I'm using reusables in the hospital (or till i've used up what i've got) and then using totsbots like you I think they are far cuter and cheaper, kinda painful at the begining but atleast we wont have to rush to the shops cos we've run out or something. Also with the totsbots there are so many different types to chose from so you can find the right one for you?

Disposables! I know they're not as environmentally friendly (and I am quite an environmentally aware person) but I just know I won't have the time for re-usables.

This is a toughy... I was all for using reusables until I actually thought about the logistics of having enough dry to use. Our drying room is now the nursery, there don't seem to be many drying days for putting them out on the line and we don't have enough room for a tumble dryer.

So, we're going to use disposables for the first few weeks and then look into getting a washer / dryer combo but we'll just see how we get on with disposables and how much time we have for extra washing / drying.

xx

If you tumble dry them you'll probably undo all the good work using them in the first place does. Dryers eat electricity for breakfast! Have you got central heating? If it's on anyway you can dry them on radiators.

Im using disposable ones. Just suits my situation better. Also living in a flat i really dont have much space to dry my own clothes let alone mine, babies clothes and then nappies! and being short of money i wouldnt of been able to afford the big one off cost for the reusables.

TBH this is another reason why I don't think we'll be using reusables (even though I would feel better if we did ) Like you say the electricity it would take to wash / dry them would most probably outweigh any good we have done to the environment by using reusables. We live in a newish house, so even in the winter we hardly ever put the heating on (maybe an hour a day) so they wouldn't dry quick enough this way.

It's a hard choice but my heart and head say different things We'll have to see how we get on for the first few weeks and then look into all the options.

xx

Reusables. Ive got them already. Will save me £800 a year. Its not just that either its the chemicals in the nappies like bleach and chlorine and you have to remember its chemicals next to their skin 99% of the time. Each to their own though.

I use reusable but dispoables if i go out for the day. Like you said you dont have to carry them around.
I find them easy to use and they go in with my other washing so not a problem.

There are lots of people who have calculated both the energy and environmental savings, including washing (but I think not drying!) and they all show a saving (in both) over disposables. Of course there is more effort involved and the saving depends on what type of reusable is used and how they are washed. It's a better energy saving to wash them yourself as they will be washed at a lower temp than a washing service. Terry towels are the best saving both financially and environmentally; there is a trade off as the nappies become fitted and have more components. I would suggest that if your house is nice and toasty that you don't need the heating, the nappies ought to dry ok on a rack. I don't mean to sound pushy though, we all just have to do what we are able to do!

I'm planning, when I have a baby, to use prefolds with diaper covers. That seems to be the cheapest I've found.

A pack of Gerber prefolds is about $11 for a dozen. Considering I would want to wash them an average of every 5-7 days, I would need about 60 prefolds, which would be $50, cheaper if I can make them myself out of old clothes/towels(you wouldn't see them anyway).

Diaper covers would be about $15 each and, would be a total of 36 because they come in 4 different sizes and you need about 6 of each, would come to a total of $540...

So that's an estimate of $590, which sounds like a lot, but considering it takes at least $2000, if not more, to diaper one baby from birth to about 2 1/2 years(in disposables), it's much cheaper. Plus, you can reuse them for each baby, so after the first, it would be practically free, apart from the covers wearing out, to diaper the second, third, etc.

I do plan on using disposables when I'm in the hospital, of I change my mind or can for some reason have a home birth, and when they have the mechonium(sp).

I hope I don't offend anyone, but I would just rather spend that money on other things, like some toys or to save it for them for college or something.
I'd feel like I'm just throwing money away.

I've written an essay compared to everyone else and I don't even have a baby Maybe I'm too prepared? lol