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| my nappy stash |
Last week (16th - 22nd April) was Real Nappy Week (or Real Diaper Week in the US), a week to celebrate and encourage the use of cloth nappies. I have been hesitantly wanting to use cloth nappies when baby arrives and had bought a few here and there when they were on sale just to see what they were like. But the idea of buying a full stash and committing to cloth 100% was a bit scary for me and definitely a big financial commitment.
They say you need between 15-25 nappies for a full stash depending on how often you intend to wash, and I had about 8, so the decision needed to be made as to whether or not I would go for it and top up my stash to the required minimum.
Of the nappies I had purchased already, I had decided that my favourite one was the new Bum Genius Freetime. But they are really expensive at £15.99 per nappy so I was putting off buying more - I just couldn't justify it at that price. Then Real Nappy Week came along and they were on offer at over 20% off , so I went for it and bought 10 nappies at £12.10 each!
That might still sound really expensive to you if you are used to buying disposable nappies at around £0.15 each, but each nappy I bought is a one-size nappy which means it adjusts to fit a child from 8 lbs to potty training and should in theory last indefinitely if I take care of them correctly (meaning I can re-use them if I have another baby in the future). Financially, cloth nappies just make sense, check out this cost comparison.
So I've done it, I've committed now and can't really go back. I am scared about the extra work that using cloth entails, but figure if I start with cloth I won't know any different. And I'm sure it can't be that bad - my sisters and I were all brought up in cloth; if my parents can do it, so can I.
I found washing cloth nappies no problem at all - just stick them in on a 40 degree wash, 60 from time to time, and I don't even have a drier so they have to be air dried. The main problem I have had with them so far is that they've started to leak. I'm wondering whether my son's bladder has grown, but even with all 3 inserts, he sometimes soaks through within 2 hours. I want to try a different make to see if I can find some that don't leak, but I'm reluctant to make that financial commitment to more nappies, if they're just going to leak all the time! It's a real shame as I really want to use them. I'd be interested to see how you get on with the Bumgenuis.
ReplyDeleteThat's a shame about the leaking. What sort of nappy are you using? I will definitely post updates about how I am getting on with the Bumgenius once baby is here. I'm hoping I don't have leaking problems, but I suppose that's the risk we take with using cloth.
Deletei've been using itti bittis. they worked really well at first so it's a shame. i do have a bum genius one that was better actually.maybe i'll get round to getting some more soon!
DeleteGood for you, hun. I was in two minds about using cloth or disposables but I opted for the latter after many discussions with the hubby. I'm sure you'll get on just fine.
ReplyDeleteMrs W x