Julie's Story
Hi, I’m Julie. My little girl has been mostly in washable nappies since she was about 3 months old. I found that the scariest thing about a new baby was actually the amount of rubbish she seemed to generate – amazing bearing in mind she was the tiniest member of the family. Most of the extra non-recyclable stuff was actually disposable nappies and wipes, just going to block up landfill sites.
I had looked into washables whilst I was pregnant, but ended up completely confused over the sheer variety of them – I had no idea where to start. So after she arrived, I ventured to a nappuccino, and borrowed a trial pack. It was nice to meet other parents who use washables (reassuring me that I’m not a complete nutter). Some of the nappies in the trial pack I liked, and some just didn’t suit my little one. Well, I suppose we’ve all tried on 3 pairs of trousers in one shop and found that only one pair fit! I opted for prefolds at first, along with some cute little all-in-ones.
However, I discovered that cloth nappies are rather addictive, and couldn’t resist buying a few more here and there, just to see how we got on with them. As my little one got more mobile, I found that prefolds didn’t do the trick quite so well. She also got the hang of undoing velcro quite early, which limited what I could put on her in summer, when she doesn’t wear a vest. However, so far, she has failed to undo Motherease airflow wraps, and we use Twt Clwt, Bambinex or Easypeasy bumbles underneath. My trusty prefolds still get plenty of use, but I use them in pocket nappies now.
I also mostly use washable wipes now – I keep a stack of them next to the changing mat, along with a plastic bowl of water with a little bit of my favourite baby wash in it. The wipes then just go in the wash with the nappies. Washing them is no big hassle: the dirty nappies go in a lidded bucket with a laundry net in; when the bucket’s full, the net gets lifted into the machine. I give them a cold rinse first with some white vinegar (to combat smells), then a short eco wash at 60 degrees.
And what does my little one think? Well, she always seems happy to wear her cloth nappies. In fact, she loves pulling them out of the drawer to play with!