I'm pretty new to EF, and I am going to be a mom for the first time in a few months. Most of my resources about babies, etc. are from my US friends and family, which doesn't always translate the best into what's available here.
I was really interested in trying cloth diapers, but dont know what brands are available or where to find reviews for brands available here. I was also wondering what the best disposable, eco-friendly diapers would be that parents and baby are happy with.
we had them for our first baby and were really happy but ended up only using them for 3 months as we were travelling for a long time afterwards.
i still have the whole deal, i think 24 of what they call californian type diapers here (flats), and some cloth diaper covers. if you are interested, i can check all the stuff i have got and take a photo, and then you can think about getting them second hand as they are fairly expensive to buy new. you can wash them at 95 degrees so they are all squeaky clean . that way you can try out without spending a fortune.
but if you want to buy new, there are so many types, all with their advantages and disadvantages. the city we lived in before had a pick up and wash service and we would have used that if we had stayed there. maybe there is something like that in zurich? but again, probably quite expensive.
if you wash your own, you have to have your own washing machine or access to one most of the time because you don't want to leave them festering for too long. no matter what people say, even newborn poo is smelly
with 24 cloth diapers you need to put a wash on minimum every 2 to 3 days in the first few weeks.
they make the babies very padded around the middle but at that age it's very cute
to cut a long story short. we were happy and looking at the cost of diapers here, it's definitely a cheaper choice. but it's not for everyone.
There is not much available in CH for such nappies. I have seen a few available in some of the baby stores. However, it is nothing like the range in the US, UK or Australia.
After a lot of internet research. I imported ours from the UK. We used them for about 6 months.
In some places in the UK they provide money to buy reusable nappies. Here in one place they gave us 2 free rolls of rubbish bags or now we can put out the nappies in a clear bag for free. For all the recycling here, reusable nappies are almost non-existent.
Anyway I still have a large collection of Bamboo nappies in very good condition if you are interested. Also a bucket with removable mesh bag (2x) which can go in the wash. Plus a few silk linings if rash becomes a problem (we never needed them).
The best product we got was re-usable wet wipes. Called cheekywipes. We still use them today, even though our son is toilet trained.
There are so many more choices (at cheaper prices) in the states that we bought all of our cloth diapers and accessories there and then picked them up on a visit and had some shipped over by family. We ordered most things from http://www.cottonbabies.com/ . We had a combination of flats and prefolds with Flip covers and bumgenius all-in-ones. My favorites were the flats because you could use them for so many things (other than diapers) and they dried fast, didn't keep smell, and hugged the baby's bum better. With the bumgenius, I could never get the smell out after a few months of use. I tried all the suggestions. But I still use them for swim diapers.
We also used cloth wipes and still use them for other things as well. These can be very easily made though if you have your own sewing machine. Wetting a few with water before heading to the changing table and then throwing them in with the diapers was so easy.
We did not have our own washing machine but had constant access to the general one. Our neighbors also did the same but then left them to dry for everyone to see. So once the other neighbors knew, they asked us to stop washing diapers thinking that it was unsanitary. So if you have your own washing machine, it will be much easier.
Have fun with it! There are so many cute ones out now.
P.S. Trash is incinerated in Switzerland. So diapers are not laying around in a landfill for years. This is probably why 'eco-friendly' disposable diapers are not abundant here.
I honestly haven't seen cloth nappies here and parents order from abroad.
There is a shop in ZH Binz called Top Market and they sometimes have very good offers on Pampers so you could have a look and buy more when there are sales.
I don't think we could of managed with cloth diapers the amount of work that is needed to wash and dry and re-use is quite insane, we did consider it but some how ended up with disposable.
We changed our daughters nappies every time she did a wee or pooh. I am very glad to say she didn't have nappy rash at all yet all of our family moaned at us saying we changed to often, in the first few months you will go through about 8-12 nappies per day. Can be quite hard work.
One thing I didn't like the idea of is that if you use cloth nappies, when they pooh when you are out and about you have to then carry a dirty nappie around with you for the rest of the day.....
I don't have experience on cloth but I would go disposable every time :-)
P.S.
Pampers are amazing!! Every time we tried another brand, for example a more bio friendly or cheaper option they would just leak...
There are disposable liners for the reusable nappies, which catch the pooh and you just flush that bit and stick the rest in a special tote bag. Also there is always the option of using disposables when traveling or out for the day.
Also I think having done both, that we had less smell with the reusable ones, because they don't sit around. Its washed away quickly. No poohy nappies sitting in the bag waiting a week for the next collection.
I would say we used 8-10 nappies per day at the start. You need to get a kit of about 20 nappies. That is two days worth.
It is a little bit of work, but with the right stuff a bit easier. You really need your own washing machine. I wouldn't want to do it with shared building machine and limited access.
So you take out the liner and flush the pooh. Then throw the nappy in a bucket. At the end of the day empty the bucket into the machine and start the wash. When the wash is finished hang them on a drying rack and leave over night.
We had bamboo ones take a long time to dry, but they hold more liquid and have a nice feel.
The feel of the nappies is a lot nicer then pampers. However, it is a bit more work. They also cost a lot up front.
Another problem is they are very big. I think this help our son sit at an early age, but they can be a problem with certain clothes. You need to get pants a little over size.
Thanks to everyone for the helpful replys. My mom will visit from the US shortly after baby's due date so maybe I'll just wait for her to bring some cloth and use pampers until then.
Is it worth it to go to Germany to buy a disposable supply or is it just as cheap to wait for the sales here. I live very close to the Top Market, but have never been.
Thanks again for all the advise...on top of never having a baby before, I've also never really had to change a nappy either
I loved cloth for my kids. So many options online to choose from. Totally better than the chemical based throw away version. I had cloth with just a washer dryer to not the big washer + dryer, it was a bit of a pain sometimes but was well worth in the end.
You can get a good price for used ones too. There is a website that is all about cloth and a forum if you want to check it out, I can PM the address
There are many options ,lots of shaped nappies with poppers,no pins required and then they have covers over the top.Also there are some that are all in one with a pocket inside that you put in an absorbent pad to soak up the fluid .
I used fleece liners ,made myself by cutting up a cheap blanket -they help keep baby dry and are easy to rinse off.
I sold my nappies and bought new ones when baby grew and then at the end sold them all.
The added advantage is that baby does feel some wetness ,so getting potty training going is really easy.My son was out of nappies by 2 if not before.