Hello all
I'm pregnant with my first baby due end of October and am starting to properly gear up for when she arrives!
Has anyone had any experience of using reusable nappies? I'm keen to either use reusables or more environmentally friendly nappies such as those from kitandkin.com (or a combination of both). I'm interested in the economics of both these options.
Disposables (rough example):
- Kit and Kin subscription is $37.99 per month and you get 160 nappies for that price plus 4 packs of biodegradable wipes. Wipes and nappies are supposed to biodegrade in 2-6 years.
- Works out at around $480 per year.
Reusables:
- My local council have a scheme where I can claim a free starter pack of re-usable nappies that includes 5 all-in-one cloth nappies, one night nappy and wrap, one booster and one roll of disposable liners.
- Bumgenius nappies cost around $8 each, I think I would need another 15
- Cheeky wipes washable baby wipes are around $40 for a set
- Other bits I would need are night wraps, liners etc. All in I think the initial outlay for reusables (everything included) would be around $300
- I think I will have to buy bigger sizes of nappies as the baby grows, I'm only at the start of my research so far so not sure if you can get a size of nappy that fits newborn through to toddler
- On top of that you have the cost of the washes, I have heard you need to do one wash per day. I have no idea what this would cost!
When she's a newborn, I think we will definitely use disposables and then perhaps make the move to reusable once we're more settled, but my main questions are:
1) When you factor everything in, including the cost of washing the nappies, is it really cheaper to use reusables? On my council website it claims the overall saving from birth to potty would be around $500. And I guess if I have a second child I could use my reusables again for them.
2) Will I have the time or energy to deal with reusables? I have no idea about this as I've never done this before and none of my friends who are mums have gone down this route.
3) Environmentally, will it really be better to use reusables? We will be drastically increasing our use of the washing machine if we are having to do 1 wash per day so using a lot more water and electricity. Maybe it would be better for the environment to use the biodegradable disposable nappies & wipes?
Any advice gratefully received! Really curious about anyone else's opinions on this.
And one more question. Underwear dilemma! Hi all, My wedding dress is a sleek jenny packham number. It has a backless detail, but I will not feel comfortable going braless on the day! Exposing myself to the guests is not a good idea. I have seen the stick on bras, but from years gone by experience the bras slip and fall down. Any recommendations or anyone tried any new underwear suitable for backless dress styles? Any help is appreciated x
Thanks a lot!
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