Real Nappy Week

If you haven't heard already, this week is real nappy week.

When my son was born I tried using cloth nappies but he didn't get on with them and screamed as soon as he wet them. Instead I used biodegradable disposable nappies. When my daughter was born I tried again and using cloth nappies has been a complete success. I find that they are surprisingly easy, as I have written about before here.

My main concern was that the childminder wouldn't be comfortable using them. Initially she was very wary but has since come round to the idea. When I pick the children up she hands me a bag of dirty nappies! The bag is one which I made to keep the nappies in a waterproof bag which looked pretty and didn't smell when full of dirty nappies!

I have also got into more of a routine with the nappies, washing them every other day instead of every day. My husband is not the most practical but even he doesn't have a problem with cloth nappies.

I use pocket nappies. A nappy which has an insert which you stuff inside. They fasten with velcro or poppers and that's it. I don't use liners or anything fancy. It's basically the same as a disposable but you wash it when you're done.

Ultimately the biggest thing for me is that they are cheap. I have probably spent £60 on nappies in the first year of my daughter's life and they are all still going strong! We recently travelled around visiting friends and family and bought disposable nappies as we knew we wouldn't be anywhere long enough to wash them. Two packs of disposables cost £13 and lasted ten days. By my calculations, that equates to £475 a year. So in a year we have already saved £415. I know that we are using the washing machine once every two days but I use it on a short wash at 50 degrees and it is definitely not costing us anywhere near that figure.