I have used a combination of washable and disposable nappies over the years with my other four children. This time I've decided to use disposables for when the babies first week or so until I'm up and about safely, then move onto washables again.
Washable nappies can be very expensive if you look at the cost of them new, and not many people are going to want to use second hand washables! But long term they can work out cheaper than disposables.
There are so many types of washables to choose from, but having used the majority of them now I think the most simple and effective are flannelette prefolds with a fitted wrap and liner. This is especially true with a new baby and the wee & poop quantities are small. The wrap holds the nappy in place so there is no need for pins or gripper fastenings.
I decided to make my prefolds this time as they are so easy to make. Rather than going out and buying loads of new flannelette I tried to get hardly used second hand sheets from the charity shop. This gives the advantage that the cloth has been washed many times and is as soft and as absorbent as it will ever get. Larger offcuts are used to make booster pads and smaller pieces wash cloths for cleaning bottoms!
The wraps are a different matter, I bought the first size nappy wraps in Poundland! Proper Cotton Bottoms - how chuffed was I? LOL - I then used the shape of a disposable nappy to make larger wraps out of fleece for when Amelia is bigger and the offcuts to make washable fleece liners. These are simple to make as you only need to cut them fabric offcuts to the right size and shape for what you need. Fleece doesn't fray so there is no need to edge it!
I prefer to dry store the nappies whilst waiting to wash them. I flush them in the toilet when I take them off the baby, and then put them in the lidded bucket. They get washed every evening in the machine and hung on the radiators to dry overnight. On nice sunny days in the summer I stick them on the washing line so the sun will naturally bleach any stains out.
But you don't just need nappies for changing bottoms, you (apparently) need a changing area equipped with cotton wool, water, baby lotion, wipes, barrier cream and a bag to carry it all in when you go out. Personally, I fill the sink with warm water each morning, put a little squirt of baby body wash in it and wring out a load of clean cloths in the water. I then put the cloths in a lidded ice-cream tub at the side of the changing mat. These are used to clean the baby and they go in the messy bucket with the nappies. To make them I use the offcuts from the sheets I used for the prefolds, softer and cheaper than flannels!
So the costs of nappying the baby work out as follows -
Used yellow double sheet (BHF) £3
New coffee single sheet (Chiltern Mills) £4
Remains of white king size sheet (Chiltern Mills) £2.50
New remnants of flannelette (Hospice Shop) £1
Cotton Bottoms first size wraps (Poundland) £4
Little Angels First Size Nappies (asda) £1.64
Fleece for homemade wraps - in sewing box already or use other kids outgrown clothes! £0
Elastic (Boyes) £1
Velcro (Boyes) £2
One thick cotton sheet - given
Offcut of thick flannelette sheet - given
Nappy Bucket (already owned but originally cost 50p at a car boot sale!)
The total spent so far is £19.14
Purchases
28 Disposable Nappies
4 Cotton Bottom wraps
Home-Made
34 prefold nappies
8 booster pads
20 cleaning cloths
2 fleece liners
2 newborn fleece wraps
6 small fleece wraps
4 medium fleece wraps
1 junior fleece wrap!
A drawer full of homemade prefold nappies, wipes and booster pads.
View instructions for making washable nappies
And a homemade changing mat. This was made from left over waterproof backed cotton and wadding. The mat is reversiblem has a lovely soft peachfeel to the fabric and can be machine washed. It's actually navy and bright yellow, but the flash from the camera kept reflecting off the fabric.
I made 2 newborn wraps from ivory fleece offcuts, 6 small wraps from ivory fleece and funky flower fleece, 4 fleece wraps from aqua and funky flower fleece and plus a toddler size fleece I tested the design out on.
