cloth/reusable nappies (an update)

I’ve written before about cloth/reusable nappies and after an enquiry on twitter as to how they were going, I promised an update. there are many many things for mums to feel guilty about and nappies are definitely one of them.

nappies seem to put people firmly into two camps: the ones that are evangelical about cloth nappies and those that won’t touch them. each camp using emotive words to describe what’s wrong with the alternative position. in my experience, this is unnecessary. it’s perfectly possible to mix and match between cloth and disposables.

also in my experience, all nappies require some degree of interaction with poop. all poo should be flushed down the loo rather than put in the bin and so all nappies require emptying. once empty, it’s either a case of interacting with a bin full of disposables as you put out the rubbish, or dealing with a bucket full of nappies that need washing. there’s no getting away from the fact that it’s not the most pleasant olfactory experience. but that’s babies, often.

add in the discussions about cost, chemicals, and effectiveness and it’s no wonder mums feel guilty. the thing is, we are all just doing our best. I’ve come to the conclusion that I am refusing to feel guilty about shit.

I still believe in my pre-birth convictions of reducing waste going to landfill and not wishing to put unnecessary chemicals on Pip’s skin. I also believe in protecting my mental health, adding in the cost of keeping our house mould free from over filling it with wet washing and sometimes, the need to take the easiest option. and, bear in mind, this is my experience and there are hundreds of ways to make decisions. with that in mind, this is what works for us at the moment.

. when we are in the house, I make an effort to use the cloth nappies. Pip has now grown out of the fuzzibunz size 1 nappies in the lovely blues and greens with poppers, sadly, so we are using the tots bots all in ones, which are one size and can be expanded or reduced by popper configuration. they work reasonably well, but I don’t love them. they are quite bulky. however, they were free from a friend and freecycle and so, each nappy I use is a saving. we use a fleece liner mainly (somehow we only seem to have 3, but I can’t be bothered to buy any more) and also a flushable liner to catch poo.

. the poo gets flushed; the nappy goes in a bucket, which contains a mesh bag and some drops of essential oils. the tots bots all in one nappies have to be unfolded so there is an element of touching a pissed on nappy but it’s not too unpleasant. no more than rolling up a sodden disposable. when the bucket is full, it gets tipped into the machine and put on a rinse cycle. it then goes on a 60C wash with non-bio liquid and a scoop of napisan. I usually chuck all of Pip’s bibs in too, as at her age, all the poo goes in the loo and there is none on the nappies, plus a 60C cycle and napisan kill all the germs. the clean wet nappies get hung on a rack for drying, which takes maybe 24 hours. if it’s dry they go on the line outside.

. outside the house, we usually, invariably, use disposables. Nature Babycare ones, which are biodegradable, and plain white. I think they smell much nicer than any other brand I’ve tried. although, after a few weeks of size 1 Pampers we have used Babycare ones exclusively since. they are a bit more expensive, but I usually buy them in bulk when I see them on offer.

. I use the washable wipes – for wiping faces, after mealtimes. every so often I do take them in the wet bags for using in the nappy bag, but it’s not as frequent as advocates would have us do it. it’s not that I don’t like them, but they are less soft than wipes and the boxes are more of hassle somehow. washing them is easy – I do it with the bibs and nappies. I won’t lie though, we use a lot of Huggies wipes too. I want to use a better biodegradable brand, having read today on the Huggies website that they are not. I hadn’t really thought about it before – other than Huggies can usually be found for £1 a packet; all the nice organic brands are at least £3. I am going to make an effort to order some on line, and I would like to use the washable wipes more.

. when Pip is being difficult, I use disposables, even in the house. it’s easier to get a disposable on a little bottom that is insistent on crawling away rather than doing up poppers. we have also done away with a changing table and I change Pip on a mat on the sitting room floor.

. the wet bag I bought to hold wet washable nappies whilst we are out got used as Pip’s sponge bag and now I can’t bring myself to stop. she loves looking at the owls on it and it’s handy to have all her travel sized baby toiletries all packed up and in her sponge bag, so we can just take it from the bathroom and know it’s all together.

so, essentially, to sum up. we could do better at using the cloth nappies. but if we don’t, I refuse to feel guilty. I do my best to use biodegradable nappies and will endeavour to do better with the wipes.

any one any other questions? or thoughts?