven't found anything that's completely leak proof for him!
There's a nappy swap noticeboard on here somewhere - someone may have something to give you in return for something else.. - be a good cheap way of starting out!
I have 12 hemp BBH at the moment and am working my way up to 24 cloth nappies. I love them, not had any problems, the only down side is buying the covers again and again. I haven't used the pocket minkees from BBH but they're OSFA and obviously pocket nappies so you can adjust the absorbency, and they come with an insert. So although they're more expensive than some others (36 dollars each full price), if they work well for you then your initial outlay will be all you have to spend. I've not used them yet (still waiting for them to arrive, damn you Australia Post!!) but I'll report back when I have. I'm wondering if I should've just bought 24 of those.
I wouldn't go all out and buy loads of one kind, buy a few of different ones then make up your mind which ones you like best. My twin girls are 8 months now and my favourite nappies are the Haute and Happy Heinys, all the inners come out for washing and drying and you don't need covers, they may not be all fancy and cute like some of them out there but they do the job and they aren't all that expensive. They all come with two inners and you could even stuff them with more if you're littlun is a serious wetter. What I love about them is they dry in no time because they just go right down to the cover once the inners are taken out.
Reply With Quote
Bookmarks