real nappies (and other thoughts)

I received an email today about Real Nappy Week (15th - 21st April) and it immediately reminded me of this time last year, when I decided to take the plunge and purchase a full set of cloth nappies.

It also reminded me that I haven't posted an update on how we are doing with cloth and what I thought about the Bum Genius Freetime nappies that make up the majority of our stash. So here is a long overdue update.

Overall, I love our cloth nappies. The Bum Genius Freetime nappies are fantastic. I highly recommend them; they are easy to wash and dry, simple to put on, and provide a nice snug fit. We also love the Tots Bots EasyFit nappy and the FuzziBunz Elite nappy (pictured on Nate above at 3 months old). I think if I were to start from scratch with my stash, I would purchase some more velcro nappies. Most of mine have snap enclosures and therefore aren't as adjustable around the waist as velcro. But other than that I love my nappies.

However, I have to admit that we do not use cloth nappies full time. We use disposable nappies at night and also when we are out of the house for more than a few hours. So I would estimate that Nate is in cloth half of the time. 

At first I felt really bad about not using cloth all the time, especially after spending so much money on my stash. But the thing is, since becoming a mother I have learned a lot about myself as a person.  And above all else, I have learned that I am not a person of extremes - I am a moderate when it comes to parenting and probably when it comes to most other things in my life. For example, I baby-wear, but also use a stroller; I co-sleep, but also use a crib; I use cloth nappies, but also disposable nappies; I breastfeed, but Nate has had formula a few times; I do baby-led weaning, but also feed Nate purees; the list goes on. 

Being the moderate, flexible, non-extremist mom that I am has its advantages, I can adapt to situations and do things how I want and in which ever way works best for us. I like to think I'm carving my own path into motherhood rather than following a prescriptive philosophy. But it also means that I don't fit completely into any of the mommy camps out there. I feel like I'm too hippie for the traditional moms and too conservative for the hippie moms. Maybe I should start a "left-of-center mom group for the slightly hippie non-extremists". Who's with me?

Okay, I have now completely deviated from the cloth nappy theme of this post, but hey this is my blog and I can't be bothered to do any editing on a Saturday morning.  

We are off to swim class now. Happy weekend everyone!



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real nappies: taking the plunge

my nappy stash

Last week (16th - 22nd April) was Real Nappy Week (or Real Diaper Week in the US), a week to celebrate and encourage the use of cloth nappies. I have been hesitantly wanting to use cloth nappies when baby arrives and had bought a few here and there when they were on sale just to see what they were like. But the idea of buying a full stash and committing to cloth 100% was a bit scary for me and definitely a big financial commitment. 

They say you need between 15-25 nappies for a full stash depending on how often you intend to wash, and I had about 8, so the decision needed to be made as to whether or not I would go for it and top up my stash to the required minimum.

Of the nappies I had purchased already, I had decided that my favourite one was the new Bum Genius Freetime. But they are really expensive at £15.99 per nappy so I was putting off buying more - I just couldn't justify it at that price. Then Real Nappy Week came along and they were on offer at over 20% off , so I went for it and bought 10 nappies at £12.10 each!

That might still sound really expensive to you if you are used to buying disposable nappies at around £0.15 each, but each nappy I bought is a one-size nappy which means it adjusts to fit a child from 8 lbs to potty training and should in theory last indefinitely if I take care of them correctly (meaning I can re-use them if I have another baby in the future). Financially, cloth nappies just make sense, check out this cost comparison. 

So I've done it, I've committed now and can't really go back. I am scared about the extra work that using cloth entails, but figure if I start with cloth I won't know any different. And I'm sure it can't be that bad - my sisters and I were all brought up in cloth;  if my parents can do it, so can I.