Posts tagged ‘cloth nappies’

March 17th, 2012

Fitted Mattress Protectors

by NappyLadyUK

For years The Nappy Lady has just stocked flat mattress protectors. These are the most cost effective and versatile as they can be moved to any bed no matter the size.

So why have we added fitted mattress protectors?

While fitted protectors cost more that than flat ones, they do have some benefits. If a baby in a cot is sick or has a nappy leak (shouldn’t leak in a good cloth nappy though), with the fitted mattress protector you can just take off this one layer and replace. The mattress underneath is fully protected. If you use the flat protectors for a baby in a cot, these would be placed underneath the normal fitted top sheet. If you need to change the bedding in the night you’d take off the top sheet and the flat protector and then you’d replace both. This gives you slightly more washing.

Once my children are older (30months+) and night time training or trained, they have all slept directly on their flat mattress protectors. If they are sick or wet the bed i’ve only had to whip off this flat protector and put another one on. Their normal fitted sheet underneath has been fully protected and therefore i’ve no need to have to “fit” anything over the edges of the mattress in the middle of the night. This system has worked exceptionally well for years in our house.

Now our eldest is approaching seven years old, he’s had some urinary problems following an operation to correct a hypospadias he was born with. I still think he can’t “feel” a full/nearly full bladder until it’s right at the very last second. He’s now normally reliable at night as long as he goes to the toilet right before bed. If he forgets to go before bed (and Mummy forgets to remind him), it’s quite likely he will wet the bed so i like to have a protector just in case. He’s now starting to go to sleepovers and it’s these times i especially worry about him wetting the bed as he gets very embarrassed by it. At sleepovers he’s more likely to have been drinking a lot of juice which i find really stimulates his bladder, plus he’ll be having so much fun it’s easier to forget that toilet visit. This is where these fitted sheets are fab. His friends will never know that his travel mattress has a bed protector on it as it looks and feels just like normal. If he takes the Tencel fabric sheet these are incredible soft too. He’s happy that he doesn’t look different but also knows he’s got the bed protected just in case. I put two of these fitted sheets on so if he does have an accident in the night he can take it off his travel bed easily and there will be a clean dry layer underneath. His friends will never need to know.

The fitted mattress protectors are available in either cotton or Tencel fabric.

Wendy Richards

www.thenappylady.co.uk

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January 9th, 2012

Do Cloth Nappies Damage Baby’s Hips?

by NappyLadyUK

A common question I get asked by first time cloth nappy users is: Does the extra bulk of a cloth nappy effect baby’s hip development?

The answer is NO!

Cloth nappies keep a newborns hips slightly wider apart than disposables do but this is actually the optimum position for a newborn. When a baby is born their hip joints haven’t fully developed and at birth and at their 6/8 week check the Doctor will check for “clicky hips” or hip dysplasia.   If baby has clicky hips they often need to wear a pavlik hip harness. This harness keeps their legs wider apart so that the hip ball and socket joint are held in a deeper position and can develop properly. This usually helps prevent the need for hip operations later on.

Cloth nappies don’t hold the hips in as wide a position as a hip harness but the extra width and support cloth nappies provide can sometimes prevent the need for a hip harness at all. In the past hip dysplasia was treated by putting the child in 2 bulky terry squares at a time to achieve the wider leg position.

One of my recent customers Kirstie has written about her experience with clicky hips.

“We had already decided our son would use cloth nappies before he arrived and we purchased a complete nappy system from Wendy during antenatal. He stared wearing them after the meconium had been passed out his system.
In his fifth week he was diagnosed as having a “clicky hip” and he required a Pavlik harness. We were reassured to learn from the paediatrician that the cloth nappies had been helping to keep his hips in a better position compared to the thinner disposable nappies. At first it was tricky to weave the nappys’ velcro fastenings through and underneath the harness straps, but after a couple of days we were changing nappies fairly expertly. We had a few leakages at first as the harness was keeping his legs wide open but as soon as his thighs bulked up the seal around the legs was tighter and no more accidents.
He is now four months old, and was only in the harness for 7 weeks. We are happy knowing that the cloth nappies are still augmenting his hip joints.
We regularly receive positive comments about using cloth nappies, and we are really pleased that we made the decision to use them.”

Once baby is also cruising and walking their bottoms and backs will thank you for choosing cloth. Learning to walk requires a lot of falling too. The impact (especially on hard floors) is softened by the fluffy padding of their nappies. I know i’d certainly prefer to fall over with a thick layer covering my bottom than just thin trousers!

For more benefits of Cloth Nappies see our article “Advantages of Cloth Nappies.”

Wendy

www.thenappylady.co.uk
www.facebook.com/TheNappyLady

CategoryNappy choices, Product information | Comment5 Comments »

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August 26th, 2011

How to use cloth nappies when out of the house

by NappyLadyUK

Lots of people have this fear of how they will use cloth nappies when they are outside the home. I must admit I was one of them however I soon learnt there was nothing to be scared of.

When I had my first child I used to leave the house with him wearing a cloth nappy but if he needed a change I’d put a disposable on him as it was “easier.” I soon realised though that this was a complete waste of a nappy wrap (I was using 2 part nappies – Totsbots nappy and Motherease wrap), as only the inner nappy needed changing. The outer wrap had been perfectly fine to continue using however I’d end up putting both the nappy and wrap in the wet nappy bag for washing. I then began to take my cloth nappies out with me and when he needed a change I just put a new nappy on and used the same wrap again.

Now six years on and baby number 3 is here, I don’t even question taking cloth nappies with me and I proudly change her into her lovely fluffy nappies.  Nappies have moved on a lot in this time and there are now some fantastically reliable all in ones and pocket nappies which are as near as you can get to disposables. If you are worried about changing cloth when out or having to put a wrap on as well (takes seconds though) then you could use one layer nappies as your changing bag nappies.

I frequently get asked is what to do with the poo when you’re out and if you end up with a really smelly bag.

Even if you use disposables you often get told at playgroups to take your disposable nappies away with you (if I do your tour of the Farnham Toy Library you’ll definitely get a reminder about this). Many halls used for playgroups only have the bins changed weekly and they don’t want smelly disposables left sitting there.  If I have to change a pooey nappy when I’m out and I have access to a toilet, I flush away the pooey paper liner so the poo has gone and all I’m left with is a wet nappy. If I don’t have access to a toilet, then I seal the nappy back up and store it in my wet nappy bag. I will then flush away the pooey paper liner at home.

I store all my soiled nappies in a wet nappy bag. This secures with a drawstring and keeps smells inside but also allows a little air to circulate so the nappies can breathe. If I only have a couple of nappies in the wet nappy bag, when I get home I tip them into my nappy bucket. If the nappy bag is full (i.e. been away for a weekend), then I open the nappy bag and tip all the nappies into my washing machine and do a normal nappy wash (adding any nappies in that might be in my bucket too).

You should also remember than a good cloth nappy is less likely to leak than a disposable. I’d much rather change a pooey cloth nappy, than apooey disposable nappy and pooey clothes!

Wendy Richards

www.thenappylady.co.uk

CategoryFamily, Nappy choices, Product information | Comment1 Comment »

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June 25th, 2011

How Bad Are Bananas?

by NappyLadyUK

I’ve been reading a very interesting book called “How Bad Are Bananas?” by Mike Berners-Lee. The book calculates the carbon footprint of just about everything. With the microfibre Teddys finally back in stock I thought I’d share the chapter from this book on the carbon footprint of nylon vs. cotton trousers. Obviously different fabrics and items than microfibre and cotton nappies but still the basic principle of manmade vs. natural.

The Teddy nappy is one I recommend very frequently, as let’s face it the British climate isn’t reliable or ideal for drying nappies/clothing outside all year round. I regularly get parents concerned about my Teddy recommendation as the Teddy sounds perfect for them but it’s not a natural fabric. Well here’s what Mike has to say about the carbon footprint of natural fabrics.

“A pair of trousers

Carbon Footprint
3kg CO2e my favourite old Nylon travelling trousers
6kg C02e my cotton trousers

‘Natural’ materials may sound greener, but the footprint tells a different story.

My cotton jeans weigh 600g. Cotton has a footprint of around 7kg C02e per kilo. On top of that there is dying, cutting, sewing, an allowance for waste fabric, buckles and zips transport and so on, which probably takes the total to about 6kg per pair – equivalent to an 8 mile drive in an average car.

But this figure doesn’t tell the whole story. Over the 4 years I suspect I’ll get out of them, the footprint of washing and drying them is likely to be several times the footprint of producing them in the first place. My best estimate is four times more. It all depends how quickly I get them dirty and how tolerant I am of the dirt and how they are washed and dried. By there is no avoiding the fact that the jeans are heavy when wet and they take a lot of drying.

At the other end of the scale is a pair of trousers I’ve had for 12 years. They have travelled extensively and I’ve worn them endlessly in the UK too. They weigh just 250g and they dry fantastically fast. I can’t seem to wear them out. They cost £50 which felt like a lot at the time but now seems a bargain. They are made of some fancy fine-woven nylon. Nylon has a footprint of between 7 and 9kg C02e per kilo of finished trousers or 3kg per pair is probably about right.

Even if I wear my cotton jeans right into the ground. I can’t envisage getting more than 200 days of solid use out of them. That works out at a minimum of 30g C02e per day – or more than 100g per day once I factor in the laundry. By comparison, my nylon trousers are probably good for 600 days of wear, so that’s just 5g per wear day and because they virtually drip dry the laundry aspect probably adds only an extra 6-12g. All told then, the nylon trousers are less than one-tenth as carbon intensive as the jeans.”

Back to nappies in my own nappy supply I’ve used all fabrics and what’s the longest lasting one… good old microfibre. I’ve had children in nappies for 6 years now and my microfibre ones are still going strong on baby number 3 and in fact they look pretty much like new, they are all fluffy, soft, white and still highly absorbent. As baby 3 outgrows them all my second hand nappies are being sold or passed on, hopefully those microfibre nappies will see another 3 babies through their nappy years.  My cotton and bamboo nappies however look a little sad and some have fallen by the recycling bin wayside on baby 2 and 3. I’ve never put my nappies in my tumble-drier even when I had two in nappies and can testify that the microfibre ones do dry superfast and never need more energy used(radiators/tumble drier etc) to dry them. Therefore I fully agree with Mike Berners Lee that we should consider the lifetime impacts of “natural” fabrics, as manmade fabric doesn’t necessarily mean it’s bad.

If I recommend a microfibre nappy for you please don’t immediately poo poo the idea of microfibre fabric because it’s not natural. I would have recommended it because I feel you need and would appreciate the speed microfibre dries at. Just think about the on-going cost saving not having to run a tumble-drier or turning on your radiators. With energy bills going up 20% this winter, drying speed should be given a lot more thought when choosing your nappies.

If you fancy having a more in-depth read into carbon footprints I highly recommend the “How Bad Are Bananas?” book. It’s easy to read and simple to follow. I’m not going to tell you if bananas are bad, you’ll have to find out yourself. It’s now in paperback and costs £8.99 ISBN 978-1846688911 published by Profile books.
Wendy Richards

www.thenappylady.co.uk

CategoryEnvironment, Nappy choices, Product information | CommentNo Comments »

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January 2nd, 2011

Wrap review from one of my testers

by NappyLadyUK

I mainly do all the product testing as having a young baby in the house it makes it very easy to do. It’s always good however to have other peoples’ opinions and to test on other baby shapes to confirm or conflict on my experience.  Over the years my local friend Sharon who is an experience cloth nappy user, tested a fair number of good and bad nappies.  Her girls were also a completely different shape to my chunky boys at the time. Alas her girls are no longer in nappies and she assures me she’s not having any more just so she can keep testing nappies for me. How inconsiderate!

I also get to know some customers really well through ongoing help with any nappy problems. If it’s quite an unusual, tricky or plain puzzling problem i often start to look for alternative products i’ve never tried that might offer a solution for them and get them to test them for me.  This has happened recently and i’ve had a number of customers testing products and has lead to some new products being added.  I always need honest balanced feedback on the lines and received one such email today. Below is a copy of feedback on various wraps Eve has tried for me on her twins who were suffering with leaky wraps.

“My top favourites were the Motherease Airflow.  Obviously other people have different sized babies/toddlers, but i found these had the most flexibility of size (mine have recently had a growth spurt too and they still fit like a dream).  The 3 settings on both waist and leg are flexible enough to fit my much more slender twin and my chunkier one, but they don’t have so many poppers that you lose where you are, nor do they have poppers that can fold over and dig in. never any leaks.
 
Nature Babies Economy birth to potty wraps:  these had lots and lots of poppers which ought to have made them more flexible sizing-wize but I didn’t really find that to be the case.  The waist is very large so you need to be 3 or more popper in on each side, and you sort of lose track of which settings work for which baby as there are too many options, so you spend longer getting the fit right each time.  Whereas for the motherease i knew it was – Twin 1=loosest, Twin 2=middle setting, so easy.  I had more leaks with these ones. Plus i found the waist part would sometimes get folded over and leave popper marks on the babies skin which can’t have been comfortable.  they are ok though, not terrible or anything.
 
Flip:  these had a nice snug comfortable fit, but they are really for the smaller slimmer baby/toddler, too few popper options. They are already a bit too snug for Twin 1 and so i can’t see them having enough flexibility to suit all sized infants.  no leaks though.
 
So overall i’m very happy i bought the other motherease ones from you as they suit me very well! but they were all fine in their own way.” Eve

Wendy Richards

www.thenappylady.co.uk

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December 30th, 2010

Cloth Boosters in Disposable Nappies.

by NappyLadyUK

I love my cloth nappies and can not imagine using disposables however i never pressurise people to do the same. All my friends know what i use and what my job is but if cloth nappies don’t interest them, then that’s fine with me and i respect their choice.  If friends have disposable nappy problems i will always suggest a cloth alternative but again if that’s not for them no problem. 

I made one friend at Antenatal classes when we were both expecting our first children six years ago. She’s always hated the disposable nappy waste but can’t face the thought of dealing with cloth nappies and poo. She hated the disposable breast pad waste and changed to washable ones but washable nappies just haven’t been for her. That was until now. 

Just before Christmas she asked me for help.  Her youngest Son is approx 18months old and was wetting through his disposables every night. She even tried a late night change but she still ended up changing wet PJ’s and bedding every morning. She was thinking of trying cloth for night time but knowing my friend i felt this would be too much for her to start with.  Instead I got her to try one of the fabulous XL super boosters and showed her how to put fold this and put it inside a disposable. These hold almost 600ml on their own so this would really up the capacity of the disposable.  I also gave her a fleece liner to go on top so that her Son would still feel almost as dry as he did in his disposables.  In case she needed the back up of another layer i also gave her a Motherease Airflow as well. I saw her yesterday and I was very pleased to hear the leaks have stopped and she wants more super boosters so  she doesn’t have to wash them every morning.

She might still be using disposables but at least she’s not having to do an extra night time change so that’s seven nappies a week i’ve saved her plus an awful lot of wet bedding to be washed.

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September 12th, 2010

What is “THE BEST” cloth nappy?

by NappyLadyUK

I get asked all the time what is THE BEST nappy? Quite simply there isn’t one answer to this.  What is best for one person would be an awful choice for someone else.

As a general rule you get the best containment and absorbency with a two part nappy system (nappy and separate wrap).  This is because if anything gets past the nappy you still have the wrap as a second layer to protect baby’s clothes. I personal think having leak free nappies is very important but for some people this is less important and the simplicity of an all in one is best for them. Once baby is weaned and their poo is more solid, the one layer containment of a pocket/all in one nappy is generally sufficient for many babies. If someone is converting to cloth nappies once baby is weaned I’ll often (but not always) recommend an all in one/pocket nappy such as the Bumgenius V4 or Totsbots Easyfit V2 as their best options. These nappies work in a very similar way to disposables so baby’s later switch to cloth nappies is very simple for their parents.

Drying facilities are also very important. If you have limited drying facilities then you really need and will appreciate a fast drying nappy. The Bambinex Teddy nappy is super fast drying and makes using cloth nappies a real option for many people. If drying speed is important to you, then a microfibre nappy such as the Teddy or the Bumgenius V4 will definitely be the best nappy for you.

Bamboo fabric nappies are very popular at the moment but if you have limited drying facilities you will really struggle to dry them. Some of my pure bamboo nappies have taken up to 3 days to dry in the Autumn/Spring on inside airers. Bamboo however is very slim and if looks are important to you then bamboo nappies may be the best option for you. The Bambinex bamboo is a wonderfully slim nappy which offers fantastic absorbency and containment as well.  There are also now mixed fabric nappies such as the Bamboozle Stretchy and Flexitot; these aren’t quite as slim as the Bambinex bamboo but quicker drying. If you don’t think you can cope with the potential drying time of pure bamboo nappies these could be the best for you.

Baby’s height is another key factor which can greatly influence your best nappy. Many of the big brand nappies are average length nappies and can be outgrown by tall children. If you have a tall baby or potentially a tall child (this is why I ask for parental height on the advice questionnaire to give me an idea of baby’s height potential), then the Bumble is a fantastic choice. The Bumble has a longer length setting and has fitted my tall children through to potty training. Other longer length nappies include the Bambinex nappies and the new Bumgenius V4.

The traditional terry squares should also not be forgotten. These are the most economical nappy system and far easier to use than many people imagine. In the financially stretching times we live in, terry squares are the best option for many people and you can get a great birth to potty nappy system for only £100. Over the last few years I’ve been asked about terry squares more than ever before.

My advice service isn’t limited to the UK and I regularly I’ve advice to parents from all over the world. This raises a whole new set of issues for me to consider such as local climate or access to washing facilities. If you only have access to hand washing or live in a Putsi Fly risk area then terry squares will be the best and only suitable system for you.

There are many other factors which need to be considered to decide on your “best” nappy. These include; Childcare arrangements and what age baby will go to child care; if you’re going to have more children and need to reuse the nappies; will you have more than one child in nappies at the same time; do you have partners or family support, as well as many other factors. For this reason I always encourage people to fill in the advice questionnaire on The Nappy Lady website so I can fully assess your needs, priorities and requirements and therefore recommend what I consider to be the best nappy systems for you.

Wendy Richards

www.thenappylady.co.uk

CategoryNappy choices, Product information | Comment2 Comments »

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June 2nd, 2010

June Nappy Competition for the Dads

by NappyLadyUK

The Go Real Cloth Nappy Information Service are running a special Fathers Day competition throughout June – we want all the dads out there to send us a picture of you and your little one for our Cute in Cloth gallery to be in with a chance of winning a fabulous prize! http://www.goreal.org.uk/cute-in-cloth-dads-special

Always happy to promote a good competition!

CategoryBits and Bobs | CommentNo Comments »

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May 24th, 2010

Tailor your Cloth Nappy Guide Here!

by NappyLadyUK

In order to write the best printed Nappy Lady Guide to Cloth Nappies, I need to ensure I include everything that my readers will want.

So do please tell me what you would like to see in this guide. So far, I’ve got lots of information about jargon and choices, usage and laundry tips, some readers’ experiences of cloth and even articles about the benefits and disadvantages of both cloth and disposable nappies. I’m even listing a few key manufacturers and importers in a resource directory.

Is there anything else you want me to tell you about?

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May 7th, 2010

Benefits of Cloth Nappies

by NappyLadyUK

Wendy has done a great YouTube video about the benefits of cloth nappies, if you’re looking to inform yourself about these.

You can find it at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4VT1OqtY_aI

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