The lovely Pippa is a Lancashire mummy of two who blogs over at Red Rose Mummy and she joins us today to tell us why she is considering switching to Cloth Nappies...
Cloth nappies are something that I first looked at when pregnant with my son over three years ago. I've always tried to live life in as an environmentally-friendly way as possible and I knew that the legacy of a child wearing disposables throughout their 'nappy-wearing' life would be at odds with this. I decided I would start out using disposables then switch to cloth. We never did. He is three years old, potty trained and has only ever worn disposable nappies.
Seven months ago his baby sister arrived and the prospect of raising two babies using disposables weighed even heavier on me. The first few months of having two children passed by in a blur but, a couple of months ago my thoughts turned properly to switching to cloth. I've asked lots of blogging friends about their experiences and only heard positive tales. Jen, my lovely host for this post has been extremely helpful and has loaned us two different types of nappy to try out, a Close Parent pop in and a Baba and Boo pocket. I've found this so useful and have tried both on Little Miss. Finally I have a child who has worn something other than disposables!
I've been looking out for special offers ever since and have ordered two Little Lamb trial packs. I'm combing the Facebook pages and websites of the Real Nappy Week collaborators to look for good discounts too.
We aren't ready to make the switch quite yet, I need to order some more fluff but I'm enjoying using those that we have (and the loaned nappies) and already noticing that I have to buy disposables less. I don't understand all the different nappies, or the vocabulary of cloth nappies yet but I'm learning quickly. It's definitely helpful to speak to a few people who have used cloth nappies and explore all their different recommendations, and Real Nappy Week is a terrific time to do so.
I'm not sure we will ever make it to exclusively cloth., and I so admire those families that do, but I'm looking forward to relying less on disposables and sending fewer of them to landfill. The fact that fluffy cloth nappies look so cute helps too!
Thank you for sharing your decision with us! Please do show Pippa some comment love and feel free to ask any cloth nappy questions you may have if you are also thinking of making the switch! Do you have any tips for Pippa or other parents considering giving Cloth Nappies a go? Please share them in the comments! All comments get entered into our prize draw!
You can read more from Pippa here....
Another great post - hope all goes well with the transition to fluff!
ReplyDeleteLovely post. I think switching to cloth is a lot easier than most people think, good to have someone vocalise it x
ReplyDeleteI'm currently making the switch to cloth, after finding out I'm pregnant with baby number 6, I am very in tune with the environment well like to think so and always do my bit by recycling and saint energy where possible. I have never heard of reusuable nappies and only found out about them because my friend uses them and showed me all her pretty stash. I looked into how much disposables cost and all the land fill pictures and decided to delve right in. It's a very big learning curve but worth it for all the pretty prints and eye catching colours and then knowing you are looking after the planet and also ty our baby's skin makes it worth while. I hope I can convert a few mums when bump is here but untill then I'm on the search for prettys :0)
ReplyDeleteI think going slowly is the best way and everytime you use a cloth nappy (even if you just have one or two) you are a saving a disposable from being dumped in a landfill. So well done for giving it a go! Hope you find lots of great offers this week
ReplyDeleteI have been using cloth with my daughter and we bought bumgenius nappies. I wish I spent more money on trial nappies before buying mostly bumgenius as I think I did wrong in choosing them. They are not all bad but they didn't last long before things started to break and the velcro failed on a few. However they have improved them since me purchasing them so they could possibly be better!
ReplyDeleteBest of luck. It definitely makes potty training easier and quicker - especially for girls, who sometimes have a bit of trouble realising the sensations that mean they are having a wee... :)
ReplyDeleteI cloth bummed my 2 and a half year old from 3 months to 18 months with bumgenius birth to potty and I loved them, then unfortunately they got a bit wiffy and started leaking i tried a few things to strip them to no avail. Then i found a group on Facebook and in. the last few Weeks have managed to revive the bumgenius for my newborn buy more fluff and trainer pants for my potty training son and gain so much info from all the lovely ladies in the group. i am now looking forwards to receiving my first wool soaker.
ReplyDeleteGood luck in. your cloth journey once you start you get addicted ;)
I was a switcher too, and I am glad I did, it was nerve wraking at first but once you get into it you wonder why you didnt do it sooner!! x
ReplyDeleteI hope the transition to fluff goes well for you. As I used cloth with Bug straight from birth I never had the worry of transiting and its been very interesting to read a post about it.
ReplyDeleteWelcome to the Fluffy side! We have pretty nappies here!
ReplyDeleteI used cloth with number 1 till she was 18 months, then stopped (can't really remember why). Number 2 is now 10 weeks so I've got my stash out again.
ReplyDeleteWoohoo! Welcome to a new addiction! ;)
ReplyDeleteCloth nappies are ace! I'm only a part time cloth bummer but I know that it's still more environmentally friendly than full time sposies and still saves money.
I started out similarly to you, couldn't imagine having my newborn who pooped every time he fed in cloth. So we waited until he started solids and haven't looked back. Have fun!
Well done on your post and on getting some cloth into your house! Don't go thinking you won't go 'all in' though- I started part-time with disposables at night until just 6 months ago! I now have a toddler and a 10m baby in cloth 24/7 plus cloth wipes and ohhh how I wish I had asked for help regarding cloth at night sooner! Good luck finding some fab deals and watching your need for disposables get less and less and less....
ReplyDeleteI would love to make the switch but am a bit worried spending the money then not getting on with them. I will be taking your advice and finding out some more information before I make a decision!
ReplyDeleteGood luck in your fluffy journey!
ReplyDeleteFound this really interesting. I had so many family members telling me that cloth nappies are a nightmare. We absolutely love them and wouldn't go back! They're such a talking point. :-)
ReplyDeletegreat post, thankyou.
ReplyDeleteGood luck - take it one day at a time - and think one less nappy to landfill :)
ReplyDeleteI always thought it must be hard to switch after getting used to disposibles! I really intended to use it with my first, but then didnt work out, and now with the 3 close together i feel like it would be a lot of work but may be some time in future for number 4 if i space them out a bit! all the nice designs and fabrics are a bit appealing, as well as the eco reasons obviously!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for your lovely comments everyone. I'm really starting to get to grips with cloth and really looking forward to building my stash!
ReplyDelete