My Mummy's Pennies: Starting out with Cloth Nappies… #RNW13 Guest Post

Carly is fluffy mum to two under threes and blogs at Mummy and the Chunks, below she  shares her experiences of starting out in the world of cloth nappies…

I am relatively new to the world of cloth nappies. I am mum to two year old Gracie and 6 month old Zach. I was a young mum when I had Gracie and had absolutely no idea about modern cloth nappies. All I knew was that old people used to use them before ‘normal nappies’ were invented. I never even gave them a thought and spent a fortune on disposable nappies. It was only when I started reading blogs and joining social networking groups talking to other mums that I discovered the new generation of cloth nappies. I still wasn’t ready to make the switch though until I discovered I was pregnant again. The thought of how much it would cost to have two babies in nappies was shocking so I asked around to find out how to start and what to do. There are many advice groups and I have found that all the cloth bum mums I’ve asked for advice have been amazing in explaining everything to me. The best piece of advice I was ever given was to try different brands and types to see what I was most comfortable using and what worked best for me and my babies. I have now tried a massive variety of nappies and have favourites for different times and situations eg. nighttime nappies, nappies for going out and nappies to wear around the house.

I know some people are scared off by the start up costs but there are many different affordable ways to try cloth nappies. Many local councils offer incentives such as nappy vouchers, free start up kits or discounts. I was unfortunate as my local council is one of a small few that offer no incentives but I made it affordable for me by taking advantage of Real Nappy Week. There are many great offers and competitions around so I entered as many competitions as I found and bought one or two nappies from a few companies with great discounts on. 

A big portion of my nappy stash is made up of cheap pocket nappies from Tiny Nippers which are a great price and work fantastically for us. What we love about Tiny Nippers is the huge selection of designs and prints including the character prints which are Gracie’s favourites. These are the nappies I use most around the house as they are so easy to use and I can get them washed and dried quicker than any others I’ve used. The quality for such affordable nappies is amazing too. 

Since Zach has been born and I’ve become more aware of the different brands I’ve found new favourites. gNappies have a very unique concept as they provide a reusable nappy cover which can be used with either a cloth insert or biodegradable insert for those who don’t like the idea of washing dirty nappies but hate the environmental impact of disposable nappies. The biodegradable inserts can be either home composted (only wet ones) or binned with no harm to the environment. I personally use the cloth inserts as they work out cheaper to use. There are two things I love about gNappies, firstly the beautiful designs on the reusable covers for both girls and boys and the fact that they are so slim fitting I have no problems with fitting clothes over them compared to some bulky nappies. These are the nappies I like to use when out and about as they are so reliable when fitted properly and I don’t tend to get as many disgusted looks when doing a nappy change!

My favourite night time nappy is the Close Parent Pop-In nappy. I bought one of these at the Baby Show last year as I love their print nappies. They come with ultra absorbant bamboo inserts which make the nappy really bulky but they can last all night with no leaks for us and the last thing you want is to wake up to an upset baby who is soaked through. 

Well I could go on and on about nappies and could rave about almost every brand I’ve tried but don’t want to bore you all! If you are tempted to try nappies but think well I’ve already used disposables why start now? Take a leap of faith by one or two to try you don’t have to spend lots of money to try them and who knows you might just love it like I did. Switching to cloth was a big decision for me but its one I’m so glad I made. 

If you’d like to ask me anything about cloth nappies then feel free to ask below or get in touch through my blog.

For those that have already made the switch or even if you’ve always used cloth nappies, I’d love to know what was your main reason for wanting to use cloth?

Thank you for a introduction to the world of fluff! Please do show Carly some comment love and feel free to ask any cloth nappy questions you may have in the comments! All comments get entered into our prize draw! Why not join us tonight at 8pm on facebook for a cloth nappy chat with special guest and expert Babipur? See you then!