When I tell people I am going to use cloth nappies with my baby, their faces usually tell me their real opinion. However, a lot of people are very unaware of what cloth nappies these days are really like. They aren't like the old cloth nappies with pins and clips (though I found out you can still buy them if you want to!!) So many people scrunch up their noses when I say cloth nappies, remember the smell and the soaking involved in nappies. Something that isn't involved in modern cloth nappies!
With my daughter I used MCN for 95% of the time, and loved them. I lived with my mum at the time, who did the laundry. I am a little apprehensive to doing MCN now in my own home as laundry is not my favourite past time. My fiance MJL does the laundry most of the time, but that I plan to change with these nappies.
Now in this post, I am going to go through the nappies I have bought so far for baby, and the companies I have got them from. I am not paid to promote their companies, I am just communicating the products and showing the different styles I have gotten.
When I decided to go with MCN again, I did some research into the different companies that are around, and did a lot of research into pricing etc. I knew from using MCN with my daughter I liked the snap button inserts rather than pockets, and liked the easy option of being all in one rather than having a cover to put on top etc. Though MCN can be a little more work than disposable ones, I didn't want any extra work of having to remove or pull apart before washing. I want the process to be easy otherwise I know my motivation will go.
Before I go into the nappies I have, I want to show the pros and cons of using Modern Cloth Nappies from my past experience.
PROS
- Environmentally friendly. Less waste polluting the environment. I heard that a disposable nappy takes over 100 years to decompose if at all. Being reusable, MCN don't add to the waste.
- Little to no nappy rashes. My daughter had extremely sensitive skin and eczema as a baby. When using MCN her rashes were reduced. Whenever I did use disposable nappies (whilst travelling etc.) she ALWAYS ended up with a bad nappy rash.
- Comfort for baby. I am a huge believer that the MCN are a lot more comfortable for baby. The padding and extra support of the nappy allowed my daughter to sleep a lot more (which was a huge issue at the start!)
- $$$$$$!!! Though it seems a lot to fork out a few hundred dollars at once for the nappies, liners, inserts etc. The overall cost of the nappies works out being much less. Without buying any disposable nappies, I will have spent $1200 at most. When a packet of nappies can cost between $30-$50, it begins to add up fairly quickly!! Especially at the start with the multiple changes needed!!
- The natural elements care for the nappies after washing. (I will go more in- depth on this when I do later posting...)
- No soaking, bleaching or heavy duty chemicals needed.
CONS
- A little more work. The need to empty nappy of anything not liquid (you are allowed to scrunch your nose at that one!) and put a load of washing on is work.
- Having to handle the nappy when dirty.
- The larger nappy sometimes isn't catered for with baby clothes. Most suits and baby clothing are made for the small disposable nappies.
- When out and about, or travelling the awareness of carrying a used nappy needs to be taken into account. For longer periods of travel I used disposable nappies with OJ.
- Other peoples opinions on nappies... I found countless comments about the use of MCN, without any idea of the nappies.
Next onto the nappies I have bought so far and the variations on them. As I am still pregnant, I have not yet been able to use them to give any reflection on them. I will make another post later on this matter.
The first lot of nappies I got were from bambooty.com.au (not paid to promote.) I was extremely impressed by the company and their delivery!! I ordered their all in one nappies with bamboo inserts as pictured below.
The pictures above show one of my favourite designs of the nappies. They have plain nappies, which I got a few white ones, and some interesting designed ones. The first picture shows the buttons on the front. The rows of buttons allows the nappies to be worn from almost newborn right through to toilet training as they can expand with baby's growth. I say almost new born as some of the nappies I found said from 4kg+, and many don't cater for premie size babies. The middle picture shows the snap buttons for the inserts, and the last picture shows the bamboo insert. Overall the quality of these nappies are great, and even have lining in the nappy for the inserts to avoid leakages!
After some thinking I realised I would need some more nappies, especially to begin with so we can have a rotation of wash nappies and being used nappies. I decided to go through a different company, not because I was unhappy, but for variation. I wanted to be able to compare the different nappies and see which ones I would recommend. After more research I found the company babybare.com.au. (Not paid to promote.) I was extremely impressed by this company and delivery also.
The style and designs of the nappies are a little different to the other nappies I got. The size of the two nappies are slightly different, with these nappies being slightly smaller. The cute designs of these nappies were what made me choose them over anything else. The picture above shows their "Oz" design. So cute! In the first picture you can see there are more snap buttons, and this means they can be used from a smaller size. The middle picture you can see how the insert is slightly larger, and has a rainbow edge. Other than adding colour, there doesn't seem a function for the edging. Not shown, but there is snap buttons for one of the inserts. In the last picture you can see the pocket for a second insert. I wasn't aware of this feature when I got the nappies. It isn't necessarily a bad thing, but I am unsure whether I will use the pocket. As stated before, it creates more work. The function is to create an extra layer for liquid (for such things as night sleeping) that is away from baby skin.
Without going too much into the procedure of using MCN, I have also bought a plastic Kmart nappy bin that was $10! A bargain! With the nappies from Baby Bare I also got two bin liners, with very funky designs. They are larger than the nappy bin, and I did no use one with my daughter. So I am excited to see how they go.
I also found some Nappy liners (pictured below) from Big W. A big roll of 100 for less than $10.
In each nappy, the insert snaps in and then on top goes the nappy liner before going on baby. I pre-put together the nappies with the inserts and liners with my daughter after being washed. This saved a lot of time and effort!! I plan to do the same with this baby. These liners are also flushable, which is a huge bonus! The only thing I am using that isn't flushable are the wipes- these just go in a nappy bag in the bin.
Something I did not do with my daughter, but am very excited to use is the above storage trolley. When researching the nappies I found this really cute idea for a trolley, and after emptying my classroom *heart pounds* I had a spare trolley to use. I got this trolley from Kmart last year to use for resources in the classroom. Its only wire and not extremely sturdy, but hopefully it will do the job. On the top I have got the liners, wipes (Big W brand Dymples non fragrance wipes) , nappy bags and disposable nappies (for first days home) and burping bibs (see below). As all the nappies are in the trolley I also had to put some nappies on the top. The middle tray are the nappies. The bottom tray I have put wraps/ swaddles and toys. I also have a small container for bath things as I have yet to work out where to put them.
My extremely clever mum made these burping bibs for us to use. She bought the terrycloth square nappies from Kmart and cut them into rectangular shape. She then crocheted a border around them. Don't they look amazing! I used something similar with OJ (that my mum also made!) and they were amazing. With the shape and size, they can be put over shoulder and saves your clothes from any spit ups! As they are made from terrycloth, they can be chucked in the washing also, and reused.
So overall, I am very excited to get to use Modern Cloth nappies again and go through the MCN journey with another baby. Because I am still pregnant I have yet to be able to use the nappies and reflect on them. I am going to post again later on the process, management and storage of the nappies after use. So keep watching this space!
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