Are Newborn Cloth Nappies Worth It? The facts and figures.
For many reasons parents are put off using cloth nappies from birth. Many worry it will be too over whelming or too much work. All valid points. It is therefore of course is up to the individual and their own situation weather you decide to invest in newborn cloth diapers.
Many also worry that newborn cloth nappies are not cost effective for such a short amount of time, waiting until their baby is big enough for one sized (birth to potty nappies). However if you want to cloth from birth and feel it’s something your family could do there are many ways you can make it work and make it some what cost effective. I’m here to give you all the facts, figures from personal experience to help you decide if newborn cloth nappies are worth it for you.
Newborn cloth nappies will cost you more than disposables for the short amount of time you use them. Especially when compared to birth to potty nappies. However for many reasons they are still worth while investing in.
You’ll hear many times over when looking into cloth nappies that they will save you a ton of money, but newborn cloth is different. Simply because your baby will only be wearing them for a matter of months if not weeks. However like with everything there are ways at saving money and corners you can cut.
HOW MUCH DO NEWBORN CLOTH NAPPIES COST COMPARED TO DISPOSABLES.
The average spend on disposable nappies for the first three months of babies life will is between 30-60 pounds while newborn cloth nappies, even done of a budget would cost at least £100.
The cheapest disposable newborn nappies I found were Aldi’s Mamia newborn at 3p a nappy. That’s an average spend of just £27 over three months (three months being the average use of newborn cloth nappies and the time it take makes babies to fit birth to potty nappies comfortably). The more expensive Pampers newborn are 7p a nappy which worked out at an average of £60 for the first three months of babies life.
Where as I have spent around £230 on my newborn stash. This does sound like a lot and while you can definitely do this cheaper by buying more economical nappies such as muslins and wraps or buying second hand it is still more than disposable nappies and not far off a full stash of birth to potty nappies that will last you years (saving you hundreds of pounds) rather than a few short months.
So why did I bother investing in newborn sized cloth nappies.
1. You can use them on multiple children.
So far most of my newborn nappies have been used on two babies. Reducing the cost. Unlike my birth to potty sized nappies which had some heavy use with each child, not all lastly multiple children my newborn nappies are still pristine. I would be happy to lend them out to friends and family too.
2. Resale Value.
I plan to sell on my nappies on the secondhand market once my smallest has out grown them. Some like my Baba and Boos and Bare and Boho’s should get a half decent price as they in excellent condition.
3. Repurpose them.
Others nappies like muslins will be used for a longer period as nappies, boosters or mopping up milky sick. They then can be repurposed around the house for cleaning or cut up to make reusable wipes. Inserts from newborn pocket nappies also make get boosters for bigger nappies.
4. Because I love cloth nappies.
They are comfier for baby, proven to have healthier effects on newborn hip development, and I feel so much achievement in not seeing our bin filled with nappies. Needless to say they are better for the environment by not continually pulling resource to make something that is used for such a short period of time such as a disposable nappy.
This for me makes the cost worth it. I also know I have saved hundreds by using my birth to potty stash throughout the rest of my children’s nappy wearing years, which makes the investment in a newborn stash an easier pill to swallow. Though I understand if your just starting out with is hard to see.
It’s also worth noting I brought my stash of newborn nappies over a period of time and invested more on my second baby so the cost didn’t feel overwhelming, but I know this might not be doable for many families. If this is the case for you I would definitely focus on putting your budget into one sized nappies and using these as soon as baby can fit into them. That could be from 5 weeks like my larger sized babies or it could be 3+ months for smaller babies.
IS IT TOO MUCH WORK TO CLOTH NAPPY A NEWBORN?
I’m not going to lie, using cloth nappies with a newborn is much harder than using cloth nappies with an older child. Why? Because they poop so darn much.
Newborn babies can need changing up to 10-12 times a day. When using cloth nappies this adds up to a lot of washing, which can easily be overwhelming but very doable if you have support.
Support for me came in the form of my partner who is very much on board with cloth nappies and sees to always put a wash on when the nappy bin getting full, especially when he was on paternity leave. His job was to keep everything ticking over.
Support also came in the form of my mother in law taking loads of wet washing for us to dry on her much bigger line or put it in her tumbler drier on the many raining days we had in the first few weeks of my sons life, meaning washing would have taken an age to dry.
If this is something your partner or family can offer you, absolutely take the help.
HOW TO SHOP NEWBORN CLOTH NAPPIES ON A BUDGET.
The cheapest way to use cloth nappies with a newborn is to use muslins with a wrap. Muslins can be brought from as little as £1.50 each, though they will need a wrap over the top, this can be used for serval nappy changes meaning you need only a few wraps.
MUSLINS FOR NEWBORNS.
To make it even easier for you The Nappy Lady sells the complete set of muslins, enough to use full time with 5 Motherease Wraps for £106. This is definitely the cheapest and most efficient way to cloth a a newborn.
For me personally I found it really important to have muslins and wraps in my newborn arsenal but I wouldn’t want to only have those.
I decided to invest in a pack of 6 Disana muslins with a couple of Motherease wraps (I also use these with fitted nappies which I would really recommend for night time.) I use the muslins for back up night time nappies and back up day nappies if I’m running low. They dry super quickly so you can be sure you’ll always have some to hand and they are easy to put on. The only reason I do not use them full time is because I find them a little bulkier than all in one nappies, and a little more faff. This really isn’t a problem but not as easy when out and about or for partners to do (well partners could of course but I find many particularly male partners don’t enjoy the folding.)
For us muslins were a great way to bulk out our stash on top of fitted nappies for night time and all-in-ones for easy day time use.
TOP TRIED AND TESTED NEWBORN CLOTH NAPPIES.
HERE’S WHAT WE HAVE IN OUR STASH AND WHAT WE SPENT.
WHAT WOULD I RECOMMEND?
Baba and Boo Newborn. As always Baba and Boo come out on top.
Pros I found were…They come with two inserts, meaning you can use the second insert when the first is drying (the pocket shells dry very quickly).
They hold their quality and therefore their value so can be brought second hand and sold on easily if that’s something that would work for you.
They are perfectly absorbent but not so much that they can too long to dry.
Cons… They are quiet large for a newborn nappy. This worked well for me as I had larger on average babies, 8.6 and 8.8 pounds, they also both put on weight quiet quickly so these nappies fit well and lasted them a good amount of time, but I would say if your baby is under 7 or so pounds they may be a little too roomy at first.
Bare and Boho. Great for smaller babies.
Pros… Small fitting so a great fit as soon as they were born. Very absorbent, beautiful designs. You can buy extra inserts, use the wrap multiple times unless it’s soiled just replace the insert so not having to wait for other inserts to dry.
Cons… They are small fitting so haven’t lasted my babies very long, around 5 weeks. The inserts are small, they seemed to outwee the insert quickly. They take ages to dry and unless turn inside out didn’t always wash perfectly.
Motherease Airflow and Little Lamb Fitted Nappies. The most reliable option ever.
Pros. The Airflow wrap never lets me down no matter what size we are using on what ever baby. You can use the wrap multiple times, for example throughout night nappy changes just replacing the absorbent nappy inside. The airflow is loose so never rubs or leaves sock marks on babies. The Little Lamb nappies as super soft, comfy, and very absorbent, great for when babies (fingers crossed) sleep for longer stretches in the night. Even if they do wake often you don’t want to be getting up to change them every couple of hours unless they need it. These nappies will ensure leak free nights and less bleary eyed changes.
Cons. There are no cons in my opinion to the airflow. As for fitted nappies, they do take a while to dry but this comes with the fact they can hold a lot of liquid. They are very bulky, this never bothers me at night but I’m not such a fan during the day, hence why I like slimmer pockets for day time.
Little and Bloomz Pockets. The budget option.
I don’t usually like to recommend these now as they are the more unethical when it comes to the manufacturing (cheaply done in china and often sold through Amazon). I brought these for my first baby, pre-Amazon and fast fashion boycott. However if your worried about the cost and really want to use cloth from birth these work great and can help you do so. It’s still a better option than disposables after all.
Pros. Very quick drying time. Easy to use. Budget friendly. Come with either poppers or velcro.
Cons. Not an ethical company (like most fast fashion brands so depends on your view of this and weather you can afford to be more choosy.) Come with microfiber inserts which aren’t very absorbent, although with newborns, who need changing more frequently this could be a pro as they dry quickly.
HOW TO BOOST NEWBORN REUSABLE NAPPIES?
Many newborn reusable nappies are slim for small babies, therefore not massively absorbent. This is fine in the early days but they may start to soon out wee the nappy. Slim boosters such as Little Lamb Bamboo work well to add absorbency without bulk.
Now I’m sure this post will have either convinced you using reusable nappies with a newborn is either a great idea or a totally awful one. But that’s my hope. To help you make a decision. It can be hard, you may get many wee leaks, but that’s okay, the main thing is you will not get the poo leaks and they are the ones that matter, believe me!!
Hannah xx
