So, we’ve been using reusable nappies (as well as disposables) in our routine with Peggy since she was around 8 months old and I wanted to share some info on our journey so far. This isn’t an ‘everyone MUST do this’ post, we don’t solely use them but we feel good for every nappy we don’t throw away (not to mention not having them on every shopping list) and I wanted to share some info on how we’ve got on over the past 6 months. And I would like to add that I am no expert at all, but hopefully this can provide some balanced advice from someone navigating this territory!
Basically, it has been an easier transition than we thought! A few years ago, the idea of reusing nappies made me feel gross – I’m quite a clean freak but frankly, dealing with disposables ain’t much cleaner and once you get your head around that, reusables are totally do-able.
We haven’t gone fully reusable yet because we’re scared. Not of the nappies, but of leaks at night (we haven’t used them for 12 hour stints yet) and asking nursery to do it, when it’s our choice – I know, we should, we’re just not there yet. But my thoughts are that a lot of people doing something is a whole lot better than a load of people doing nothing. Hopefully my ramblings might make someone use a reusable nappy once a day – and that helps!
The funny thing is, most of our parents used cloth nappies, they got through it and it was a whole lot harder then! For us, it’s re-conditioning ourselves into unlearning all we know about nappies (ditching convenience, which is probably the hardest part). And trust me, it’s not as scary as you’d think.
First off: how cute are the nappies? They give Peggy a really chunky bum and it makes me smile so much – she is a bum shuffler so I think they (might) give her a little more support!
We started by researching The Nappy Lady website initially. It’s the best site with a huge range of nappies, it has clear breakdowns on the benefits of each one (some with lovely back stories on the brands, too), plus videos on how to use each nappy and how to wash (I found these immensely useful).
We initially bought two from Totsbots, cloth nappies with a Motherease wrap to go on top. We mainly went for them because they seemed the securest for leaks and could be used for day and night but also the story sounded lovely (the owner started making nappies for her baby as she couldn’t afford to buy them, then started making for friends, and now provides work for locals in her hometown of Glasgow!). I’m not going to lie, these are our least favourite. We use them, but only when there is no other option, despite them being probably the securest for leaks. I think the hassle of using the wrap as well as the cloth nappy, paired with the fact that the cloth gets sodden, which makes me worry about Peggy being a little damper than usual, doesn’t make me love them (however, these are supposed to the the BEST for overnight use, so we might start to love them again in the future).
But then my sister gave me a few Bambino Mio Solo nappies she had from her first baby (I had no idea she had even been using them!) and for me, they were a total game changer. They fit exactly like a disposable nappy, super easy to use and the cutest designs. And then Aldi had a special offer on them in store (selling for £8 as opposed to the usual £15.99) so my mum picked me up a couple of extra ones. Now I had around 7 nappies and we were starting to get into the swing of things.
Soon after, a reader reminded me of the council incentives to contribute towards costs, so I applied via Real Nappies for London and was offered a voucher for £54.15 (check out Fill Your Pants site for details on what is offered in your Borough and Nationwide) – so I went for the most expensive nappies we could get this time: 2 x Totsbots Elements and a Milovia Pocket Nappy we had been recommended by a reader. To be honest: Bambino Mio are still my favourite (and I am no way affiliated with them).
We now have 10 reusable nappies which is working for our usage of Friday – Tuesday afternoon (4.5 days a week), with washes in between so there is generally always one available drying if we need. We will probably up it soon but this is our current scenario. Most say that 20 is a good amount for full-time wear.
Yes, we have to wash a lot but we have to wash a lot anyway (did we mention we have a baby?), yes we have to scrape poo off the nappy, flush it and (preferably) rinse it straight away (but did you know you are supposed to do this with a disposable anyway?!) but frankly, I am much less worried about touching poo these days – it happens, a lot.
I think our epiphany came when we were away in Norfolk and only took reusable nappies for the daytime. There was an accident and Peggy’s nappy was leaking through to her trousers, we ran into a restaurant where we wanted to have lunch, but they were closed (despite staff being there) and wouldn’t even let us use the bathroom. It was 1 degree celsius outside and windy. We had to change her in the boot of our 20 year old Ford Fiesta in the freezing cold, everything exposed to the elements. We then had to carry the dirty nappy home with us – and you know what? We survived. It was fine. And that’s when we knew we could carry on – it actually excites me whenever we don’t throw a nappy in the bin.
Storage-wise, we don’t have a nappy pail but we’re looking into it. The fact that most of them are plastic annoys me, and we have been using a lined drawstring bag we already had to store dirty nappies. We always wash soiled nappies and generally stick straight in the wash so the only smell is occasionally of wee, so we keep it either in her room and make sure it’s aired, or our spare room which is an undecorated bomb site of junk anyway. We have a nappy bin in her room for disposables which smells far worse whenever it’s opened….! Apparently net bags can be useful to transfer the cloth nappies into the wash so you don’t have to handle them again – but this doesn’t really bother me too much.
We have bought some extra booster pads, as often these help prevent leaks and allow the nappies to last longer. We were passed on some disposable nappy liners from my sister (some say they’re flushable but best not to) to catch poo but we don’t use these now, we just remove and wash the booster which generally catches everything for us, or you can buy (or make!) washable fleece liners which are easy to use.
When we go out, we use waterproof zip wallets (which are great even if you don’t use cloth nappies!) to carry old nappies and they also make them for reusable wipes, too.
We don’t use special nappy cleaner in with our wash, and all seems to be fine so far.
And I think that is everything I can share…! So far our reusable nappies have set us back £64.42:
2 Totsbots nappies with Motherease wrap: £32.77
3 pack of booster pads: £11.95
2 Bambino Mio Solo nappies via Aldi: £16
3 nappies bought via council voucher – difference paid: £3.70
3 nappies given to me by my sister
But bear in mind we still buy disposeables as well. In terms of disposables, when we can afford to, we buy biodegradable (Mum and You are superb) or we buy Lupilu ones from Lidl. Reusable nappies aren’t cheap, but the long-term cost does work out cheaper, and obviously it works out cheaper the more children you might have. We are hoping to use 100% reusable if we have another child (it is worth thinking about sizings though, as newborns might need a different size nappy and you may need more, as they require more changes).
And obviously if you are really savvy about it, these costs could be even less – buying nappies secondhand, for example, saves loads of money, plus there is a huge resale market – you could even make a lot of your money back.
All in all, it has been a good experience for us, and I must admit there is something lovely about never having too much panic if we haven’t got a nappy – there’s always one drying or one we can bung in the wash quickly!
PS we also use Cheeky Wipes at home instead of throwaway wipes and have never looked back.
Some extra tips:
When travelling, make sure you have access to a washing machine, that’s why Spain is so easy for us this summer. We’ve also bought reusable swim nappies (Aldi have a deal on them, too! £4.99 as opposed to £9.99).
Cloth nappies become more absorbent over time, so the more you use them, the better they get! But also maybe wash them a few times before you use (we actually never did this, and used them from the get go).
There is a great secondhand market, which is great for saving money plus also helping people who cannot afford to buy them new. The Nappy Lady has advice for reselling here and has a Facebook page for Buying and Reselling, too!
A few sites offer a rental service, too, but they do get booked up so prepare in advance. Or there are local Cloth Nappy Libraries which can help you ‘try before you buy’.
If you are eligible for a council voucher but don’t know where to start, The Nappy Lady offers a Trial pack, with a balanced selection of a few different nappies to start with.
Once you have finished with your nappies, there are lots of options to help put them back into circulation or recycle, this site helps you decide.
There are lots of groups and meet-ups you can be part of too, where people share info and do tutorials – Time for a Nappy Change Facebook page shares really useful information.
Your earnest article made me smile. My generation only needed terry nappy squares, nappy pins, rubber pants, Sudocrem, nappy bucket and Napisan. Soak the nappies with Napisan in the bucket for several hours, chuck the waste down the toilet and put the soiled nappies in the washing machine. (My mother’s generation hand washed. Hence the early potty training.) Disposables were strictly for holidays. Which is more polluting one nappy bucket or hundreds of disposable nappies per family? Our bucket ended up as a planter in the garden and the nappies, used for both babies, were passed on in the family.
Hi Alex,
Are you still using the Ecoegg for washing or have you found you need to use detergent for nappy washes? Would like to make the change over to reusable nappies but finding the initial leap a bit scary! Thanks for all the info!
Kate
I use reusables, just not a nappy bucket! We use a drawstring bag at the moment x
We just use Eco egg currently, it has been fine! x
Hi Alex,
This is simply inspirational for mums. Well done and thanks for the extensive research you have offered. Let’s hope more people will take this on board and yes, you’re right they do look cute! It is more work and may not suit everyone’s lifestyle but worth giving it a go if you are at all serious about reducing plastic usage. Things have certainly moved on from the old style terry nappies.
Hi,
Your articles all seem very timely at the moment! Six months pregnant, doing up our house and living locally to you so picking up lots of handy tips. Thank you….
Reusables is a big debate in our household. We’re keen and have a Nappy Ever After talk at the weekend.
My thought is probably to go biodegradeable disposables for the first few months and switch when things at the poo end are a bit more settled. What do you recommend having done the switch?
Thanks
Sam
The TotsBots Bamboozles with the Motherease wrap are excellent for night. I use them on my baby with no leaks for around 12 hours, though he’s younger so possibly wees a bit less (!). You can pop a booster in too for more absorption And a fleece liner to keep wetness away. I think it’s a really good option for night time and we get less leaks vs disposables like Pampers. Anyway, as a new-ish user of cloth I loved this piece.
My thoughts are honestly: see how you go! Just doing a few in those first few months is a huge help, and probably helps with the fear – I think sometimes the later you leave it, the more you put it off, although I honestly think with my first child, we needed time to simply ‘adjust’ before going to the reusables. I’m so glad I made the change – even the small amount we are doing. And just sticking in the washing machine is easy, trust me x
Great article from a fellow part time user! I try to use them Friday-Monday with my 16 month old. Gives me the Tuesday-Thursday for a wash and drying when she’s at nursery. We personally used a local Nappy Library when she was around 3 months old, and found that we like pocket popper nappies so we’re a big fan of Alva Baby and Little Lambs through Fill Your Pants. We have a totsbots bucket with Little lamb mesh bags for the storage of soiled/wet nappies. Also use ‘disposable liners’ where i pop the poo in the loo and the liner into a nappy bag for the bin (better than a whole disposable nappy i figured and i havent worked out what else to do with it!). Haven’t done night nappies yet as i felt they were even bulkier and so we use disposables for that. I agree its better to do what works for you, but the more we can use reuseables and encourage others the less there are going to landfill! Now just to make myself get back into the habit of using the cheeky wipes!
Hi Alex,
great post and very timely! Could you please consider doing a post on the Eco egg; I’d love to hear an honest review. Been thinking about it for quite some time but am worried that the laundry doesn’t smell ‘clean’.
Many thanks,
Antje
To be honest, there’s not much to say! Everything comes out clean and we have bought pellets once and they last ages! A few people have said use essential oil for a nicer smell perhaps, but I don’t really worry about it. I was discussing with Hannah Rochell (from En Brogue) that we need to recondition ourselves out of thinking ‘clean’ is a smell x
This is so helpful – yes wish I’d known about nappy libraries – I’m sometimes a bit gung-ho and just got straight into it when actually, it would’ve paid to be more considered! x
Thank you for responding, that’s good to know. I never use fabric conditioner and always dry my washing outside (even in the winter), so I guess my idea of ‘clean’ laundry smell is that of fresh air. Will definitely give the eco egg a try.
Hi Alex,
Thanks for much for this post, have been doing a lot of research into this for our new arrival due in a few months. I had read that potentially a baby’s clothes may not fit as well because the reusable nappies are bulkier than disposables, some people have suggested sizing up with their clothes or buying vest extenders to allow the vest to fit better around the nappy. Have you found this to be an issue?
Have also heard that they are less likely to get nappy rash in a reusable as it’s cotton next to the skin, have you found this to be the case? x
You’ve convinced me!!! As an avid environmentalists and soon to be first time mother I was having such an internal conflict about nappies but reading this has empowered me to just go for it. As you say, even if you do it some of the time that better than not giving it ago, plus that are super cute!
Thank you!
Love this, been browsing the Nappy Lady site lots recently as I love my cheeky wipes. Just need to work out what type to try first and convince my husband!
Hello! Check Real_nappy_nerd in Instagram, great account, full of good advice!
I used cloth nappies for my son who is now 27. I truly believe it makes toilet training easier. If the child feels wet they are more conscious of the action of going to the toilet. With disposables super absorbency makes it a bit ‘tree in the forest’ – if I didn’t feel it and no one noticed did anything really happen at all? Hope this makes the work worthwhile.
This is brilliant, I’ve just started the Reusable nappy journey at 7 months with my second. I was very lucky that I received a basket of nappies from a colleague at work- all appear to be mother ease and etc. I am finding them a bit bulky and like you worry about the damp cloth on my little ones bot. I’m thinking of adding some all in ones to the collection after reading this. Did you have to size up day clothes using the all in one at all?
We love our cloth nappies, and now only use disposables when we’re away from home for more than a night. At first cloth seemed daunting and a bit strange, but now disposables feel strange and just not up to the job. I feel like I’m wrapping a bit of paper around his bum!
We use the Tots bots bamboozle at night and it has been great leak wise. At one point we were using two disposables at night but he was still waking up with a wet vest. And it’s easy to up the pads, which we had to do when he was drinking a lot of milk before weaning. During the day we use their peenut pads and wrap, which I much prefer to their all in one. We have one AIO but it takes FOREVER to dry.
I think it’s like anything baby related. Feels daunting at first, but then you get used to it and it becomes your new norm. And the best bit is I can use the same nappies on our next baby!
I’m due in October with my first and have just bought some terry towelling nappies and a few covers for newborn time (I also bought 4 newborn mcns second hand from fb but didn’t want to get too many as I reckon I’ll have a giant baby ay they won’t last long) and am waiting on my first pack of 10 one size fits most pocket nappies! Very excited.
I learned so much from the Clean Cloth Nappies website and the Nappy Leaks podcast. The wash routine is probably the scariest party for me as it seems very complicated but I’m sure I’ll get used to it.
Really looking forward to giving it a go 😊
Thank you for this. We’re expecting with our first and have been considering for a while. You’ve convinced us to give them a try. Have ordered 3 initially and will see how we go!
To be honest washing isn’t tricky at all – the same as washing clothes, which you’re doing anyway. Good luck! xxx
Yay! I’ve just ordered two more today and have finally asked Nursery if they’ll do it for Peggy – and they said, of course! x
Yes it’s mainly changing your mindset, isn’t it? We’re so used to convenience but actually, never buying nappies is a huge convenience! xx
So many love the cloth ones but personally, I like the all in ones. Not really, most of her clothes are stretchy anyway and Peggy’s quite small – I’m quite lucky as most of Peggy’s clothes are handmedowns at the mo from my sister’s baby so we have loads of different sizes to try x
Aw this takes me back. My babies are now 9 and 11. It’s worth mentioning some brands do a birth to potty nappy so you don’t need to size up as they grow. One set saw me through both my babies which meant my investment was pretty small. I haven’t worked it out but the savings must have been incredible on my pocket but even more so on our planet. There is nothing to be scared of with washable. And you’re right, the nappy bin smells far less with washables. Thanks for the trip down memory lane.
Fingers crossed! Nowhere near realisation stage yet! xx
Thank you xx
Honestly, I’ve had no issue with clothes – all baby’s sizes are different, some are longer in the body, some are wider – so clothes not fitting affects every baby anyway….you just have to see how you go – Peggy was always skinny so it hasn’t really affected much. And re: nappy rash, again – not sure, Peggy’s only had it once thankfully and not sure whether it was from the type of nappy x
I’m so glad you use reusables! They’re so great and I think you’re exactly right that doing it part time is wonderful – it doesn’t have to be perfect!
Very interesting topic. I never thought about it when my son was born but wish I had, the amount of nappies he has used in two years is scary. Think the more people want to be sustainable, the more will use them. We have moved onto biodegradable wipes, so doing my small part. Thanks for sharing x
Really helpful article Alex. I’ve just bought some reusable nappies to use on my 2nd. Today’s the first day in them!
Also Ocado have the mio solo nappies on offer at the minute. For £14.99 you get a nappy and a child’s farm product! So I’ve made use of that as we use child’s farm in our eldest too.
Yes – mine are birth to potty, although Peggy was teeny and think these might have been too big for her – but hopefully all good if we have another! xx
Thank you for your nice words about our blog. We pride ourselves in making reusables a simple and easy choice with no judging.
Hi Alex,
This is really helpful. We have a 17 month old little boy who we are currently potty training (early I know but hes showing signs and I absolutely HATE the thought of the landfill impact of the non disposable wipes and nappies)
We invested in some cheeky wipes which we used when weaning rather than as replacement nappy wipes so must resurrect them and get them doing double duty. We also got a couple of the Bambino Miosolos (as we use their swim pants and are really happy with them). But we just couldn’t get on with them and found they leaked every time – with both a booster and the inserts.
We were really nervous about using them out and about for that reason so have only tried them at home overnight and I’m wondering now if adding the booster made them a bad fit or I just didn’t fasten them securely enough.
Anyway your post has inspired me to get back on the wagon so will definitely give them another go.
Thanks for the nudge
SJ xx
To be honest, even just using them as swim nappies is useful! Every little bit helps, Bambino miosolos are much better now she is 18 months, don’t leak half as much (maybe she wees less?!) and they’re so good if we need to change her just for an hour before bath – I hate using a disposable for just an hour! I really want to talk about using these nappies as a good interchange as well, it doesn’t have to be all or nothing – just one for a couple of hours a week is better! xx
Hey hey 👋
Love this! We use reusables during the day and a disposable overnight, and yeah it’s a bit more of a faff but I love what you wrote – you get a great feeling for every nappy that doesn’t go in the bin. Plus those prints… 😍. Reusable wipes are a game changer too! We use them for nappies and the jaws&paws mop up after mealtimes too.
A great resource is the Clean Cloth Nappy website and fb group, where some very knowledgeable people have gone through the pros and cons of different nappies, the science of cleaning products and wash cycles etc to help people get the best out of their nappies. Their dry pailing technique is a game changer and works extremely well. No nappy pails required. Plus I used their cleaning method on some old sheets that I thought were a lost cause and they’ve come out sparkly and new!
So yeah, thanks so much for bringing reuseables into daily conversation, especially without preaching that everyone *must* switch 100%. Every little change helps, eh?
Yes, love this – it needn’t be a 100% swap, which is what puts most people off, I think! We’re not so good at storing them, I must admit – so must research more dry pails! x
Hi Alex, great post! We are also a part time cloth diaper family, my bub is 5 months old and we have 14 nappies in rotation (slowly building it up!). There is an Australian brand called Alcema and their 3.5 version nappies are really popular for night nappies for being super absorbent – not sure if it’s available to you in the UK.
Our next step is reusable wipes. I just haven’t been able to bring myself to do it! At the moment we are using biodegradable ones so I feel a little bit better but I think I just need to make the leap.
Oh thank you! Will look into it…weirdly I found reusable wipes far easier a transition than nappies! Love using cheeky wipes x