h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

It is about poo I'm afraid

Do any of you that are parents of kids under about 4 years of age use reusable nappies rather than disposables?

I've been looking at the newer sorts of washables - haven't they come on since terry towelling squares! The shaped ones that don't involve any complicated folding look really good and I'm almost sold on the idea of using these for most of the time (will possibly use disposables when out and about to avoid having to carry poo-filled things around with me) so now I'm looking for the down sides, from people not trying to sell them to me!

In terms of cost, it looks like I can get around 20 shaped nappies plus all the associated gubbins for a little over £300, and these should last almost from birth until potty trained. I estimate that disposables could cost around £500 for the first year alone, and obviously I can keep the washables to use again when #2 comes along.

Am I kidding myself, or are these really a good idea?

One of the 'costs' of disposables over re-usables is the environmental cost of disposal. However, it has been found that the environmental cost in terms of washing re-usables is just as high.

Other than that, I really can't help you, being childless.

I'd be slightly suspect about the nappies you bought at birth lasting three years...

Firstly - anything that'll fit a three year old is going to be big enough to use as a sleeping bag for a newborn. And secondly, considering you're going to be washing each nappy 3 times a week - I doubt there'd be much left after three years.

Finally - whilst it may appear 'greener' to use re-usable nappies. It'd be interesting to study the difference if you factor in the electricity and washing powder you'll be using over three years.

That thing about the environmental cost of washables being as high as disposables isn't actually true, particularly for some of the newer ones on the market. Have read about that in several different places and am reasonably confident about it

Apart from cost, one my reasons for considering this is to cut down on filling landfill sites with stuff that doesn't biodegrade - it is possible to get degradable nappies now by they are very expensive, will probably use these for when we're out and about. Another reason is that the washables aren't full of the unpleasant chemical etc that you find in most disposables.

The ones I like best come in two sizes, but I've read the comments on lots of different review sites where people have used the size 2 ones from birth, but I don't know anyone in real life that has used them so can't ask - that is what I am hoping to hear from hootoo

Apparently they do last and last well - amazingly, there appears to be quite a thriving second-hand market for these things I'm pretty sure my mum just reused the big terry squares she bought for me when little brother came along so it isn't entirely unfeasible even with the older ones!

Thanks for the comments so far, still hoping we've got a user or two amongst the researchers here who can really give me the skinny

Didn't use them myself - my personal experience is that having a child takes up incredible amounts of time and that anything that adds to that is undesirable.

Having looked at some life cycle analyses of the two options (for work, not out of personal interest) the environmental benefit of reusables seem to be marginal in the greater scheme of things.

I know one lady who swears by them - she is, however, very organised and somewhat 'deep green'.

I might have considered it if I had access to something like the Milton Keynes scheme - a reusable nappy washing service, door to door...

sprout

My mother used them with the three of us. Some of them are still in circulation as floor rags, I think. I'll have a chat with her and post the results. But I know she thought they were wonderful. She can also tell you how to fold a square one.

TRiG.

The washable ones might sound like a good idea now Kelli but wait till youve had no more than 3 hours sleep a night in a month n your days are endless bottle mixing n feeding/ breast feeding n washing n you might change your mind babies as small n cute as they are do take over every second of your waking and sleeping life! if yo can manage the extra washing , great, but dont make things harder on yourself .

I was very "green" (in many senses of the word!) with my first. Even went through pregnancy as a vegetarian. Craved spinach for about 7 months...

I intended to use the re-usable type. And I did! The nice patterned velcro fastening type. But I also had disposables for day trips/ emergencies etc. And as time wore on, I admit I used the disposables more and more. Particularly at night, when the re-usables just didnt seem up to the job.

By the time I had my second (2 and a bit years later) I don't think the material ones got used at all

Trig - my mum used the old terry square ones as did pretty much all mothers with kids my age I expect *and* they had to use ridiculous non-automatic washing machines (at least they weren't doing it by hand) *and* they didn't have tumble dryers. In the words of my nan, young people today don't know they're born The new ones seem quite high tech.

That is useful Lucky Star, thanks When did you give them a go? The ones I like the look of best seem to go through a normal wash in the machine and take about 10 minutes in the tumble dryer to dry. They are called tots bots fluffles - can you remember which ones you tried? We will almost certainly use disposables when we're out just so I don't have to keep poo-coated things secreted about my person unnecessarily. Did you use the ones with liners? And did you try the 'boosters' at night? I knew there must be at least *one* person here that had used them

Seraphina - it doesn't look like they are any more difficult to change than disposables and putting stuff that is already in a nappy net in a washing machine isn't really work (open lid, transfer net to washing machine, switch on) so I don't think it is anything like what our mothers had to go through with the terry squares. Even getting them out of the washing machine and putting them in the dryer isn't that hard (*shouts* "J. put the nappies in the dryer please!") and at least the darn things won't need ironing.

I'm expecting lots of nay-saying from parents who didn't try them themselves - oh and lots of "it's a total and utter nightmare, blah, blah". Funny how people never get tired of telling you how awful parenthood is

Anyone else tried them?

It is work when youre severely sleep drpeived, quite likely in pain and going through 15 of them a day as well as constant feeding and all your usual household stuff!
you never know how hard it is till you have to do it yourself.

Ok, I'll admit Kaz - I've never used them... But by second hand experience I've a friend who used them exclusively on her first baby when she wasn't working, but by the time her second came along, the disposables had taken over completely and the washables didn't make a single appearance...

Nobody can (or should) stop you trying washables - but one piece of advice I'd give you is don't spend a fortune on them before you've tried them...

Have you thought about making your own...

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&q=%22making+your+own+nappies%22&btnG=Search

That way you're not spending a fortune on something you might find after a couple of weeks ends up in the bottom of a cupboard for years, until you decide to recycle them into dusters.

Well I pretty much expect *everything* is going to be really hard, especially for the first couple of months. But we are actually going to have a baby and already accept that it isn't going to be all soft-focus cute fluffy things.

Anyway, I'd still like to hear from people who have actually given them a go

No one said you weren't going to have baby I'm just quite poorly n coverd with an extremely itchy head to foot rash at the mo so more likely to take things personally or feel someones having a go. I do have kids btw.

'unsubscribes'

Simulpost Whisky - sounds like your friend's experience was similar to Lucky Star's then.

There really does seem to be a second hand market for these things - god knows who buys them though! I'd certainly like to start out with new ones!

Our plan was to buy a few and see how we get on with them in the first couple of weeks and then if we think they will work out then move over to using them as often as possible.

The problem with 'a few' is from bitter experience with my son - 'a few' nappies is never enough...

The little ****** could get through a dozen a day! As any parent'll tell you - one of the most infuriating sights you'll ever see is a straining expression on your child's face when they're still lieing on the changing mat about 3 seconds after you've just attached their clean nappy.

Well the idea is at first to use both the washables *and* the disposables - I didn't mean we'd only buy three and wash them after every change! It should give us an idea about how we'd cope with them though.

No need for that Seraphina - sorry to hear you are feeling poorly. I think I'm getting a bit fed up of hearing how it is all utterly awful having a baby is, that is all. The past couple of days that seems to be all I've been told. I should ring my mum, she always makes me feel less anxious with her line - it is hard but you'll manage. Plus she is only up the road and available to help with things... like putting stuff in the washing machine

*puts hand up*

ask me ask me ask me!!!

I used almost exclusively re-usables for Gruesome #1. But then, we didn't go out much (and when we did, I just used to flush the nasty bits, and use a strong bin-bag for the wet nappy)

with #2 I had 2 kids in nappies. I used disposables when we were out and about because I mostly didn't use the car and despite them being fine, it is a bit more fiddly to change a cloth nappy.

So, here's how it worked for me. I had a large plastic bin with a lid which was in my bath. I used a baby changing table with a nice wipeable surface which fitted over the bath. The bath was next to the loo.

When they were very wee they had little shaped terry nappies from Mothercare (courtesy of my mum) which I used with nappy liners (mostly cut in half because they're huge) and some breathable waterproof pants. I also (gasp, shock horror) used nappy pins. The liners are fairly robust and I could pick it up (you get a technique of holding the corners together while lifting the baby's ankles) and sort of half chucking it into the loo.

Then I flung the nappy in the bin which had water in it, and the Boots equivalent of nappi-san.

Then it was a matter of cleaning up the baby and putting her in her bouncy chair (or on the floor once she was crawling) to attend to the poo.

I held one edge of the nappy liner while I flushed the loo - and sometimes used the loo brush to get rid of some of the poo. the liner then went into the bathroom bin (with a lid).

Later I found nappy liners that could be flushed, which was great (I got them in Holland though)

The nappy bucket: each morning (or evening too, if there were a lot of changes when there were 2 Gruesomes) I put them in my washing machine (conveniently in the bathroom too - although I think in the UK it's more likely to be in the kitchen?) and put them through a rinse cycle. If there were enough to make a load, I washed them at 60°C and then dried them on the line (in the summer they were bleached beautifully white by the sun) if there wasn't enough for a full load, I did them all when there were enough.

I have a fairly new, water/energy efficient washing machine, and I used environmentally friendly(ier) washing liquid.

I had 40 nappies by the time I had 2 kids, and once they were out of the shaped ones I ued terry towelling squares (a de-luxe version from Boots... atually, the shaped ones might have been from Boots too)

Alongside the lovely breathable pants (which fasten, with velcro, like a disposable, over the cloth nappy) we used plastic pants, but I didn't like them as much, even though they had baby Snoopys on them.

We were very generous with the zinc cream on the wee bottoms and girly bits and very rarely got nappy rash (certainly no more than other people I knew who used disposables)

You do have to change them often - but then, not being used to disposables I'm not sure how often it's necessary with those.

When we went on to potty training and finally trying to get them to go without nappies at night, I went onto those Pull-up things. My girls picked up potty training very quickly and I used about 2 packs of those pull ups. (in total, I bought 2 when I started training Gruesome #1 and gave what was left to a neighbour after training Gruesome #2)

with #2 we used more disposables, from Aldi because I was totally broke, but that was because I went out a wee bit more, and as I said, changing two babies wasn't easy (Germany is SORELY lacking in changing facilities, although it has got a lot better since my time)

Oh, one time I used disposables for #2 while at home was when she had explosive, projectile, green diaharroea (sp?) but that was only a few days.

At the time we were doing this our rubbish was weighed and we were charged by the kilo. It was a factor in our decision to go the re-usable route.

Wonder if I should ask Sho?

Thanks for that! Sounds like flushable liners are the way to go then Even if we bought 40 of them it is still cheaper than disposables, and that is just for baby number 1. I read that it isn't good to use them if you are travelling a long way so they might be sitting there wet for a longish time, but was planning on using the disposables then anyway.

I'm not yet put off so much that I don't want to at least give them a try...

sorry... I really didn't mean to write a Guide Entry to Re-Useable nappies...

remind me not to join in the breastfeding and veggie pregnancies/babies convo - you'll never get a word in!!

Am craving red meat like you wouldn't believe - no veggie pregnancy for this carnivore!