Nappy summary

I thought I'd do a bit of a nappy summary - more for myself than anything else....

The nappies I made: so far I haven't used them at all - at the beginning they were way too big, I tried one on Frances the other day and they gape a lot around the leg, so I can't imagine the containment would be very good.... and as we all know, it's all about the containment.

Disposable: slim, easy, reliable... but.... I don't really want my daughter walking around as an environmental disaster. I've read about disposable nappies not even starting to decompose until she's an old lady, which just feels wrong to me. So, we have some as backup and sometimes to use for convenience - ie if we're going out and aren't sure of the changing facilities etc.

Imse Vimse reusable nappies as supplied by Kela: I've tried to use these, but every time they just haven't contained anything and we've ended up in a soggy mess. I've heard that these only start working once the inners are washed a few times - I guess they must mean a few thousand times.

Muslins: Old fashioned muslin squares with knitted wool pants on the outside. These have been what we use the majority of the time. It's quite a game to "pin" (using nappi nippas) them around her while she's wriggling, but no more difficult than trying to get her into a disposable nappy while wriggling with her legs in the air. I'm curious to know how these will hold up as she gets bigger - maybe I'll have to double them up? I'm still a bit shocked that the wool pants work - I wash and retreat them with lanolin if they get soiled, other than that they just get aired.

Mothercare Smart Nappy: We used these when she was first born and are now using the medium size at night. They're pretty convenient although we do occasionally get leakage at her lower back, and even though the outers don't need to be washed every time they're used, they soon start to smell a bit pee-y.