Ok it's a while since i was asked to put this on...

[mrsflibble]

right, when soph was 2 months old i took part in a natural nappy challenge for my local paper. being a devout disposable user, i had to use prefolds ad wraps for a week. i couldnt do this all the time cos
1. if we used a laundry service it would cost twice as much as my disposables and also i had nowhere to store the bin living two floors up in a tiny flat.
2. i lived two floors up in a tiny flat and had no tumble dryer.

That week was disasterous. i hated the damned things, but later on when we were getting ready to potty train sophie we switched to terries . proper old style terries and she and i loved them!! i would recommend them to anyone, no matter what age their baby. but not prefolds. oooooh no.

this is what i wrote at the time:

I've been taking part in a challenge for my local paper: as a firm lover of disposable nappies, I've been using reusable cotton ones for a week.
They consist of a paper flushable liner to catch poo, an oblong cotton pad that requires folding, and a plastic backed outer wrap. You fold the cotton whatsit, wrap it in the paper oojamiflip then insert that mess into the wrap thingummy and wrap it around the baby's bum.

Suffice to say I'm glad the week is now over 'cos I missed my (ok, her) disposables so much!
If I wasnt getting the laundry service for free I'd be pretty peeved too as it's almost twice as expensive as my bags of T***o nappies for a week.

Tuesday
I received the nappies today. I 'm surprised that this whole liner, pad and wrap system is a lot more simple than old-style Terries. (good gods i was sooo wrong!!!)

Tuesday Evening: Miniflib has just done her first poopy nappy. Already there is a drawback! Extracting the liner which is full of poo is not fun, especially if it is a stinky one! Also, baby wipes are not flushable so I'm still having to wrap and dispose of them in the bin. Cotton wool and water (or even lotion) would not have combated that kind of sticky poop.
Miniflib has not outwardly noticed a difference and she didn't get any more distressed about being wet/poopie than she would normally. I, however, am wondering what my flat will smell like by the end of the week.

Wednesday
I'm amazed! Miniflib slept for a whole 8 hours before needing to be fed- I do think this is more to do with Calpol working on her headache than it is the nappies. I was totally amazed the nappy didn't leak- Although I have to admit I did line her Moses basket with a Pamper's bed mat. (I had to, i didnt have enough blankets to use one each night then wash it)

We went to our hospital appointment where we were accosted by a council nappy promoter. I was hoping that by telling her Miniflib was wearing a natural nappy she'd go away and not try her spiel on me. No such luck. Honestly, nothing is more off putting to me than hard sell. It makes me immediately hostile and less likely to take whatever it is you're trying to flog to me. I told her I'd only got them on a week's trial and that already I didn't like them as much as my disposables. But she still gave me the council bumf (including £10 voucher) in case I change my mind. I'm still not sure, but I did like the feel of the shaped hemp nappies. They were very soft.

I found another drawback today too: Having to transport a sopping wet nappy liner home from town. Thankfully i still had some disposable nappy bags in my changing bag otherwise it could have been a more disgusting trip!
Miniflib does not seem to complain about these as much as she does her T***o nappies which is weird, I'd have thought it would be the other way round.

Thursday
My bathroom is beginning to smell of old wet nappy and a hint of poop. Would dropping one of those battery operated air freshener thingies in to the bin work I wonder?

Saturday
1. They do NOT stop nappy rash.
2. I wish my mum had some disposables at her house. Not envisaging the "humungopoop" Miniflib did this evening, I went to my mum's house with a hand full of liners and pads, but only one wrap.... the poo went everywhere and I had to wash the wrap. To give Miniflib a nappy until the wrap was dry we had to fashion a makeshift one from an old terry nappy mum had in the loft, and a couple of disposable bags held together with insulating tape. Yes it looked weird, but it worked! (picture below) The wrap took an hour and a half to dry. It was still slightly damp when I put it back on Miniflib.



Sunday
Another "humungopoop" spread from the top of her buttocks to above the line of the pad at the front, then down the underneath of the pad. Needless to say, the liner didn't catch it all and I had to rinse out the pad as well as wash the outer wrap.
Again nappy rash happened. She'd only just got over yesterday's bout.

Monday
I'm actually avoiding going out anywhere for more than an hour or so just so that I don't have to change her nappy when we're out. I could not live my life like this!

Tuesday
YAY! I have my disposables back today!
I've not really enjoyed this week. Since speaking to the council lady on Wednesday last week I have to say that if I had a better washer and dryer I'd be willing to try her on shaped hemp nappies as they're really soft and don't involve any folding. But I'd still be using disposables to go out with. This set-up would make me feel a little less guilty about the environment- but then so would planting a tree to compensate for my petrol-guzzling car(which we dont own any more). Could I plant a tree to compensate for my baby's nappies?!
I'm sure that if I'd been using natural nappies since birth (and therefore didn't know what I was missing) they'd feel easier to cope with than they do to me now.

PS my bathroom REALLY honks...

the reply from the nappy lady:


(copyright Echo Group, Newsquest, 2006)

1. she was not ill. 2. she was not teething. 3. i didnt get to answer these comments and her attitude put me right off persuing the idea at the time. humpf.

[rockchick]

Ok, I did some research on washables v’s disposables recently and from what I remember by far the commonest reason for nappy rash is frequency of nappy change. The reason for less nappy rash with a washable compared to disposable is behavioural, as they have to be changed slightly more often. If you had been used to disposables, which are super absorbent and don’t need changing as often, you possibly continued in the same pattern, therefore no improvement in nappy rash?

Other health benefits of washables include: better positioning of legs for strong hip development, increased protection against bumps and bruises when learning to walk etc, and faster potty training as they can feel the wetness.

I’m not sure what prompted this thread but I have lots of links to information about the environmental impacts as well as social research into why its difficult to persuade people into washables.

PS I am using prefolds for the second time without too much trouble, although with hindsight of the research I would have gone for terry. I do cheat at night as I really couldn’t keep up with all the leaks and I gag every time I have to empty the nappy bucket , but the financial savings alone are enough to persuade me!

[Annpan]

I received some really bad advice when using re-usable first time around - I spent £50+ on 3 enormous nappies and 2 useless wraps (all tots-bots.... don't go there) I think LO wore them 3 or 4 times before she was 1........ They were obviously uncomfortable, leaked everywhere and I couldn't get any clothes to go over them. I was completely confused by talk of wraps, pockets, pads, boosters, pre-folds, liners (flushable and re-usable) - it felt like some kind of 'in-crowd' that I wasn't really allowed to join..... and I spent far to long in tears over them


But when she was around 14months I bought some boots terries nappies and got given some mother-ease wraps and nappies (thanks russian doll ) and I never looked back. She is now 28 months and toilet trained... still wears a disposable at night (working through the stock of nature baby-care we had built up) and a terries at nap time.

The only time E had bad nappy rash was from Huggies nappies which are horribly chemical and her skin enflamed terribly.

[red]

I used terry nappies on my son .. and this was 16 years ago - when it was against the norm to use cloth. My motivation was cost - we were very broke. but I hate disposible nappies with such a passion, they are so awful for the environment and their impact far greater than can be compensated by 'planting a tree', that I would do the same every time. Disposable nappies do not degrade, they are covered in plastic, fill up landfill etc etc.

Back then, shaped nappies were not really around. I used terry squares and folded them myself. when i was feeling really organised, i would fold them all ready. I used disposible nappy liners, and then plastic overpants.

any solids could be dropped straight down the loo, and I kept the nappies in a lidded bucket until i had enough to wash. I washed them on the hottest setting in the washing machine then either line dried or put them on the clothes rack. My home did not smell of nappies.. i did not leave them lying around - I washed them!

It is not a big deal to carry a clean nappy when in town, nor to put the used one in a plastic bag to take home, but if you allowed yourself to only use disposibles when out and about you would still have less impact on the environment.

My son did not have problems with nappy rash, I'm sure some kids are just more prone to skin problems, but its all about how often you change them.

I think cloth nappies help kids to toilet train as they are more aware of when they have peed.

but as i said, my motivation was financial i did the sums, it was much much cheaper to use cloth nappies.

[Russian Doll]

I received some really bad advice when using re-usable first time around - I spent £50+ on 3 enormous nappies and 2 useless wraps (all tots-bots.... don't go there) I think LO wore them 3 or 4 times before she was 1........ They were obviously uncomfortable, leaked everywhere and I couldn't get any clothes to go over them. I was completely confused by talk of wraps, pockets, pads, boosters, pre-folds, liners (flushable and re-usable) - it felt like some kind of 'in-crowd' that I wasn't really allowed to join..... and I spent far to long in tears over them


But when she was around 14months I bought some boots terries nappies and got given some mother-ease wraps and nappies (thanks russian doll ) and I never looked back. She is now 28 months and toilet trained... still wears a disposable at night (working through the stock of nature baby-care we had built up) and a terries at nap time.

The only time E had bad nappy rash was from Huggies nappies which are horribly chemical and her skin enflamed terribly.

yayyyyyyyyyyyy im so pleased for you...now can you come to me and teach my lot potty training as im in a massive dead end at the mo lol

[growingthings]

I've used clothies with both mine, predominately prefolds, which I have never had any trouble with thanks to a booklet called How To Nappy by a lovely nappy lady at Twinkle Twinkle (I'll post the link when I find it).

Quite aside from the financial reasons, I used cloth because I was unhappy having the chemicals and super absorber gels next to my childrens skin, I just don't llike the 'idea' of whats inside the nappy. I know that all these things are tested carefully etc. but there you go I wouldn't have it any other way.

I think that it is really a matter of personal preference, although its a shame that the large nappy producers can't be more responsible and create a nappy that actually biodegrades, as eco disposables are so expensive, and this always at the end of the day influences the majorities choices when buying disposables. On the odd occasion when we have had to use them, hospital stays etc, I have found them no where near as good as my clothies (lots of leaks) but so much of it is down to what you are used to.

Lorna x

[mrsflibble]

did i mention i looooved terries when we switched to those? and also one of my main problems with the prefolds and wraps was i wasnt given enough wraps (i got 2 for the week) and the laundry service we had to use because we had no way to wash or dry the pads sucked. honestly, if i had had a better way of washing them other than storing them in a bin in my bathroom then the whole week would have gone a lot smoother and i would have seriously considered changing when we did.

as soon as we got a tumble dryer after we moved into a house, we switched to terries cos i could finally wash and dry them. i also had enough to last 2 weeks without washing so was never without a nappy because my mum had kept all the ones from when my brothers and sister were tiny. they've been through 4 kids, and are now being used as tea-towels in both houses lol!! some have been relegated to being floorcloths, but i dont think thats bad for pieces of 17 year old cotton terry toweling!!!

i really loved folding and using terries when we used them. As i've said, if i'd had a way to wash and dry them (we had no outside space at the flat) then i would have used them from day 1 because my mum taught me how to fold them for the different sizes and sexes of baby. and it wasnt so much the prefolds i hated as the damned wraps they had to go in! they didnt fit properly and we had all sorts of leaking and wicking problems.

finally, at least this is an unbiased view..... and at least i did change eventually lol!!!

[red]

must admit, I still have some of the old terry nappies - they are great for moping things up with..

[mrsflibble]

i'm going to make one into one of these fo a friends baby, he loves licking terry-cloth. dont panic, it's a sterilised nappy lol!!!

http://www.jojomamanbebe.co.uk/detailfa ... e=TRE00009

[Mal]

We use bamboozles from tots bots, seem to work fine - I think the wraps we currently have are mothereze and we buy the disposable liners in cart loads from somewhere or other - Mrs Mal finds them and keeps the supplies up. At night it's disposables though - it has always seemed to be a pragmatic compromise.

We did find a great bucket with a tightly sealing lid in mothercare which helps a lot, particularly with the smell!

He does occasionally end up with a sore bottom though in a way he doesn't in the disposables so much - I think it is because the wee sits next to his skin and is not locked away (and he seems happy to sit around in it). The answer is to change it more often, so it's really our own fault. Definitely using them again for the next one.

[growingthings]

I agree about the wraps issue. I have found that almost everybodys problems have been down to ill fitting wraps.

I actually make my own now, ( I have a tute in progress on my blog) my darling sister who lives in Florida sent me piles of beautiful PUL fabric and I have never been busier.

I don't know what I'll do with myself when DD2 is potty trained!

Lorna x

[mrsflibble]

i know it's probably bad to say, but asda smartprice shower curtains are PUL... i used them to make sophie's washable bedmats while she was being trained lol!

[growingthings]

v. clever Mrs F.

The fabric was more of a case as she saw it and knew that I would love it, and even though strictly speaking I didn't 'need' it she bought it for me anyway.

I've supplied all my immediate clothie friends and family with custom wraps so it was a wise purchase on her behalf, having just popped out her first baby last summer I had my suspicions that she had an alterior motive!

Lorna x

[MrsD'ville mkII]

Hello, long time no post! Baby Max is in cloth in the daytime, some Diddy Diapers and some MEOS, with ME AirFlow wraps. However good the advice you get there's always going to be an element of trial and error when your baby arrives as they're all different. Max is so enormous that the DDs are already a bit short in the rise and he's only 7 1/2 weeks old.

I confess to using the evil disps at night, but at least it's half the landfill, or rather less than half as often he will go the whole night on one nappy. Re nappy rash, I'm very cavalier about changing his nappy in the day as they're cloth, whereas I feel more stingey with the disps, so in theory he's less likely to get nappy rash in cloth with me, but having said that he's developed it today. I think it's down to his cough and cold more than anything, nappies have been like glue

[Clara]

Mrs D'Ville have you come across Huggles by Minki, they were the word on the street when I was looking for a cloth nappy that would go through the night and they lived up to expectations. One size takes you right the way through so a good investment. We survived with 3, but then we have better drying weather than you guys , still would've been better to have a few more I reckon.