Paula, 36
weeks pregnant, is unsure whether disposable or fabric nappies are right for
her.
“Throughout this pregnancy I have just assumed I would use disposables when the baby came – I know they aren’t as good for the environment but I’m not a huge fan of washing and fabric nappies have always sounded like so much work. But a friend of mine bought me a couple of the new style of cloth nappies for my baby shower and they are really nice, not at all what I was expecting. She uses them with her baby and says they really aren’t that much work at all. Now I’m wondering if I should give them a try – they would save a lot of money and I’ve always considered myself an environmentally conscious person so I would love that aspect of it too. I know I’m not going to have a lot of time when the baby comes and I don’t want to spend loads of money on fabric nappies only to find they are too much work and end up using disposable after all. I was hoping to find out what other mums use and why. And how much work are fabric nappies really?”
A quick survey of our mums shows that mums in general are undecided on the best choice! The results from our survey show that just under 50% of our respondents choose to use disposable nappies exclusively with the other 50% using either fabric nappies completely or a combination of disposable and fabric.
The main reasons that our fabric loving mums chose fabric were to avoid the chemicals in disposables and because they look cute! Disposable users cited convenience as the main incentive, particularly at the newborn stage or with more than one child, although on average our fabric using mums claim to spend less than half an hour a day extra on laundry.
The majority of our mums were happy with their choice, regardless, but 14% of disposable users said they would consider changing. None of the fabric users regret their decision, with all of them stating they were happy with their choice. The overwhelming advice for anyone considering fabric nappies is to do your research and try a few different brands to see what works best before making a huge outlay on nappies. It doesn’t have to be an either or decision, over 25% of our mums chose to use a combination of both!
A few words of advice from other mums:
“I chose disposable because you have enough washing with all of your baby’s clothes. So definitely disposable for me” – Kellie
“I would have disposables ready to use at the beginning when you're exhausted and need everything to be as simple as possible, you can always switch to fabric later if you feel ready for it” – Sarah
“Definitely at least consider cloth nappies. They're so much more attractive, environmentally friendlier and cheaper than disposables and the pocket versions and 'all in ones' are just as easy to use as disposables” – Joanne
“I used a combination - reusable during the day but disposable at night as I found the ones I had were not as good overnight and I didn't want to change mine through the night - just feed and sleep. Good luck!” – Karen
“Reusables are best even if it's just so you don't fill your bin up with smelly disposables!” - Kate
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