Why do you use cloth?

Why did you start? Initially for enviromental reasons and to save abit of money!! **cough, ahem, i said to save it!!**

why did you continue? Just in night nappies now but it was because the nappies were soooo much nicer/fluffier than paper disps. Plus looked alot cuter.

Can you see yourself going back to Sposies? No unless severe nappy rash (like we have just got over) or possibly night times on holidays.

In which situations would you revert back to sposies? either temporarily or permenantly? Temporarily on holiday perhaps, never permanently, we are just in night ones now anyway.

Why did you start?
Dunno! I alway thought I would do cloth. I also thought that there was always the cloth option! Then when I was pregnant I started researching about cloth. I found that firstly no-one does cloth anymore and the options available in SA were severly limited. Between my cousin (Judy) in the UK and my sister in Aus I was able to get some advise about what real cloth nappies were like nowadays. It just seemed to be better in so many ways, environmentally, cost, reliability. I have to say that I have not been disappointed....even on the cost savings...I am firmly on the wagon so that helps!! I have to admit I was not sure about the reliability until i used sposies and they leaked worse than my cloth, then I was completely sold!!! Also, when my son arrived I found that he leaked permanently in disposables and so he was in cloth at 1 week old 'cos I was tired of washing everything all the time!!!

why did you continue?
I did not find washing them difficult and they worked better than the sposie that i tried. The cost savings also helped as I stopped working when dd was born and suddenly our budget was ridiculously tight. Not having to buy sposies gave us that much needed breathing room! It is also what converted dh to the benefits of cloth....that and the smell of sposies! Dh does like strong smells and I have to say sposies smell, even if they are just wet!

Can you see yourself going back to Sposies?
No, not permanently. Hate using sposies even for short times, altho' sometimes necessary.

In which situations would you revert back to sposies? either temporarily or permenantly?
I use sposies when we go camping as there are seldom adequate washing facilities, altho' I have even thought of using cloth then!!!! Also at the end of my pregnancy when my hips and back are too sore to do more than the barest minimum in terms of washing! Permanently is not an option for me, cloth is soooo much nicer!

Why did you start?
I do all my recycling and hate the thought of landfill, other environmental issues also concern me so just thought it was the way to go when pregnant and found when I researched it that it didn't seem too difficult - my Mum was dead impressed that they were shaped and had fastenings!

why did you continue?
Charlotte went into her first cloth nappy when we got home from hospital but this one will definately be in cloth straight away. And I found it so easy I couldn't see any reason not to. We had no problems whatsoever, although rapidly decided I needed more so that I could wash less frequently. Then of course I discovered that they did incredibly cute patterns and colours and the addiction took hold. I have to admit to liking doing things differently to others and persuading them that they should try it.

Can you see yourself going back to Sposies?
No, not permanently. Have never really used them properly iyswim, just for occasional use - I do believe they have their place and when people realise that it is not necessarily an all or nothing option they seem much more receptive to the idea.

In which situations would you revert back to sposies? either temporarily or permenantly?
We always have a packet in the wardrobe and will use them for a variety of reasons. When we go away and have washing facilities we will take cloth (although might take sposies for night as our night nappies are huge and wouldn't dry quick enough for us to have enough) but when we flew abroad we took sposies. We have occasionally used them overnight to get rid of persistent rashes. And recently we used one when Charlotte helped with out painting. Apparently she occasionally wears one at nursery too when they get a huge piece of paper all over the floor and let the kids go wild with the paint!

What an interesting thread!

Why did you start?
Landfill! When we moved to the country we got more interested in a more sustainable lifestyle and reducing the amount of rubbish we generated was part of that. After T was born I looked into it because the bin was a pain - full and smelly.

Why did you continue?
Bloody minded-ness. That, and we went on holiday after using cloth for a while and had to take disposables (we were sailing in Greece so no access to any hot wash facilities), we also took a bumbo - T was able to poo such that it squirted out the top of the sposie and all the way up to his hair! Urrrrgh! Not once but several times! Containment was a bit thing after that. And now? Sposies STINK! MIL had put him in one the other day (I don't know why ) and although i should have noticed when I picked him up, it was the smell that I noticed first.

Can you see yourself going back to Sposies?
No, not permanently - I've spent too much!!!

In which situations would you revert back to sposies? either temporarily or permanently?
Some of our holidays mean that clean cloth wouldn't be available (camping, sailing, etc) and those are the only times I would use a sposie unless there was a real medical reason to use one (and not because the hospital or clinic didn't like them)

Why did you start?

I've never liked the idea of disposables and couldn't imagine anything worse than wearing paper pants all the time I'm also a bit of an eco warrior and wanted to do my bit for the environment. Cost was also a consideration but was lower down on the list. Harriet was in cloth from about 3 weeks old. I would have liked her in cloth from birth but she was just too tiny for the nappies I had.

why did you continue?

I soon realised how fabulous and reliable they were and also because I became a cloth nappy addict

Can you see yourself going back to Sposies?

Not really. I love my cloth nappies and will be very sad when Harriet PT's


In which situations would you revert back to sposies? either temporarily or permenantly?

I sometimes use them on holiday if there are no laundry facilities or if luggage space is an issue. I really don't like using them though and i've only bought and used 2 packs for this purpose since Harriet went into cloth fulltime. Each time i've been so glad to get her back into cloth when we get home.

Why did you start?
I wasn't going to use cloth as I only knew about terry squares and soaking and it sounded a bit rubbish - but then saw how easy bambino mios looked and went for it on the basis of saving money and the environment. Plus I even thought the BM wraps were cute - little did I know the true realities of cute fluff!

why did you continue?
Turns out Isabelle is allergic to most brands of disps anyway but I got hooked by the money saving, environment and above all CUTE fluffy bum
Plus I've ALWAYS hated the idea of throwing a used nappy away... Kinda disgusting having a bin full of wee!
And disps SMELL awful!

Can you see yourself going back to Sposies?
No.

In which situations would you revert back to sposies? either temporarily or permenantly?
If we could find one she wasn't allergic to and were going somewhere without washing facilities then we would consider it temporarily. We did use them when she was tiny as I didn't know about all the cute preemie fluff available...
The only reason we would do it permenantly would be if Isabelle became allergic to them and we were unable to resolve the situation but OTOH if that happened now I'd probably just get her to go nappy free...

Why did you start?
Mainly for the environmental impact, and also seemed a good complement to EC - easier to tell if they are wet, and the baby will also be more aware of it, thus prefering to keep dry by signaling for the potty .

why did you continue?
It's been great researching what sort of nappies work best for us and discovering some really funky ones as well. The washing is not too much work either.

Can you see yourself going back to Sposies?
No

In which situations would you revert back to sposies? either temporarily or permenantly?

Temporarily only if traveling somewhere where we won't really have access to washing... but good that now there are eco-disposables at least!

Why did you start?
I had only used Nature "eco-disposables" but I was very aware that they probably wouldn't biodegrade still (because they are not amongst the right other ingredients to decompose). I hated the sight of throwing bags in the bin and seeing just how many mounted up. I was also haunted by the idea that they would probably outlive me! We really do have a huge looming landfill problem in the UK and 8% of it is caused by nappies - bring on the guilt factor! I also knew how cute and use-able washable nappies are now, and that, carefully used, they could be a lot cheaper in the long run, especially if you use them on more than one child.

Why did you continue?
I only started a month or so ago, but it's going well- it's all about being organised about putting a wash on every 2nd evening and putting it out to dry before I go to bed.

Can you see yourself going back to Sposies?
To be honest, I'm a bit put off at how stained (by BF poo) my Itti Bitti D'Lish's are becoming but I think I just need to get my washing/drying routine a bit more sorted. If my nappies continue to be so so stained I'm not sure what I'll do - but sposies are horrible!

In which situations would you revert back to sposies? either temporarily or permenantly?
I've used them intermittently whilst working out how many nappies I need, for e.g. I used one last night, and there was a poo explosion all over the inside of the sleeping bag! I used them also for a weekend away - I'd only use cloth on holiday if I could wash and dry them where I was staying, and knew that I'd be able to dry them in enough time to go back as I wouldn't want to lug back dirty or damp nappies back home with me.

Why did you start?
Jack had eczema and I thought that they would be alot gentler against Jack's sking than itchy dispies. I'd also started posting on BC and was amazed at how much cloth nappies had advanced, they were just so much nicer than when James wore them.

why did you continue?
Because I loved everything about them, the funky wraps, then discovering pockets, the fact that I wasn't creating tons of waste and the fact that Jack looked so cute in them.

Can you see yourself going back to Sposies?
Never permanently no

In which situations would you revert back to sposies? either temporarily or permenantly?
On holidays but then again now we have the caravan to go to I can leave a stash down there for the new baby. I have been using them while out and about with Jack as because he is PT at home he saves up his wee and floods his nappies. I will bite the bullet and put him in undies pernamnently soon.