Why do you use cloth nappies?

for us initally it was the thing we'd heard about the gel in sposies causing fertilty issues, as it took us over 18months to concieve taliesin and how hard that 18 months were, the thought of imposing that on him as an adult filled me with dread, i didn't want him to have issues later in life. so armed with some bambino mio nappies first off i was happy for about a day, then i discovered babycentre's cloth nappy board where i found out so much more then someone on there mentioned cnt, that was the begining of a very expensive love affair with cloth!

*costs - I hate spending needless money
*environment
*smell - hate the smell of disp, held my great-nephew yesterday and that was the first thing I could smell
*health

For us, it was initially cost. We just couldn't afford to be buying sposies week in and week out.

After using sposies for 6 weeks (Bella was tiny and I couldn't find any really tiny nappies I liked (I'll look harder this time!!)) and the amount of major poop leaks we had (involving cutting clothes off her!), we both decided we much preferd the non-leaking cloth and didn't find the extra washing etc hard work at all.

I use cloth for a number of reasons. It's more comfortable for Rhys, he doesn't get nappy rash, it's better for the environment (I don't trust the reports that say otherwise, and really don't believe that they've taken into account the landfill issues), I never have to worry about going out (with no car) in the horrible Irish weather to get dispo's because I've run out, and it costs me far less. Rubbish disposal here is expensive we pay per binload, and when Rhys was in dispo's (after he had his first op) we were putting out the bin every 2 weeks, whereas in cloth we only put out a bin about every 6 - 8 weeks, it saves us a fortune in rubbish costs alone, never mind the cost of actually buying the horrible smelly things.

dont get me wrong as the enviromet is important but for us it was, in order, cost ( althought since find CNT thats blown that one) we bought a mio btp set and thought that will do us. my research was flawed as I only knew LL totsbots and mio no wool, pockets, AI2, AIO or wham. health I liked the idea of them being cooler and keeps baby hip alined better and padding on the spine when we started to walk. Then i was pleased that I wouldn't being fill the land fill as we recycled and compost so i only have to empty the house swing bin once a fortnight to do our bit.

For me there was never going to be anything else to be honest. I used to use terry squares on my dolls I was 8 when my eldest nephew was born and my sis used terries, taught me the differant folds for boys and girls and I loved it
I used sposies for just over a week as I somehow managed to accumulate a few packets of newborn ones and due to my unexpected hospitalisation, blood loss, low hb I decided to use then, but couldn't wait to get the cloth out. So she was in cloth from day 11. We also had a week of sposies when she was a few weeks old and I had a bad cold and had these packs of nappies to use, so I did. I since had to buy a pack when I was out once and ran out of nappies, but I've used two or three of those and they're too small for her now.
Of course I am now slightly addicted to my pretty fitteds and fluffy pockets, but if I was told I couldn't use them we'd still be in our terry squares.
I think sposies are genuinely disgusting and hope and prey I never have to put a other one next to my baby's precious bum My friends that use them seem to never change their LO's when we're out and then complain about sore bottoms and nappy rash And don't get me started on the stink. I hate having to go in a changing room and cope with the awful smell of overfilled nappy bins My nappy bucket doesn't smell that bad after 3 days even if every other nappy's had a poo in it.
The financial aspect is quite high in my reasons, that's why I initially went for terry squares and not any kind of sized nappies. And most of the nappies I have now I'll keep around for number two and those I don't I'll sell to buy more If I hadn't got my lovely collection of nappies I'd still be using cloth though. I seriously at the mo wouldn't be able to afford to buy nappies every week, so I'm pleased I don't have that added stress
Finally there's the environmental issues. I hate to see bins full of nappies, not to mention those that you see lying in the street on bin day And of course the disgusting thought of the decades they'll be sitting in landfills.

With Megan we decided when i was pregnant to use cloth due to money reasons...we were pretty skint and so I bought 15 BG's and loved them untill we started getting leak problems with them but tbh i didnt have the cash to lay out on the new nappies...I also went back to work full time when she was one and so soon after that we went back to disp's...we found it easier to shell out £8 per week rather than £100 or so in one go BUT during that time we realised how expensive it was week in and week out and how we HAD to have money each week for nappies no matter what...i hated having that feeling... not to mention how bad the sposies smelt...i never noticed it before

So when we got pregnant with Kieren we were much better off financially and the cost of sposies wasnt an issue tbh BUT we wanted to use cloth...i love knowing that no matter what happens I dont have to worry about having money to provide the basic nappy needs for my son, i love how cute they are, how much they dont leak, how much they dont stink like disp's do and how much I actually ENJOY my cloth nappy addiction

So now for us its, comfort for kieren, enviroment and then cost

ETA...we used disps on both kids for the first couple of weeks as i had sections with them both and spent unexpected time in hospital before each birth and then a week after each birth...

I was a minging sposie user with my older 3 but since having dan I;ve became more aware of the environment and health issues (basically I grew up!) And, he used to get a bad rash untill I started using cloth. I told df it would be cheaper but it has'nt been since I found WN or this site and all the evil tepmting different makes! And sposies do really reek, and i hate that gel thats in them, its weird. And I would'nt want to wear plastic pants!

BUT during that time we realised how expensive it was week in and week out and how we HAD to have money each week for nappies no matter what...i hated having that feeling...

I hated having to find money each week or month to buy nappies I just chucked. My shopping bills were just much bigger so a one off bulk order or occasional pocket every so often to add to stash was much easier and made nappies fun too!

eek, and i hate that gel thats in them, its weird

That was a huge factor for me as well and with the gel crystals and chemicals, one of the reasons I switched to CSP myself. Sodium polyacrylate has been linked to toxic shock syndrome and I figured easier to be safe for both of us and if they don't use products linked to tss in sanitary products, why on earth would I use products containing sodium polyacrylate in a child's nappy at a crucial stage in their development. That may be a reason why I'll have to make newborn cloth work as early as possible, transport or no transport.

I think people are completely mental using disposables just based on the chemicals they contain.