Cloth nappies vs. Dissposable nappies

[soulful]

Hi all - I have been quite keen on giving modern cloth nappies a go with the arrival of bubba #1, however most other people think I'm crazy!

It would be great to hear any experiences with cloth nappies (the good, bad and the ugly!) to assist me in making the decision. A few things running through my mind are:

• Cheaper cost compared to disposable nappies
• Better for the environment
• Reduces nappy rash/better for baby

I do understand that there's more work to deal with - i.e. washing, drying etc but I'm thinking I should be able to cope?!

All views and recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

Many thanks in advance!

[Nai]

Ok I'm no domestic goddess by any stretch of the imagination but even I managed to cope with the washing side of things with MCNs - it's actually no real extra effort to be honest as I'm washing every day as it is. My MCNs are now on bub #2 so they have certainly saved money plus we have never had to do the emergency "oh no we have run out of nappies" dash to the supermarket!

I had many people think I was crazy too - they have since apologised and many wish they had done the MCN thing too. Personally I love them and the only problem is that they are addictive

[Pretty Butterfly]

There are SOO many reasons to use the cloth babe!!!

The only "drawback" is the washing..... although even that is easy, and I love hanging out fresh nappies on the line anyway!!

If doing an extra load of washing every 2 days or so doesn't bother you, you'll love it!!

Some people just hate washing with a passion, my sister for one, so its not for them...

[Sagres]

I haven't started using my MCN yet (obviously!), but I have found most of my friends and relatives just assume I mean 'traditional' cloth when i say cloth. And yes, I have had some pretty unfavourable comments, like 'good luck for that week before you get sick of it'. But on the other hand I also have some friends who's family and friends have eaten their words when they see the modern cloth solutions in action.

So my point is don't listen to them! They probably don't actually understand what MCNs - opposed to traditional cloth - are all about. You may cope fine with the washing, you may find it doesn't suit you but you (like me) want to give it a shot. There is no reason to can the idea just because it might not work.

[JellyBean]

Hi!

We use cloth during the day, and eco disposables at night - as they are free of chlorine, bleach, plastics and some of the other nasties that the mainstream brands use.

Its really only in the beginning stages that you wash alot - before bub starts solids. And the lovely runny poo comes straight off when you run it under a hot laundry tap. If you breastfeed there will be no offensive odour.
Besides, you will find you will be washing a heck of a lot more anyway - because they slobber and burp up milk etc all the time, and its pretty simple to just chuck a few rinsed nappies into the wash with dirty bibs and clothes.
Disposables have only been available since the late 60's - so for the larger part of human history women always used cloth, and still do in many cultures of the world today. It's funny how people seem to forget that and treat you like you are crazy!! If you think about it, its pretty backward that in this modern day we send hundreds of stinky plastic nappies off to landfill every week to just rott and smell away..... Convenience always comes at a cost I guess....

For some women its about the environment, for others its about saving $, and for others its about keeping natural fabrics next to baby's bottom. Either way you look at it there are many pluses. Just make sure you get a decent stash - you will really go through them rather quickly in those first few months. And oh - they look so cute on those little bums!!

XX

[Janine1511]

I'm going the Modern Cloth Nappies route.

I had already decided to go cloth rather than disposable, and after seeing the hideously expensive up front cost of the available MCN's (which i know save money long term) my mum actually found a pattern for making them and is going to make them for me. It should work out to be about $5 a nappy, which is awesome in comparison to some of the $25 - $40 ones ive seen! Plus you get to choose your own outer material which means whatever patterns/colours you like!

The only downside i think would be the washing and especially drying time of them, but that's not enough to deter me.

[soulful]

Thanks soooo much for all the positive feedback ladies. I am now really really keen!

Can anyone provide an indication as to how many I would need? One size fits all or buying as your baby grows?

Also, any recommendations as to brands to consider?

TIA

[Arimeh]

I always thought it was too hard cos of the old school thinking of soaking, pins, bleach - arghhh - was too much for my little old brain!!

But then i actually saw what MCN was - and thought, hey this is easy.

I washed every second day - half a load, so didn't take too long to hang out etc.

Much more time consuming with two though, I must admit. But I like it - DH and I put nappies together while chatting at the end of the day about how our day was etc, so it gives us "couple" time as well. Plus if I'm busy, there is no reason why he can't throw a load in the washing machine and put it on for me.

Although he is the one squirting the nappies at the moment cos I'm under strict instructions from my physio about not bending over the loo like that Such a shame that. lol

So DH might not be liking the fact that we are a cloth nappy family at the moment.. rofl..

I think its much easier than people give it credit for, but sometimes I do fall out of love with nappies and it becomes another chore (you wanted honest) but then I'll see a gorgeous nappy or something that I want to buy and I get my groove back.. lol

ETA - I just saw your last post. I used a lot of fitteds and covers or prefolds and covers with Miss M as a newborn, and it wasn't till she chunked up a bit that the OSFM ones fit her properly. I do have a lot of sized ones, but I'm going to have another one so they will come in handy. Plus, since my kids are really long and lean, I get a better fit out of a sized nappy than a OSFM, and they aren't as bulky. As for how many - hmm... depends on how often you will be washing and things like that. I think the recommended amount is 24 - but i've got wayyyyyyyyyyyyyy more than that.. so I'm not the best one to comment on that.. lol

As for recommendations - there are heaps of brands out there, ones that will suit, ones that won't. So any recommendations from any of us is what works for us, but may not work for you ya know? Just a matter of trial and error! However, if you go with some of the bigger, well known, respected brands, you are more than likely to be on to a winner.

Good luck!

[maz]

I have to giggle when people say how expensive MCN's are.......yes they can cost from $20 to $50 per nappy BUT then againt eh government has given everyone a maternity allowance for when our bub's are born eg atm its $5000 so you can get the royals roce of stashes and then some out of that.

Id say a decent stash can start at $500. There are plenty of on line nappy stores that have a variety of nappies so you dont have to just get one of the same kind.

ALSO

I would advise anyone to wait until their baby is born to go buying up to big on nappies....babies come in different shapes and sizes..eg thighs are chunkcy, or as Mel said skinny and long so not every nappy is oging to suit. Many people tend to get prefolds or the old fashion 'flannels' for the first 4-6 weeks until they see what their babies will fit into

BUT bewarned...once the MCN bug has hit...watchout

[angelaartsstudent]

We are finding One Sized AIOs very easy for our newborn.

We use flushable liners so there is no poo on the nappy...the nappy goes in a bucket and then into the wash.

They are drying MUCH faster than we expected too!

[mbear]

Im a sposie girl....ive lashed out and spent a good $200 on cloth nappies....tried them for about a week on my then 12 month old...but they just werent for me....or her. I love the idea of money saving and environmental factors to do with cloth, but the whole washing thing and doing the extra loads just didnt suit me......im glad i tried it though....

[JellyBean]

I started on Baby Beehinds - as they sold them at my local Eco Store Outlet. They have various types of nappies and pilchers/covers.
I hope to try the Natures Child one too - you can order them from their website.
Yes - they are pricey upfront, but you do save in the long term.

You will find plenty of support on bb during your cloth journey! You may wish to check out the section/forum dedicated especially to them!

XX

[~Kim~]

and the are so darned beautiful!!!!

[Doing my best]

I'm a part time cloth user. Use cloth through the day and disposables at night (or when on long trips till I reach destination).

As i don't have a huge stash (enough to last about 2 days), I have to wash every night, and if I am getting low and they aren't going to dry in the day before I need them, I just chuck the absorbent parts in the dryer. I also use terry towelling ones if I know DD is only going to be in them for a short time (e.g, does a poo about an hour before bathtime) so I don't waste an MCN for such a short time..

I am waiting on the baby bonus and am going to get a few more when this bub is born, but I can't convince DH to go full time, so doing the p/t thing works for us. I even resisted buying 2 packs of dispoables for DD when they were on sale the other day, so it forces me to use the cloth.

[Shanti]

BUT bewarned...once the MCN bug has hit...watchout

Maz is soooooooooo right there it's highly addictive.... LOL

You will LOVE MCNs.... They are so beautiful!

I started with disposables mainly cos our MCNs didnt fit DD's butt til she was a few weeks old.(also didnt have timefor washing in early weeks as had many feeding issues ) Then went half cloth, half disposables while I got used to the cloth world.... and slowly built up my cloth stash... now i have enough for full time use and have been full time MCN since DD was 11 weeks old. Haven't used a sposie on her butt for weeks

[~Saram~]

When I had DS I did the traditional cloth squares - yes everyone rolled their eyes and said oh yeah we will see how long that last. after 6mths I gave up - he was a super wee-er and I was going through up to 20 nappies a day - using doubles etc.

When we fell pregnant with DD I went out each week and bought a packet of disposables knowing how expensive they were and wanting to stock up before I went on maternity leave.

Just before she was born I stumbled into the MCN thread, looked a round and found them very interesting. I really did love using cloth with DS put it wasn't practical yet here was a system that had improved on the traditional - better absorbancy, better fit, better air circulation, better poo-tainment.

We bought 5 to start with, a bumgenius, a peapod, a BBB(babybeehind bamboo), a baby kanga and a haute pocket. After my little parcels of fluffyness arrived I was hooked. Initially I used only these five and terry squares and the disposables I had at night. I used to wash each afternoon and they would be ready by morning. For every packet of disposables I didn't buy (about $25 every wekk and a half) I bought a new MCN.

As for washing - I am very slack. We had two nappy buckets, a poo one and a wee one. When they were full or I was rnning low on nappies in they would go - hollas bollas, no rinsing, no washing off poo - into the washing machine. Breastmilk poos are water soluble so they breakdown completely in the water. I would do a rinse cycle, then throw her baby clothes in and wa-la. Honestly no more washing then I would be doing with her clothes anyway. As she got olderthe poo bucket remained but we had tongs to fish them out and then flush the bucket water down the toilet. Then of course came the rollers - they just roll right off - love them! Now we wash her nappies with the towels, clothes, whatever as I use the same washing procedure with everything now - half detergent or just bi carb and no softner.

I admit - I use the dryer! When I am busy or having a bad day - yep in they go. I figure I have bought myself some carbon credits by using cloth

How many - really no-one can answer this but you. As I said I started off with 5, at the peak of my stash I had well over 60 now I'm down to maybe 20-25 and we are toilet training so they don't get used all that much. The general rule is 12-15 for a part-time stash up to 36 for a full time stash.

What types - ditto to what Maz said, don't go buying too many before you find what works for you. I have always been a onesize fan as my kids chunk up so quickly but sized nappies come into their own in the medium (5-11kg) and large sizes (9-16kg) as bub generally gets heaps of use out of these. From memory DD was in larges by 9mths and still fits them now - but my heart still belongs to the one size :-)

types - When we started I went with pockets - they were cheaper and basically once you stuff them they go one just like and AIO - I would stuff as I took them off the line or while watching TV and they were already to go the next day. After 1 1/2 years I was over stuffing pockets and converted most of my stash over to AIO - especially as now most are snap in AIO so they dry faster then sewn in AIO. But every person is different as to what suits them or bub, side snaps, velcro vrs snaps, high rise, low rise, bamboo or microfibre. The best bit is getting to try them all out and find out what is your favourite.

if you can get to see a fellow BB members stash, see a demonstrator or get along to an expo and see some IRl it's a great advantage and join in on the cloth nappy thread there is heaps going on about what suits some babies and not others etc!

have fun - oh and ignore those people that roll their eyes at you - as soon as they see your cute babies bottom they will be sooooo jealous!!!

[Melbournemumma]

We are going to be using a combo of MCN and traditional cloth nappies. We just couldn't afford to use disposables all the time. However we have a trip to Brisbane planned for when Peanut is approx 3w old and have decided to use disposables for the trip as we didn't want to be filling the car up with stinky nappies while we're driving there.

Good luck with the nappies and as the others said I think as long as you don't mind the extra washing they are by far the best way to go.

Having said that though, we were suprised in our antenatal classes that out of 7 couples, Jeremy and I were the only ones planning on using cloth. Everyone else was using disposables!

[childondaway]

I am going to use BabyBeeHinds.

My Starter pack consits of the following:

x20 Bamboo (Fits from Newborn to Approx 3yrs old)
x6 AIO's - Minkee
x6 PUL Covers with Velcro
x4 Wool PUL Covers (Night time use)
Additional x5 Bamboo Fold Ups.

I plan to purchase more a few weeks afte baby arrives, however, I figure as I will be regularly washing anyway this was a good starter pack

Cost - Approx $600

Good Luck with your decision and purchase