Nappy dillema - your thoughts....

[fabulouscazza]

Hey fellow fabulous Feb mums,

My current stress with the upcoming arrival of my bub is nappies - to use modern cloth or disposable... :confused:

Please tell me your thoughts. If you have chosen to go with mcn's, why? I'm finding it very confusing as to which way to go. At the moment I'm thinking mcn's during the day, Huggies disposables at night.

Thanks for (maybe) making this decision a little clearer.

[mahna mahna]

Hmm, it is a bit of a dilemma!

We'll mostly be using modern cloth - we've got a stash of about 18 all-in-ones, pockets, covers etc. Definitely be needing some more as he grows though!

However, we think we'll be flexible until we get the hang of it all. It's a little daunting starting off, so we also have some biodegrable 'sposies, some traditional terry flats & some trifolds for the newborn stage/ overnights, or until we feel confident using MCNs fulltime.

TBH, I felt relieved buying the sposies, as it took a little pressure off us! We'll aim to use MCNs 100% of the time asap, but it's good to have a fall-back.

[SorenLorensen]

we will be using disposables for the start.
im having a c/s and while i know DP would not mind at all having to wash them i really don't want to add more to the things he is going to be doing.

so after 5 - 6 weeks we will be going almost full time cloth (im not prepared to say 100% just yet ;))

[MrsO]

I struggled with this decision early on in the pregnancy as well. I do believe that MCN's are a wonderful option and far different to the old 'traditional' cloth nappies, and can be very easy to use. I have however decided to go with 100% disposables. Whilst I did take the environmental impact of both options into consideration, for my situation disposables are the best way to go. Not only do I think that nappies like Huggies are brilliant in protecting bubs skin from nappy rash and preventing leakage, but I'm going to be by myself with this bub 70% of the time from around 6 weeks old, and frankly I need to make my life as simple as possible. Even one extra load of washing a week (although I dare say it would be more in my household because I couldn't stand to leave dirty nappies that long) is unnessesary IMO.

I'm rambling...sorry. It's disposables for this little family...good luck with making your decision! :yes:

[Tam-I-Am]

I only came across MCN when my DD was about 8 months old - and after extensive research, switched over after about 4 months - when she was 12 months old. The why's:

1) across the 3 children I'm planning to have, it will save me up to $3000 per child - That's HUGE! The baby bonus all over again (nearly!) We've chosen a OSFA pocket nappy that will see my children through from 6 weeks to approx 3 years of age - my 2.5 year old wears them and is still very comfortable in them.

2) They're cute

3) My very-heavy night-wetter was out-wetting even a huggies....She can't wet through our wonderful night-time MCNs though :D

4) They're made of natural fibres (for the most part!) that MUST be better to have next to genitalia than chemicals found in disposables.

5) They're MUCH better for the environment - even factoring in washing and growth, it takes something like 3.2 times the amount of water to produce a disposable nappy as it does to care for a cloth nappy.

6) They do not, despite common belief, take much extra work than disposables - I wash the 1 pooey nappy off a day with the aid of a Little Squirt attachment (I don't have to touch the contents of the nappy at all!), and wash 1 extra load of laundry a week - it probably adds just a 1/2 hour to my housework time per week.

7) I save money on cloth wipes too

That's all I can really think of for now.

With this baby, I'll be using terry towel-flats and pilchers for the first little while, until the bub grows into our Greenkids stash.

[SorenLorensen]

I only came across MCN when my DD was about 8 months old - and after extensive research, switched over after about 4 months - when she was 12 months old. The why's:

1) across the 3 children I'm planning to have, it will save me up to $3000 per child - That's HUGE! The baby bonus all over again (nearly!) We've chosen a OSFA pocket nappy that will see my children through from 6 weeks to approx 3 years of age - my 2.5 year old wears them and is still very comfortable in them.

2) They're cute

3) My very-heavy night-wetter was out-wetting even a huggies....She can't wet through our wonderful night-time MCNs though :D

4) They're made of natural fibres (for the most part!) that MUST be better to have next to genitalia than chemicals found in disposables.

5) They're MUCH better for the environment - even factoring in washing and growth, it takes something like 3.2 times the amount of water to produce a disposable nappy as it does to care for a cloth nappy.

6) They do not, despite common belief, take much extra work than disposables - I wash the 1 pooey nappy off a day with the aid of a Little Squirt attachment (I don't have to touch the contents of the nappy at all!), and wash 1 extra load of laundry a week - it probably adds just a 1/2 hour to my housework time per week.

7) I save money on cloth wipes too

That's all I can really think of for now.

With this baby, I'll be using terry towel-flats and pilchers for the first little while, until the bub grows into our Greenkids stash.


see i always read WHY people use them and IMO everything is 100% true from my experience, but TBH :o

your reason number 2 is why i use them.

i know how much i save, i know they do the environment good, and i know they don't take any more effort but none of it comes into play. :o

i mean how else am i ment to pick up a feel the softness of minky, see the coolest tie dye of a wild child, the cute patterns (im in the middle of making a glow in the dark care bears one right now)......

i will admit to the world right now...

I USE MCNs JUST SO MY KIDS HAVE COOL BUTTs (i feel so materialistic) :p:laughing:

[4B2L]

I am a sposie user, but if I had my time again, I may have used MCN, mainly for enviromental reasons. The main reason I didn't is because I am not organised enough and didn't want to use the drier on them, which for me would wipe out a lot of the enviromental gains, and I just know that I would fall behind on washing and use the drier, plus Iive in Melbourne, and it is hard to line dry in winter.

Oh yeah and I always used to think that cloth nappies were just those white terry thingy's.

[dormouse]

I am planning on using flats & eenee nappy snibbs for the first month or so until bub is big enough to fit into the eenees & bambino mios that I have. I discovered eenees when DD was about 8 months old & loved the convenience of them. I have flannelette nappies, prefolds & the flushable pads to use in them & the whole system is so easy. I do have a box of sposies that was given to me & will probably use them at night sometimes & maybe while out & about.
I am trying to not even think about using sposies as I planned on using cloth with DD but was given a pack of Huggies in hospital & just kept on using them. The hospital I am going to this time does not supply sposies but has a cloth nappy service for me to use so hopefully I will get the hang of it then & keep it up.

[sunshine_kat_86]

hi my sister uses these modern day nappies and they look so cute. but it is expensive to set up first, as you need quit a few other wise your warsh all the time. My daughter 15months and i use disposable thow im giving these cloth ones ago, So ill tell you how it goes

[BecD]

I'm going to start using biodegradable disposables while I try out my assorted stash of cloth nappies. Once I decide which one I like, I'll buy my full-time supply of cloth nappies, but I'll probably keep some bio sposies on hand for when he's sick or we're going to be out for a long time.

[OJandMe]

I USE MCNs JUST SO MY KIDS HAVE COOL BUTTs (i feel so materialistic) :p:laughing:

:laughing: Me too.

And coz they're cheap.... so more money to buy more!!

[Nex]

I'm going to use MCN's at home and disposables when I'm out.

We don't have a garbage service here (rural farm) and disposing of nappies will be a real pain. (not to mention the dog stealing them off the burning heap. Imagine a yard littered with poo-y nappies!)

I'm making my own MCN's...I did a test the other day and I reckon I could turn out 8 in a day! And at about 1/3 the cost of buying them!

The other issue was cost...I just couldn't afford disposables.

[5boys]

Hi all
I have decided to go with MCN's this time too. I am actually making my own from bamboo fleece and towelling with lay in boosters. With the surplus scraps I am also making washable wipes, breast pads and some 'spew' cloths. Making nappy covers from PUL, fleece and some wool for night, and washable liners from fleece. Have used a pattern that is adaptable from birth to potty training. The whole lot of fabrics, extra notions and patterns came to only $350!!!! That will last me for the full two years. Can't beat that for an incentive!!

For those who haven't encountered me before, I am having my 6th child. My eldest is 20 and youngest is 3. I used cloth with 3 and disposables with 2. Much prefer cloth.

[sonlou73]

disposables are easy for me to use & i'll keep using them. i've recently been converted to the aldi nappies which have never leaked & are much cheaper than huggies.

[Sparrowgal]

None of my friends are using cloth nappies, I'm the only one who wants to and they're all like "Are you crazy, when do you have time to do all that work..." :o

But I just feel bad for throwing so much rubbish away, I'd rather wash stuff than make landfill.:shame:

So I'm going to try cloth from the start, have some sposies for emergencies and hospital (though they do supply some anyway) and see how I go.

Everyone in the forums seem very happy with cloth and they cloth fitteds look so cute I want my little girl to have a cute toosh like that! And of course we all had cloth when we were young.. though I remember getting a pin prick from the pin once...:mad:

[Cin]

We are going to try the trad cloths with the snappy nappies to avoid the pin picks.
I have some disp to use when going out and will just see how we go.
Both Baby and I are going back to work after about 8 weeks so mayb cloth will be a little hard but only time will tell. :)

[BecD]

None of my friends are using cloth nappies, I'm the only one who wants to and they're all like "Are you crazy, when do you have time to do all that work..." :o

Most people I've mentioned cloth nappies to think of the big white folded squares and think I'm a bit nuts for wanting to do that! But then I tell them I'm using MCN and show them some of the ones I have and I think they are a bit more accepting of it. :)

[elissas]

Same as with DS really. We have lots of clothes that are gender neutral and all the baby stuff we need, so when people ask what I need/want as gifts, I say disposable nappies, or laundry/kitchen consumables.

So I'll use the disposables I get from people until they run out.

I found with DS that he was a massive poo machine, every nappy during the day and some at night. That was for the first couple of months.

After that he started to regulate a bit more and I could predict when he was doing a poo, and it cut back to only once or twice a day.

So it'll be sposies till I run out or until the bowels regulate.

Then I've got my terry and flannelette flats, which I used with DS from about 3mths till 14 mths or so. Then I found I wasn't using so many nappies so went back to full time sposies.

I still used sposies while out and at night though, just used folded flats when at home during the day. It saved heaps of money!

I wouldn't waste money on Huggies. Aldi all the way... Never had a leak. Every second Huggies leaks on DS - I was given heaps when he was born and they were very average.

[greenie]

Hi All,
Wow, there are more cloth nappy mums out there than I thought! :yelclap:

With my 1st DD I used the old flats plus disposables, but have been almost full time MCNs with my DS (nearly 2yrs). I did use biodegradable disposables when he was newborn, but as we're pretty comfy with the whole thing now, I'm hoping to go cloth all the way from the beginning with this one.

We use totsbots fitted nappies with PUL covers.

I definately think cloth are a good choice for the environment, but a MAJOR plus for us has been the savings! Don't know how we'd afford full time disposables. And I can honestly say DS has not had nappy rash while in cloth and that they never leak overnight even though we've had some leaks if he's in disposables.

We still use eco disposables if we're staying away from home, but otherwise it's cloth all the time.

Good luck with your choices, it is hard to get started especially when there are so many different nappies out there. I would recommend taking your time and trying a few MCNs when you feel comfortable so you know what works for you.

[~Alicia]

We'll be using disposables while we're in hospy (they don't have a nappy service :( and it's an hour from home so DH won't have acess to a washing machine.)

Once we're home it will be a mix of terry flats and MC. I've been having so much fun putting together a stash of small nappies Valentine

[Sparrowgal]

I think ur right BecD, maybe if I show people what an MCN looks like they'll think they look cute! I suppose I'll just have to wait a few more weeks before I can put some of these nice nappies onto the little bub! :yelclap: Then they'll all go ahhhh i see...

[louellyn]

I know it is not environmentally friendly but I will be using disposibles.

Reasons being that they are easy, I know I would use the drier with cloth as I do all the time now (dogs rip all clothes off the line), money is no issue so that side doesn't concern me, and I hate the idea of dirty nappies sitting in the laundry.

[Luella]

I've decided to go MCN's. I too am the only one I know of my friends intending to use them and they all said that I was insane, but I've now bought some and now they all think that they are so cute, they are talking about trying them on their little ones!!! They seemed to think cloth nappies are only the terry flats we wore as kids.

Cost wasn't really the motivator with us (although its a nice benefit), I just couldn't bring myself to generate that much pooey landfill.

I am hoping to be virtually full-time with MCNs, but we'll see if I can stick to that!!!

[TillieAndBug]

With DD I used 100% Huggies - never had any problems...(apart from a bit of the enviro guilt and initial newborn and baby cost!)...but now she is only using 3 or 4 a day so a box lasts forever.. I have 1 x AIO which a friend made for me and TBH if I had had the knowledge when she was younger I think I would have used MCN's AIO's...their bottoms do look so cute too! But she will only keep it on until she does a little wee and then pulls off now, or wont even wear...
With this bug...I am going to just wait and see...see how many nappies I am changing...I couldnt afford to have enough of the AIO's for the first few months if he is anything like his sister was! They seem to retail between 25 &45 dollars so to have 7 or 8 per day and not be continously washing would be very expensive for me at the moment to set up...plus I have an 18 month old who is toilet training and taking up alot of my time, plus I am on my own 75% of the time so no help with all that laundry!
Not to say I wont swap later...

[Mrs J]

We will be full time cloth from day 1.

[fabulouscazza]

Thank you all so much for your thoughts on this....

It is great to see so many ladies choosing cloth over sposies.

So i have come up with a plan: I have 2 boxes of Huggies that i bought on special ages ago when i had decided to go full time disposables, so I have to use those. I will take them into the hospital ( I believe I have to supply my own nappies) and i will use them full time while bub and i work each other out.

When we get home I will use MCN's during the day and sposies at night, till the two boxes that i have are gone, then onto full time sposies..

Well, thats the plan anyway, who knows what might change! I'll try my best to do it all this way.

It feels better for me to be helping the environment, and the reduced cost is a huge help!

Thanks again! :thumbsup: