Valerie Gommon Midwife’s Blog

I am a fan of real (or washable cloth) nappies, having used them on my four children.  I used the old terry towelling squares and can honestly say that it wasn’t that difficult, I did occasionally use disposable, for example when I was out or on holiday, but generally used the cloth ones with a nappy liner.  The liners can either be paper liners, placed inside the nappy to catch the solid waste and also to help keep the moisture away from your baby’s skin, or indeed there are also washable liners too.  Interestingly there is no need to soak or sterilize real nappies as modern washing machines wash so well.

Today there is a huge (sometimes bewildering) range of reusable nappies to choose from, but to help you there are many independent nappy suppliers who will often lend you nappies to “try before you buy”.  An excellent website for information is www.realnappycampaign.com where you can learn all about real nappies, and this site will also direct you to local suppliers.

Obviously real nappies can be bought in all the usual nursery suppliers but also some supermarkets, however you may like to consider the small local independent suppliers who are often mothers who have used cloth nappies themselves.  Suppliers local to Bedford, Milton Keynes and Northampton are listed on www.BirthIndex.co.uk

This subject has recently been discussed on Martin Lewis’s Money Saving Expert website http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/shopping/cheap-nappies and I wholeheartedly agree that there is money to be saved by using cloth nappies, particularly if you plan to have more than one child, and take advantage of local council incentives for example www.miltonkeynes.gov.uk/realnappies offer a £35 cash-back payment for those using real nappies (£40 for those on benefits).  In Bedford you can claim a £25 payment http://www.bedfordshire.gov.uk/CouncilAndDemocracy/News/Snappynappycompetition.aspx and a similar £25 if you live in Northampton http://www.northampton.gov.uk/realnappy.