A lot of washing! (Kooshies Nappies)

Member Name: nomie

Product:	Kooshies Nappies
Date:	09/05/01 (454 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Economical, Environmentally friendly, Kind to baby's skin

Disadvantages: Leaky, Expensive to buy at first, Bulky

It was a mixture of caring about the environment and saving money which made me choose re-usable nappies. My partner and I decided before our son was born when we didn't have much experience of nappies at all!

My only regret is that we didn't shop around, and bought more or less the first ones we saw, which happened to be Kooshies Ultra. These are all-in-one nappies which comprise of fabric nappy, liner and outer plastic wrap joined together. There is no need to buy more liners- it doesn't make much difference to the absorbancy of the nappy.

The main advantages of these nappies are from an economical point of view. You definately save money when not having to buy disposables. The nappies are expensive to buy at first, but once you have them the only other expense is using your washing machine! I think that they are also kinder to a baby's sensitive skin as my son didn't get nappy rash until he tried disposables.

However these kind of nappies also have quite a few disadvantages. They can leak quite badly and are perhaps not as absorbant as disposables. Some days I had to change my son three or four times which meant a lot of washing! From my experience of using disposables though I know that these are not leak-proof either, especially with a newborn baby.

The nappies also only come in two sizes which can be a disadvantage if you have a very small baby. In my case, my son grew very quickly and soon couldn't fit into his nappies(which go up to 20lbs or so). This meant that we needed new ones sooner than expected, and we haven't had the spare cash to get some more, so are currently using disposables!
The nappies wear well though and I'll be able to pass them on to a friend. The velcro has started to become 'fluffy' and difficult to fasten, but otherwise the nappies are none the worse for countless washes!

If you do decide to use these nappies then make sure you have at l
east fifteen of them to allow for washing and drying times etc. There were several times when I found myself caught short with all the nappies in the machine!
Although I've listed more disadvantages than advantages, I would still recommend this type of nappy, especially to people who are concerned about the effect of non-biodegradeable nappies on the environment. You just have to be prepared to do lots of washing and drying- there were so many nappies sitting about my house when I was using them! I would advise you to shop around though and use several different brands and kinds, which is what I'll be doing next time.

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