Which diapers/nappies to use - Germany

Hello everyone,

I am doing some research on my nappy options and I was wondering if anyone can give me some advice. I am having my first child in early March and don´t really know where to start on the brands available and whether or not reuseable nappies is an affordable and practical option. I of course know of the ´Pampers´branded nappies but that´s about as far as my knowledge extends. I like the idea of using reuseable nappies due to the environmental factor, however I don´t have the experience to know if it´s actually any cheaper, how well they work and most importantly if they are a practical option with my first born.

Any advice on brands, types, reuseable or disposable etc would be gratefully received. Also I live in Berlin if that has any relevance?!!!

Thanks in advance.

we used reusable ones for both our children.Both of them never got nappy rash ever

What brand did you use and could you tell me roughly what the cost was?

Thanks

As you are a single mum I don´t know if you can or want to spend a lot of time washing nappies. Perhaps you could ask mothers in your vicinity if they are using nappy services that pick up and launder nappies and how satisfied they are with their services.
We used disposable nappies. Pampers is certainly a premium brand. You can use the drug store brands e.g. of DM just as well and safe several Euros with each package.

Pampers brand are too expensive. We go for DM and Rossmann's brands, no complaints so far.

When you go with a diaper service (we had one for a while in CA), the cost is roughly the same as for disposables. But the impact on the environment is far less! If you decide to buy cloth and wash yourself, the initial output of money can be very high... so just make sure you are comfortable with cloth before you take the plunge. I was a bit of a cloth failure, and ended up switching to disposables. Going with used cloth diapers (via eBay, etc) is somewhat popular in CA, if you want to save money. There are also some flushable diapers (G-diapers, I think??), but I believe they are pricey.

I've heard that there's actually no evidence that reusable diapers are better for the environment when you factor in the hot water and strong detergent (+ bleach) used for washing them, especially if you use a diaper service. Maybe someone can come up with a link to a study?

I think it's really six of one vs. half a dozen of the other which way to go and really depends on your individual circumstances - budget, time etc.

I've seen the study, but I have to say that it's pretty inaccurate. It assumes most nappy washes at 60 degrees and about at third at 90 degrees. It also assumes using fabric softener and tumble-drying the nappies. I know of no one who used fabric softener on the nappies and most nappies wash just fine at 30-40 degrees with the occasional 60 degree wash. Once you factor those things back in, reuseable nappies are far better for the enviroment. Oh, plus the fact you can use them for another child, not just a one-off purchase for one kid.

Foreverescape, I think you'll find the world of reuseable nappies to be extremely confusing, so don't be too intimidated. The ones we ended up using worked well for us, but the only reason I bought them was a bargain price on them. We used Bambino Mio, which is a birth to potty set. They are originally from Sweden I think, so you should be able to find them in Berlin too. They work well if you have a chubby baby, but not so great if your little one has skinny legs as there could be leakage (something we never had a problem with).

Other tips, if you do decide to go the cloth route. Cut yourself some slack, you don't have to use them ALL the time. The first 6 weeks or so we used disposables, and we continued to use them for overnight too. Any reduction in the amount of disposables is good. As Oblomov points out, as a single mother, you might have enough on your plate without trying to save the enviroment on this issue too, but good luck with it if you do decide to go for it.

If you use a diaper service, you also have to figure in environmental cost of delivery and pick up. I've heard it's what like you said, same difference.

I've heard about studies like that as well but have also heard they were mostly funded by manufacturers of disposable nappies. The forums at itsnoteasybeinggreen have had a few discussions on the topic - the forum is being moved today/tomorrow I think but if you check it in a few days you'll find lots of info there (not just on nappies but on things like wipes too) as well as links to still other websites and forums for parents.

babyorchard.com is one place in Ireland that sells reusable products - you'd obviously have to find a source in Germany but you could at least check out some of the options available. Popolini (I think that's how it's spelt) is one brand a few friends have used for their kids and liked. They have adjustable closing tabs so can be used from tiny baby to toddler size. I have no connection to babyorchard.com by the way except that I've bought from them in the past. I have a list of other similar websites (mainly based in the UK - I collected them when I was researching washable sanitary towels, most places that sell them also sell washable nappies) - if you're interested let me know and I'll dig it out for you.

I know I've often seen an ad in the Ecologist for free samples of reusables - you could check out their website and see if you could sign up for that (I suppose you may need a UK address). Sorry, haven't been back in Germany that long so haven't managed to find German equivalents for all this stuff I know from Ireland.

Good luck.

I don';t have children but if I did I would use reusable nappies as I believe they are better for the environment, probably better for baby's bum and they will use a potty/loo a lot sooner than the stay-dry-for 12-hours-nappy-children.

I was put into reuable nappies and only used them for 12 months and was using the loo.

BLEACH...what do you need this for,we wash our reusuable nappies at 60-90 degrees with our other whites,no problem.Using hard chemicals will almost certainly cause skin problems for a baby.A capful of white vinegar helps with smells and cleaning while washing white nappies.
Back to the OP we do use disposable at night, and washable in the day,almost certainly the chemicals used in disposable nappies are not good and affect the childs genitals perhaps in the long term...but we live in a chemical world.

I would also add that disposable nappies have an abundance of chemicals in them...from gels, to perfumes, to dyes, etc. I certainly didn't want to expose my child to that. I use a "safer" laundry detergent and absolutely no bleach or fabric softener.

For safer disposables, you can also use Tushies. The only gel free and undyed nappy. Work great, and are made with recycled paper filling.

Based on what exactly? Your gut feeling?

You heard wrong. Kinda wrong, anyway. While Kimberly-Clark and P&G both funded studies, the results were incontestable, so much so that Allen Hershkowitz of the Natural Resources Defense Council himself compiled data from all sources (including the cotton manufacturers counter-studies) on the complete paths from cotton gin to diaper to washing machine, and from plastic factory to diaper to dump. His finding? "Disposables consume more raw materials and produce more solid waste ... but cloth diaper production and use consume more water and energy and produce more ... atmospheric emissions and waste water effluent."

Overall higher environmental impact? Cloth. Done.

ALMOST certainly. "Affect the childs [sic] genitals" without any explanation of what effect or how this might occur. Another TTer with a degree in MakeShitUp-ology. What the hell has happened to this site?

woof.

Thank you everyone for your great and informative advice so far. I like the sound of combining the use of disposables and reuseables and am definitely going to research this further. The Tushies brand also sounds interesting so am going to look into where these are available and costs. Any further advice is of course welcome. Thanks everyone again.