If you’re previously read my blog posts, you will see that we have recently decided to use cloth (reusable) nappies on Alex, and Benjamin when he comes along.
I’d never even considered using cloth nappies when Harrison was a baby. I was under the impression that it was still the old terry towel and safety pin jobs, and that it would be near enough impossible without a tumble drier. Living in a small flat with no garden, balcony or drier I thought it was a no-no. By the time Alex came along I had heard more about them, but still thought they sounded faffy and expensive.
Then, I found out we were having another baby. By this point, I followed so many mums on Twitter who swore by cloth nappies. I started asking a few questions, and had so many helpful answers, especially from Kelly at More Than Just a Mummy. Back in May, my mum and I went to the Birmingham Baby Show and I saw a cloth nappy demonstration. Both my mum, who had used cloth nappies almost thirty years ago, and I were shocked how easy they were. The outlay was obviously quite expensive, but in the long term saves an absolute fortune, especially with two in nappies.
In July, we bit the bullet and ordered our first nappy, a Baba + Boo, which you can read about here.There are many different types of reusable nappies out there, and to be honest I am still getting my head round them, but this type of nappy is one of the easiest to use, and is called a pocket nappy. We used this for a week or so and got on well with it, but we wanted to try different brands. We found a range called Alva Baby which came highly recommended by Ellie at Ellie Bear Babi, so we ordered a bundle. We also bought a range of inserts and liners, and buckets and wetbags.
We’ve been using cloth nappies pretty much full time during the daytime for over a week, putting a wash on every two days. We’ve had one leak, but I think that was more down to me not putting it on very well. Other than that, I think we’ve got the hang of it. We are still mostly using disposables at night, simply because we only have 12 nappies at the moment. Once I’ve built our stash up a bit more (which won’t take me long!) we will use them at night as well.
I’ve had so much help from other cloth nappy users. Kelly is regularly bombarded with questions by me and I’ve joined some nappy groups on Facebook, where I have learned so much. Who would have thought that hanging nappies out in the pouring rain would be good for them?
What is also nice is that one of my friends, whose little boy turned one last month, has decided to have a go at using reusable nappies after seeing how much we love them. It would be really lovely if more and more people tried using them – even just using one or two a day saves money and makes a different to the environment.
Check back in a few weeks to see how we’re getting on!
Related articles
I used them for a while, but they kept leaking on me. I tried so hard to stop them leaking as I wanted to use them, but had to give up. Thankfully, one of our girls is potty trained now and the other not far off! Thanks for linking up to the #binkylinky
I have never tried clothe nappies but I might look into try them now. Thanks x
I thought the same about cloth being terry towelling but I’ve seen so many pretty ones. Kinda wish id explored it more with the twins x #binkylink
Ahh you’re a darling! I love being bombarded with questions lol! Thank you so much for the mentions, you’re doing a great job with them and I cannot wait to see the new squish modelling them! X
We used reuseable wipes with our first and loved them, but didn’t use them with out second, we are having our third and i have considered reuseables but need to see them in action to be convinced!! #binkylinky