Reusable or Disposable Nappies!? - Pregnancy and Par...

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Reusable or Disposable Nappies!?

LottyB profile image
14 Replies

Ok, having an internal debate with myself. Im 20 weeks (ahhh, half way there!) and trying to be organised, and the boyfriend is rubbish. Haha.

Do I go with the convenience of disposable nappies and fill up the local landfill or go greener and use reusable ones such as the bambino miosolo which is a birth to potty one so doesn't need different sized nappies as baba grows. Or a bit of both? Has anyone got any advice or suggestions? Thank you!

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LottyB profile image
LottyB
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14 Replies
rcookieuk profile image
rcookieuk

Hi lottyb, you remind me of myself at that stage! I would say don't commit to either yet but def give the reusables a go. I bought 8 bambino miosolo nappies from a local shop that takes part in a council nappy scheme. Think I got about £30 off the £90 ish bill. Definitely worth seeing of your council does similar, it's in their interest because of less landfill rubbish collection etc.

my boy is now 17 month and I still use the same 8 miosolo nappies. I got in the habit early on of using washables when I was at home and naty baby (which are mostly degradable) for out n about or overnight. Laziness on my part for not wanting to carry the wet or soiled nappies around all day before washing, but it's definitely doable!

I've probably saved 2 or 3 nappies a day from going to landfill though so I feel that they were worth the purchase.

The miosolo nappies are great, I've not had any issues with them but I know a lot of people prefer to try a few different makes rather than sticking to one.

Sorry for the waffle and hope it helps!

LottyB profile image
LottyB in reply to rcookieuk

Thankyou rcookieuk! That is really helpful! I will pester the council right now! Boyfriend looks relieved that I've got some proper info and a direction to head in now! Thanks again. X

kerry1607 profile image
kerry1607

I use naty by nature nappies. Disposable and biodegradable. Kinder to the environment and babies bottom as they are lined with corn rather than plastic. My friend uses the same when out and about but reuseables when at home. Don't buy too much of any nappy at the start as you may find a certain type of nappy may not work for you. Good luck with the baby xxx

Yes that we me too! My council provided a voucher and I got a selection pack to see which I preferred. Then when baby was born I used disposables because there is enough to think about in the first few weeks with a newborn (so don't beat yourself up if that happens to you!). Then at about 8 weeks I bought 20 tots bots nappies second hand from a friend which was great value but I'm not sure I'd have chosen those cos they are a bit leaky for my lg. I bought a few bum genius flip recently which are very simple and no leaks so far with those. There is so much choice out there - definitely a good idea to try a few before you spend the money (is there a nappy library near you?). Also like rcookieuk I use a combination. Reusable most of the time but a disposable at night (so she stays really dry) and when I'm travelling (don't like to ask to use a friends washing machine for dirty nappies!) I use Beaming Baby disposables which are more biodegradable and chemical free so I don't feel bad about the times I use them. Sorry this was so long - good luck!!

pritsko2011 profile image
pritsko2011

Hi ya! Not as a mum but as a nanny i could only add to all what girls said above. I cared for 3 kids and yongest was in washable nappies and she was leaking (whar a pain) all the time. But the reason of her leaking was that instead of doing wee sll the time she just did masdive ones abd not that often. It really helped to potty train her at 18 month! Good luck!

Filmgirl101 profile image
Filmgirl101

We use reusable nappies. Gnappies have the convenience of disposable or reusable nappies. We use reusable inserts at home and disposables out and about. You only need 6 pants, with the council vouchers (everyone Qualifies) it was £60 total for her first 5 months of nappies. I sold them after she outgrew and bought the next size with the money. They are slim fitting too. Even my husband is okay using them!

Filmgirl101 profile image
Filmgirl101

We use reusable nappies. Gnappies have the convenience of disposable or reusable nappies. We use reusable inserts at home and disposables out and about. You only need 6 pants, with the council vouchers (everyone Qualifies) it was £60 total for her first 5 months of nappies. I sold them after she outgrew and bought the next size with the money. They are slim fitting too. Even my husband is okay using them!

Katrina13 profile image
Katrina13

I am thinking that I might try to use a couple of reusable nappies each day (to alleviate the landfill guilt) and disposables if I am out and about.. even one less disposable per day helps!

skanking_piglet profile image
skanking_piglet

Definitely second using disposables for the first few weeks (we used Naty) as you'll have enough already to get used to without extra washing, plus a lot of the birth to potty will be too big until the baby hits 10lb (hopefully you won't get a newborn that big...!). Perhaps worth waiting until they are born to see what build they are too as different brands fit different shaped babies. I also recommended The Nappy Lady, who does a free questionnaire and then gives you a couple of options price-wise. Once you have picked your system it's worth picking up a few second hand to make sure they fit and reusables are for you before you commit a large sum of money (I speak from experience!). It is also worth checking out Cheeky Wipes even if you choose not to use cloth nappies; they save you a fortune, have no nasty chemicals, and are so much better at cleaning up poo!

Fityfiritty profile image
Fityfiritty

Hi,

I have been using reusable ones for about 22 months now. We started when my son was about 4 months. In general I prefer reusable ones because they contain the poo better. My son is a very lean child and disposable ones always sag on his bum. Except Sainsbury's Little Ones. I use disposable ones for the night and for travel. We had so many leaks during the night with reusable ones unless I stuffed the nappy to a ridiculous size. But then my son ended up sleeping very badly because it was uncomfortable for him.

I agree that it is better to use disposable ones for the 1st few weeks. I am planning to do that as well with our second one who is due in 4 weeks time. I think it is good to give yourself a bit of a break after having just had a baby. Also the 1st size doesn't normally fit newborns and I don't want to buy a set of nappies only to use for a month or so.

About the nappy brands. I tested quite a few types and I found Tots Bots and Little Lamb very good. But surprisingly the most durable ones are some unbranded ones that I ordered from Aliexpress and Amazon for the fraction of the price of the branded ones. I found bamboo the best absorbent. The minkee/microfiber inserts always caused leaks. My only advice is to stay away from Close Pop-in nappies! The first set of 10 nappies we ever bought were Pop-ins and they had to be replaced after about 10 months because the elastics let go. They only replaced the shells though and constantly suggested that I mistreated the nappies. Now after about 12 months the replaced shells gave up again. I wonder whether they will replace them this time but I doubt it! Also how environmentally friendly it is to replace them every year...

This would be my experience about disposables and reusable ones. I hope it helped! Congratulations on your little one. :)

rachf profile image
rachf

Hiya LottyB, did you make a decision on nappies? I started off with disposables because having the baby here was so overwhelming at first - the thought of doing an extra load of washing was just too much to deal with haha! But I've been using bambino mio's two piece system since 4 weeks with disposables overnight, and from 10 weeks have been using miosolo's overnight. My baby is now 15 weeks old. If you're still weighing up the options I'll happily let you more about how it's going and some of the pro's and con's I've found with bambino mio. If you've decided to go with disposables - I'll save my time ;) xx

LottyB profile image
LottyB in reply to rachf

Hi Rach! Baba not arrived yet, 7 weeks to go! 🙈 we've got reusables and disposable's. Got the voucher from the local council and topped up with second hand ones off ebay. Went for the bambino mios in the end as they seem to get the best all round reviews. I originally wanted the mio solos but was told by a friend that take forever to dry. I've also got naty by nature disposable nappies so aiming to use 50/50 reusable and disposable, will probably be the same as you and use disposable nappies to start with and gradually work in the reusables. I've got so much stuff in her room there us hardly any room for her! Hehe. I think I've gone a bit overboard! Any feedback you have would be really interesting! Thank you! X

rachf profile image
rachf in reply to LottyB

Hi LottyB, sorry for the delay - 6 weeks now!

I'm a bit dense and tired so not sure from your post if you got the two piece (with the cloth bit you fold and then waterproof cover) or the miosolo's from bambino mio?

The miosolo's I only started using from 10 weeks just as an overnight nappy. My boy never poos in the night anymore so I only wanted something to absorb a whole night's wee. They are generally very good to last through the night (sometimes I add the booster pads for extra absorbancy) but we have a couple of nights where he's felt a bit damp... He is quite a lean, long baby so doesn't have the chunkiest thighs - if he's legs are in a certain position there is a gap between his skin and the nappy (if he was fatter this gap wouldn't be there!) and I think that might be why the wee sometimes leaks out. For this reason I wouldn't use them in the day because there is no chance they'd contain the poo. But that is mainly due to my baby's shape and maybe this will improve when he grows a bit more. I also don't know if I could have used them before 10 weeks because he was even skinnier then! As far as drying time, I've found this excellent with the miosolos. The absorbent pad hangs out of the nappy so it can dry as a thinner layer. If I stick them out on the line they take about 2-3 hours only (but I do live in South Africa and it's usually very warm).

The two piece bambino mio system is what I was gifted from my mum. We got the birth to potty set with different sized covers that baby will eventually grow into. I love these nappies, they do have their faults but generally I'm very happy with them. My husband uses them with ease and my sister-in-law has also learnt to use them. I find them much less bulky than the miosolos and because you have the different sized covers to use from, you can get a snugger fit than I've managed with the miosolos. The folds weren't too difficult to master, and there are several different ways of doing it so try a few until you find one that works for you (try youtube if you are stuck, I learnt a few tricks there). Because I have a boy, I prefer the 'boy fold' where you make it extra thick at the front to absorb more of the wee. I also fan the edges at the back because I've found that the most successful in poo containment. He's breastfed and their poo is notoriously more explosive!

I've had a few poo leaks, BUT I've also had these in disposables, and I've NEVER had a wee leak in the two piece system - that said, he's never left in one of these longer than 4 hours. Even though his poos can be pretty explosive at times, it's rare that the poo gets out of the waterproof cover and onto his clothes. But very often after a poo I find I have to replace both the cloth wrap and the waterproof cover because poo has got on the inside of the cover. This was a bit annoying because the 'birth to potty' set only came with three covers in each size, but I have since bought another two in the current size, and I find with 5 covers I can usually wash the nappies every other day and stay in stock. As a newborn he pooed almost after every feed, but this has settled down a lot so the covers tend to last a few nappy changes before needing a wash.

Drying time is just as good with these. I never pre-soak my nappies, just chuck them straight in the wash when a load is ready. I use soapnuts to clean them because I couldn't find a detergent without all the optical brighteners etc that I was told to avoid. The nappies are clean out the wash but they are always yellow stained from the poo. Fortunately the sun bleaches them white again on the line but again this is South Africa and not the UK (not sure how well that'll work there!) The two piece nappies seem to be durable enough, I've noticed some wear and tear on the covers but they are still very much functional (and I hope to get a second baby into them one day) and the cotton prefold is just as good as it was on day one. I don't have a tumble dryer maybe they will wear quicker using one regularly...

I know this is a bit of an essay, but hopefully it's of some use! I read a lot of negative reviews about bambino mio after my mum had bought them and was really worried they'd be a waste of time. I've got no other cloth nappy to compare it to, but that because I'm really happy with them so I've not needed to try another brand. Best of luck with your newborn :) xxx

LottyB profile image
LottyB

Thank you Rachf! That's so helpful. Its the mio's I've got, not the miosolos. I was warned off the miosolos because the fit can be odd, and you've said the same. 😊 and drying time can be a long time. I've got three waterproof covers in each size and the padded cotton foldable inserts. I've also got bamboo liners so I can just flush the poo. They are just like silky soft toilet paper sheets, and can be used as wipes if need be. Its sunny here today, but ill be lucky if it gets to 16 degrees Celsius! Bit warmer in SA! I do keep having a play, but until she arrives and I know where gets wettest and how it holds the contents I will have to try different folds, never thought of you tube! Will have to investigate. 😊

Hope things are going well with your little boy! I am starting to get excited about meeting my little girl! X

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