So today I am going to share why I love reusable nappies. Hopefully by reading this I can covert you into a cloth lover too! The average family will go through over 2000 nappies a year per child. When you think that the average child potty trains between 2.5 and 3 years old that is a lot of nappies!! This also equates to a lot of money spent! It has been calculated that a family will spend upwards of £800 on nappies- per child!
Last summer (2013) I was pregnant with Baby L and decided enough was enough. I was fed up with throwing my money away -literally! I did a lot of research and spoke to mums in my area and decided to go for it! I decided to trial it with Little G so that by the time my new baby arrived I would know what I was doing. Mr F had his doubts and wasn’t keen on me ‘wasting money’ on a fad. His misconceptions were the same as many other parents.
- They are difficult to put on the baby
- They are difficult to wash
- They are expensive compared to disposables
So let me dispel those misconceptions right here.
- Reusable nappies are not difficult to put on the baby. They work in exactly the same was as a disposable. Most have a Velcro option although some parents prefer poppers. They are slightly more bulky but compared to the old style Terry cloth nappy they are super slim and soft.
- I read something the other day that said ‘if you can wash a tea towel you can wash a cloth nappy’. It is so true. You keep them in the nappy bucket and every other day you lift the mesh bag out and throw it in the washing machine. That is it. Simple.
- The cost. Ok, yes they are more expensive per nappy compared to disposables but that is a one-off cost. They cost from as little as £5 if you buy pre-loved (yes people buy pre-loved!) up to £15 for a new nappy for some brands. A full set can cost up to £200 but that can last you for multiple children. Compare this to the £800 you spend just for one child! No comparison right? If you shop around for sales or buy second hand then you can save even more!
We have been using reusables for 9 months now and I love it. We now use a mix of TotsBots Easyfits and Bamboozles and they are great. They last just as long as disposables and are easy to care for. Plus, as you can see, they are super cute!
