Testimonials
What are others saying?
Find out what real parents say about using real nappies.
Until we spoke to Heidi about the nappies my husband and I had already decided not to use re-useable ones because our baby was due in October and we thought we’d have problems getting them dry. However after using the trial kit and speaking a few issues through with Heidi we got on really well with them and narrowed it down to the ‘Pop n Gro’ nappies mainly due to their quickness to dry. If we had not have had the opportunity to use the trial kit we would have never bought re-useable nappies so I think it’s a great way to show new parents what the nappies are like to use.
We borrowed a trial kit from our lovely adviser, Tracey, in Plymouth. I knew there were lots of different types of cloth nappies but didn’t really have a clue which ones would suit us best. Having the trial kit for a month gave us a good chance to try different styles until we decided on an all-in-one type. Tracey was very helpful, knowledgeable and enthusiastic and provided a great service. Our son has been in reusables now since he was 3 months old and it’s one of the best decisions we’ve made.
I have been using terries on my little girl since she was 5 months old. We tried a different real nappy (prefolds) when she was born but it didn’t suit her and we gave up for a while. Both my husband and I both wanted to use real nappies and we used the trial nappy set the council offer. It was worth using to get an idea of how different nappies work. We decided to use terries as they are cheap, easy to dry and easy to use. We also have a few all-in-one nappies that are in lovely colours and were a bit more expensive but are fun to look at! The terries cost around £50 and are really easy to use. Nappy Nippas make the whole experience much easier than using pins. What I love is you can fit the nappy exactly to fit your child and we do not get poo explosions, like we did with disposables. We wash every 5 or so days and they dry really quickly. I also use reusable wipes which cost around £40 and are equally easy to use and wash. I sadly also enjoy making up nappies in the evenings for the next day! It is strangely relaxing. We will continue with reusables until we potty train when we will try reusable training pants. A lot of people think reusables are “too much trouble” and disposables are easier but once you get into a wash and wear routine this is certainly not the case.
I first heard about the Devon Real Nappy Project when I picked up a leaflet while at my 8-week scan at the hospital. I knew from early on in my pregnancy that I wanted to use cloth nappies. having tried to do my own research and failing, I was pleased to hear of Nappies of North Devon during an antenatal talk by Hannah Ashford where she explained about the nappy trial kits and 20% discount that could be claimed from the council. Once my son had arrived and we had got settled, Hannah came to my house with a trial kit. She expertly explained how each nappy worked and how to wash and dry them. We borrowed the kit for a month and discovered which types of nappy we liked and suited the shape of my son and have never looked back! Hannah was able to advise us of the best ‘package’ to buy and the discounts available, but under no circumstances did we feel any duty to buy. We love our cloth nappies, much nicer than chemical filled disposables next to babies skin, no smelly nappies filling the wheelie bin, only an extra load of washing every 4 days, we are doing our bit for the environment and have saved loads of money! It’s a win win situation but be warned it can become very addictive!
I chose to use real nappies because I like to live a fairly sustainable life, and knew quite a lot about how big a problem disposable nappies are in landfill. I went to see Jen Harris at the Exeter nappuccino a few weeks before my baby was due. She gave me some advice about what different kinds of nappies there are and helped to make the whole thing seem a bit simpler – it’s a bit of a minefield when you don’t know anything about babies!
I saw some of the brands on offer, and I decided that the Bum Genius all in ones seemed to be a good option and thought I would buy them when the baby arrived. Jen suggested a trial kit, so I decided to wait until Florence arrived and see how I got on with the different kinds of nappies before deciding. I’m really glad I decided to use the trial kit as I didn’t get on with the Bum Genius at all, and absolutely loved the two part Lollipop micros, so I bought myself a set of those after a month with the trial kit. They really fulfilled all our needs, and I loved them. They are quick drying as they are fleece, so if you put them on the radiator they are dry in about 20 minutes. They are really absorbent, and didn’t leak easily, and one thing that not a lot of people know about real nappies is that they contain explosive poo really well as they are properly elasticated at the back. You often hear new mums talking about a poo that their baby did that went right up the back and they had to do a complete change of clothes and hose them down etc. I can honestly say I’ve NEVER had to do this, as real nappies work so much better than disposables! I quickly got into the routine of washing them about twice a week (at 40 degrees without soaking), and loved seeing them hanging on the line to dry in the summer. Although it is extra washing, it’s not the same amount of work as a load of clothes, as they don’t need sorting and separating, and folding or ironing. You literally shove them in, hang them up, and them gather them in and shove them back in the drawer. I also think they look so much nicer than disposables, I have some really pretty covers, which I have to admit I co-ordinate with Florence’s clothes…
After about 18 months, something changed and Flo started to get more nappy rash than she had before. We found that having a disposable at night, when she was in the same nappy for 12 hours, did help, and so we now use real nappies during the day, and a disposable at night.
Altogether I think I have spent about £400 on all our nappy kit, accessories, extras and liners etc. This doesn’t include the cost of washing, but is less than half what I would have spent on disposables. I knew that I would use the nappies again for our second baby so I did splash out a bit on some nice covers and things. I have recently found out that our second baby is in fact 2, so we are going to have our work cut out looking after 3 children under 3! I did momentarily think about whether to go for real nappies with our twins, but although there will be a lot more washing, the impact on landfill sites if I use disposables would be doubly bad too, and I don’t find it hard to use them, it’s not an inconvenience, so I’m fairly sure I’ll get on fine with the twins in real nappies. As I know so many mums that use real nappies now, many that I met through going to the nappuccino, I have managed to source most of the extras that I need for the twins second hand, so I should save even more money this time.
I had read about real nappies during my pregnancy and Hannah attended one of my ante natal classes telling us about the free trial that is offered by the Devon Real Nappy Project and I was keen to try. I decided that once life had settled to some kind of ‘normality’ when my twins had arrived I would at least give the month trial a go to see how we got on with it. I expressed my interest to Hannah and she said she would keep me 2 kits back for when my babies were about 4 months old. At 17 weeks Hannah contacted me and asked whether I still wanted to try the kits. Halfheartedly, as I hate changing plans, I agreed to trying the nappies. Hannah explained all the different nappies in the bucket and how I would use them. The pack came with a paper guide which I could read at home. I left a bit daunted but quite excited as I started to think that we may actually get on with it. Probably within 3 days I knew that cloth would be the way forward for us! The laundry wasn’t half as bad as I thought it would be and very quickly I became fascinated by all these cute little nappies you can buy. The pack was very well equipped and I was able to figure out quite quickly what nappies best suited my babies. I decided which ones I wanted and Hannah was able to order them for me with the 20% discount that the council offer so they were ready for me to use when my trial finished. Without the free trial from the Devon Real Nappy Project I wouldn’t be using washable nappies and without the help and expertise of Hannah from Nappies of North Devon, the transition would not have been so easy.
If you would like to share your experience of using real nappies, please send us an email.
