I just love being a mum. It’s so much fun as our little one (lo) is a star. He gives such excellent hugs and cuddles! And he likes going out and about and watching people and daily life from the comfort of the sling.
We have been trying out different things to see what works best for us and our darling son (or ds/dd as they are known on websites like mumsnet or netmums).
One of the recommendable issues for us are the Real Nappies we have been trying out. There is quite a controversial debate as to how ecological these really are in comparison with disposables (see Wikipedia). For us, though I like the positive effect on toilet training and its encouraging elimination communication and also they seem to prevent nappy rash.
In Britain, the cloth nappies have been becoming increasingly popular over the last years with big chains like Boots selling the Bamino Mio and big stores like Mothercare producing and selling now their own brand.
I have been very impressed with the Bumgenius all-in-one nappy, which I first got for free in a trial pack. They are quite expensive though – the sized ones from XS to L are about 14 pounds each. They dry fast, look and feel comfy, are pretty small, have velcro fastening, come in different colours and don’t need a wrap nor stuffing and are easy to wash. They are pretty much like disposables but get thrown into the washing machine instead of the rubbish bin/nappy bucket. They also have a nappy system which grows with the baby from birth to potty. A disadvantage though is that the elastics around the leg give way with time and then the nappy can be prone to leakage. But personally speaking, our little one sleeps better with a Bumgenius on than with a disposable, it seems to me the Bumgenius can hold more liquid and makes him feel dryer.
We are still using my favourite real nappies, bamboozles and cotton from Glasgow-based totsbots, which have the disadvantage to triple bottom size so little one needs its clothes to be several sizes bigger with real nappies than he really is, but the totsbots hardly leak and are easy to maintain and are pretty much indestructible. The fleece wraps are just so nice and colourful and soft and are of breathable material; I prefer these to the plastic ones.
Originally we got a starter pack from the Real Nappy Project – it did not help that much but their initial workshop helped a lot – I got all my nappies second-hand from the recommended used nappy website and also decided for the totsbots nappies when they were recommended in the workshop.
As I do not like the real nappies with poppers that much nor the ones with nappi nippas as I tend to lose these.
I was quite disappointed that there is not a shop in Edinburgh which sells the nappi nippas or has a wide selection of real nappies. (Seesaw is closed now and when I was there they hardly had any good stock left.)
Napisan quite sold out often at supermarkets. It is said it can damage the fabric, but its good for “big business”.
I gave away the stuff I don’t use from the introductory pack like the Bambinex or the Motherease Sandys, which is similar to Popolino in Germany (Haipa Daipa/Baby Lucy) . I still use disposables every now and again. For examples when we go out or visit relatives or when the little one has a tummy bug as I don’t like carrying about dirty nappies with me especially when filled with liquid poo.
However, when we stay at home we use only the real nappies. They became a bit hard with washing a lot without softeners or tumble drying over time, but are now softer again, now that my mum ironed them all.
I do think the real nappy incentive pack would need upgrading/modernising a bit, to have a Bumgenius in instead of the nippa nappy version and a bamboozle from totsbots instead of the folding terry nappy, as they are quite cheap and
you can get them in Boots anyways – otherwise, it gives an outdated impression of real nappies and the items are not really useable nor used that much in future.
Comments
Comment by Micah on 2011-02-12 08:27:52 +0100
Some worry that dealing with reusable nappies are more yukki than disposables but I have found yuk factor to be pretty much the same, and only a bit more for when out and about and having to bag and keep till home. There is more washing to do but with modern washing machines not a big problem and so much washing of clothes to be done anyway, one quickly adopts extra tasks as part of routine. I enjoy seeing the coloured reusable nappies on cloths rack. The BumGenius are impressive nappies and beat reusables. The TotsBots made of bamboo feel amazing being so silky that feels almost syntetic and has glow to them. I find Velcro of reusables less problematic than peel back sticky tabs of disposables, although used to both.
Time spent changing nappies is quality time with baby. At first it was good to have to deploy all skills to keep him happy and often good chance to get more of personality of my Son.