What good timing with all the climate change activism happening at the moment.
I've written about why I like cloth nappies a couple of times. It boils down to a few points.
1. I hate the amount of waste that is generated by 'disposable' nappies. (Aside from a couple of brands, they don't break down, they don't biodegrade. Something that has been on your baby's bum for a few hours will sit in land fill practically forever. That is not good)
2. The chemicals in them smell really nasty. Oh, and you're putting a bunch of chemicals next to your child's bum. And polluting the world they're going to live in)
3. Poo will explode out the back of them. Not all the time, but it will happen.
On the other hand - cloth nappies
1. Are made out a variety of materials, but many are natural like cotton or bamboo and lovely and soft against your baby's bottom.
2. You need a wrap or an all in one affair to provide some waterproofing - these come in lots of pretty and fun prints.
3. They're basically just like disposable nappies, you do up a couple of bits of Velcro or poppers
4. When you're done you put them in a nappy bucket rather than the bin & when that's full, instead of throwing it all in the wheelie bin you put it in the washing machine, add a scoop of detergent and press go. Dry them when you're done and then start all over again. No trip to the shops, no adding to the mountain of landfill. Yes, you have to do laundry, but you're presumably a) an adult and b) a parent, so you have to do laundry anyway. It's really not that hard!
5. Poo goes in the toilet. Try to limit how much poo goes in your washing machine.
6. Babies don't actually seem to mind having a wet bum, its warm and contrary to what Pampers and co would have you believe, it doesn't give them nappy rash
Totsbots Bambooozles are my favourites. Pip really likes the yellow ducks and always asks for 'my quackers'. These ones are made in Scotland out of bamboo.
You can learn all about the different types and brands of nappies at the wonderful Nappy Lady website - she basically stocks everything and will give you all advice you need. One of the issues with buying cloth nappies is that they are more expensive to start with. But you're only buying them once, not every week, so it balances out and if they're going to go on more than one baby then you'll be laughing by the end of it!
AND, it's Real Nappy week - if you're tempted to make the change (DO IT!) this week there are offers all over the place, including 20% off everything at www.thenappylady.co.uk
We all need to do a bit more to protect the world we're bringing our children up into. The numbers and the science are terrifying and it can feel hard to know what any of us as individuals can do - but there are plenty of changes that do a bit to help - this is one of them.
Other benefits of the cloth bum:
1. Baby Cleo was born with a clicky hip. For the first couple of weeks she was in Kit & Kin disposables as teeny tiny bums are actually kinda tiny for most of the cloth nappies and I could feel that hip clicking every time I changed her. Once she'd been in cloth for a week it was less noticeable and its now gone - she does have a hospital check next week, but the nurse at her baby check this week was confident that it had gone. The extra bulk of the cloth supports the hip joint and pushes it into a better place for development. GO CLOTH NAPPIES.
2. Pip fell off a climbing frame last week. I'm not sure how he thought he was going to get down the fireman's pole and I was too far away to stop him. He landed on his bum. His nicely cushioned cloth bum. Yes, he was in shock and cried a bit, but he wasn't actually hurt. GO CLOTH NAPPIES.
Oh and cheeky wipes are having 25% off everything this week too for Earth Week.
https://www.cheekywipes.com