Reusable or Disposable?

Reusable or disposable that is the question.  I thought I would write about my experience of nappies as this week is Real Nappy Week.  When I found out I was expecting my eldest son I was determined to do things the right way!  I was determined to breastfeed him because we’re always told Breast is Best, use reusable nappies, not just because they save money but also the environment and make sure he has the best wherever possible.  I remember buying a couple of packs of terry nappies because my mum had told me that’s what she used with us! and spending hours practising folding them ready for baby’s arrival.  However when he arrived it was completely a different matter especially were nappies were concerned.  Try as we might we spent several weeks attempting to get a terry nappy to stay on our son without success.  He was just too narrow at the hips and if the nappy didn’t fall off, it leaked terribly.  In the end we felt we had no option but to turn to dispossable nappies after all we couldn’t take him out without a nappy!  Disposable nappies were so convenient and easy to use, after experimenting with a couple of brands we found one that suited us.   So that was my first experience which ended in my husbands favourite saying “I told you so!”.  When my second son was born straight away I went for dispossible nappies especially with a toddler still in them too.  I really didn’t want to go through the same problems as before.  However when Trystan was 6 weeks old I went home to visit my parents with both children.  While there I attended an information event where there was a information officer from the local authority promoting their reusable nappy scheme.  As I passed the lady called me over and asked if she could give me some information on the scheme, dutifully I accepted the leaflets, smiled and moved on.  Later that night I was sat with my mum and chatting about the event when my mum said she had seen me talking to the reusable nappy lady.  I showed my mum the leaflets and in them was a telephone number you could ring to get a reusable nappy pack.  Mum persuaded me to give them a ring and have a pack delivered to them so I could have another go with reusable nappies.  When the pack arrived later that week I opened it with anticipation.  Inside were several different types of reuable nappies, my mum for one was impressed, though I was not convinced.  Once home I decided what did I have to lose, so tried both a pre-folded nappy and a all in one nappy.  Unfortuantly once again it was a disaster neither type stayed on properly and leaked.  I found both types did not fit properly around the tops Trystan’s legs, there were gaps which meant they leaked all the time and they did not have a good fit around his waist meaning he looked like he had a builders bum! charming.  So I think its fair to say I had not had a good experience with reusable nappies.  Don’t get me wrong I love the idea of having a washing line full of nappies blowing in the breeze and doing my bit for the environment at the same time but unfortuanately it wasn’t to be in my house.  When I had my youngest I didn’t give reusable nappies a second thought and went about using disposable nappies.
However three weeks ago one of the children I care for arrived with reusable nappies.  Cue panic and flashbacks of my previous experiences.  I was shown how to ‘fit’ the nappy and off I went.  Wow is all I can say, why hadn’t these reuasable nappies been available when I had wanted to use reusable nappies?  They were and still are so much easier to use than those I had tried five years previously.  They’re adjustable around the waist so they don’t fall down and elasticated around the legs and to top it off available in at fantstic range of colours and prints.  What more can you ask for?  At the end of day one using them I couldn’t stop gushing about how impressed I was with them much to the amusment of the child’s parent collecting them.  Its been three weeks since I started having to use them and okay I don’t have to wash them but I am still impressed.  There has been an odd occassion when the nappy has become too wet and leaked but apart from that no problems.  I like the way these nappies can also be used with children of different ages right from birth, all by using poppers to make the nappy bigger or smaller, impressive.  My husband is still unconvinced by it all despite my gushing about how much better they are.  I think I can honestly say if these had been around when I had my older two children I would have used them. So now I have a problem do I keep using the diposable nappies or start using reusable nappies with my youngest for the remainder of the time he’s in nappies.  What do you think?

3 thoughts on “Reusable or Disposable?

  1. I guess we’re lucky these days that we have the choice. We’re all different and what works for one won’t for another. The “experts” who lecture new parents about what they should and shouldn’t do, should and shouldn’t use etc, need to remember that each of us need the independence to do it our way. And no way is the right or wrong way.

    CJ xx

  2. niclon2653 says:

    I am a stay at home mum of 5 with 2 little ones still in nappies.As much as I like the general idea of reuseable nappies,I hate the thought of the time involved washing them.I do a lot of washing as it is and dont fancy scrubbing horrible stains or having to soak them.If time wasnt a factor or someone else did the washing then maybe I’d consider it.As it stands though I’ll be sticking with disposable.

  3. I think one of the problems here is lack of information. When we think of reusable nappies we tend to think of the ones our mums used which involved endless soaking and washing and folding and pinning etc. If I had realised from the beginning how different the modern alternatives can be, I would definately have considered it, it would have saved me so much money and reduced our household waste immensely. If I have other children, I will definately look into it. Great post. xx

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