How I convinced my husband we should cloth bum!

I have always loved the idea of using cloth nappies. My husband, however, has not. We've been using cloth nappies for over 5 months now, and even now if I'm out of the house, he sneaks her back into disposables. He's come up with a stream of reasons that he doesn't really like to use them, all of which I understand. But I was very determined to use them, and seeing as I do 80% of the nappy changes I stood my ground. He will thank me one day ;) Below are a list of his 'excuses' and my responses...

"They cost an absolute fortune!"
When you consider how long you need to use nappies for (24 months at least normally) you do save money in the long run. The initial start up cost is a definite downside to cloth nappies but it does pay off as you save A LOT of money. If you look after your nappies well, you can also use them beyond one child and continue to use them for subsequent babies (there's a good reason to build a lovely large stash)

It is 100% cost effective... Unless like me, you become a cloth nappy addict. I swear he doesn't even know about half of our stash... I am slowly adding them so he doesn't realise. I've heard of other mummies telling their husbands/partners that they won them in giveaways etc as well. Genius!!

"I don't want to deal with the poop"
It's just poop. And we own soap. When our first was a couple of months old.. He projectile pooped. Everywhere. All over me and my husband. We were speechless but poop is inevitable with babies, whether you use cloth nappies or disposables, and I guarantee as a parent you will get pooped on a number of times during the nappy years... and possibly beyond!

My husband is a bit of a poo-aphobe and really didn't like the idea of having to 'deal' with the poo. So we compromised. We have two nappy pails, one for nappies that need a rinse, and the one for pre-rinsed 'ready for the wash nappies'. So now he has no excuse HA!

"What if I'm out and she poops everywhere... I can't bin the nappy and I don't want to carry that around"

This phased me at first as well. It took my a while to get a good 'system' going, so we kept emergency disposables in the changing bag for a while. We do now carry two wet bags, one for nappies and one for clothes (this one came with the changing bag) to make things easier. And I can 100% confirm that carrying a poop filled cloth nappy is no different to poop covered clothes that have been exploded on. You can wrap them up and put them in the wet bag as you would with soiled clothes, take home, wash and go again! The wet bags can be washed too and if you have a good wet bag, they don't smell and you wouldn't notice any difference (that's wee and poo included).

"I work up to 60 hours some weeks, I can't bothered dealing with them after a long shift at work. Disposables are easier"

There really isn't much difference (especially now we have our 'still to rinse' bucket). It the same quick change as we mostly use all-in-ones, and all he has to do is put the dirty nappy in the bucket. There is equally as much effort in changing a disposable! Besides, I change the nappies most of the time anyway. Since buying lots of lovely prints - I actually enjoy it!

"It's too much washing"

Honestly, when my husband said this, my response was "you never touch the washing machine anyway". He doesn't. The last time he did the washing I was in hospital with severe morning sickness, I was there for two days and he managed to ruin 3 of my favourite tops by mixing the washing...

In terms of how much extra you wash, it really isn't that much. I wash twice a week and it's literally just a case of chucking of them in the washing machine and hanging them up to dry. Which I love, as I get to show the nappies off on the airer... sad I know.

We now use cloth nappies 90% of the time. I'm still working on him! We will get there! I'm a stubborn mummy and determined on using them all the time.
Let me know what your husbands and partners think of them and how or even if you had to convince them to use the cloth.
Leave me a comment below and don't forget to subscribe! :)

Reusable Kitchen Towel

A couple of weeks back I accidentally came across a blog about reusable kitchen towel on my Pinterest. We've been making the move to all things reusable (as much as possible and as much as I convince the husband) over the past few months, and I just think this is a brilliant idea! If you're like me, kitchen towel is pretty much just for mopping up children's spillages, and we seem to spend an absolute fortune on the stuff, just for it to go in the bin!

It took me a while to think of a material that was suitable for this and that I could buy in my local shops. In the end I found some lovely polka dot materials in my local fabric store for around £2-3 a metre and some of the wilkos value hand towels for £1 in my local Wilkinson's store which are perfect! The hand towels cut into 6 equal squares, and then I just cut out the same size square from my patterned fabric. You could just use 2 layers of towel but I wanted them to match my kitchen and to stand out from the other face towels I have for the kids (they're incredibly messy eaters!). The kitchen towels that I've made look like this...

I have found a few different tutorials which give lots of information and pictures showing how to make these. The one below is pretty much exactly what I did for mine, I've just not got around to adding the snaps!

http://thatshortgirlsblog.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/reusable-paper-towel-tutorial.html

This tutorial is also brilliant as she has also added a tube with snaps for the inside, which is a such a good idea, because rolling these up neatly is difficult!

http://cateyedkp.tumblr.com/post/28130255598/unpaper-towel-tutorial

And for those without a sewing machine here is tutorial for hand sewn ones! This is packed full with information, so even if you're no good with a plain needle and thread (like me!), its full of tips to make these easy peasy to make!

http://www.mommypotamus.com/diy-unpaper-towels-without-a-sewing-machine/

These really are great and they're so much better for the environment! We're using these around 50% of the time at the minute, as we're just finishing up our final (and last!) rolls of kitchen towel. They are perfect for spillages and so much more absorbent! So far we are definitely a fan of these. We currently have two rolls but I have purchased the material to make another two rolls, which is sitting on my sewing desk currently waiting, alongside a couple of other projects.

I would imagine you would need to remake a fresh set or two every 6-12 months, depending on how much you use them or how well they're looked after but when you compare this with how much you'd spend on disposable kitchen roll, you'd still make a substantial saving... plus they're prettier!

I hope you've found this helpful! Leave me a comment and let me know what you think of these and please subscribe to this blog :) x

A nappy review - Bambino Mio Miosolo

I'd known about reusable nappies from when I was much younger and my auntie was having her children. I remember seeing maidens of prefolds and wraps around the house when we'd visit, but I never really thought much of it until I had my second child.

I was first introduced to bambino mio after I purchased 'a starter pack' of two-parters (prefolds and wraps) at a baby event in my local supermarket and researched into the brand and what other types of nappies they do. A couple of days later I purchased some preloved miosolos off a site I found to try, as prefolds and wraps weren't working for us at the time, and I LOVED them!

I'd looked at a number of other brands before purchasing these and liked the look of them for a number of reasons but mostly it was the reviews and how many people were using them. The prints that they come in are soooo pretty! Even my 4 year old little boy wanted to wear them because he loved the patterns... luckily we settled for letting him pick what print his sister wears as it took MONTHS to potty train him and he is NOT going back into nappies now! As much as I'd love the excuse to double our stash and buy some more boyish prints!

At first I found they were a little too big for my little girl, who is quite slim and long, even on a smaller rise as she was only 4 months at the time, but looking back I think it's more that it took us a while to figure them out. How to get a good fit, getting the elastic snug around the legs and also knowing which rise we needed it on.

Now 4 and a half months on they're our go to nappy and we LOVE them.

The miosolo nappy is an all in one 'birth to potty' nappy and they come in many different prints and block colours. They are velcro fastened and have three rises on the front, allowing you to adjust the size of them to fit your little one. The insert tucks into the back, similar to a pocket nappy, which is brilliant as you can wash and pre-stuff them ready to use. I love this about them as my husband (who isn't so keen to use cloth) even finds these easy to use - they're fool proof! ... Well almost, the first time my husband put one of these on my daughter it was back to front - somehow!

The microfibre insert itself has a little pocket at the top to help you stuff it into the pocket of the nappy, which is brilliant, as not only does it make it 5x easier to stuff the nappy, it also serves as something to cover any jewellery, as I am terrified my wedding ring is going to somehow rip the PUL (paranoid I know). It also has a pull cord type of thing along the insert, to help you pull out the insert after use with minimal touching of the insert itself.

 

When washing, I have found that they tend to take a day to dry on an airier fully in the winter but in the summer they can take a couple of hours when the weather is nice and warm (which is never in the UK) so having a good stash is key if you're like me and only tend to wash every 3 days.

They can be quite pricey if brought at full price (around £15.99 normally), however they last, they wash brilliantly and are so pretty and cute when on the bum! Also you can often pick them up cheaper in on various websites running offers or even sometimes in local supermarkets in the UK. My local Aldi supermarket recently had them in their baby event for £7.99. Needless to say our stash grew by at least 5 nappies that week! I wanted more but my husband wouldn't let me - actually they sold out but he doesn't know that's the reason we didn't get any more ;)

Overall I do think these nappies are perfect for us! They're easy to use, come in lovely colours and just work really well on our little girl. They've won numerous awards in the UK and I can definitely see why! Plus they can fit my 4 year old, which goes to show they really are a birth-to-POTTY nappy and will last through the ages!

Thanks for reading and don't forget to subscribe for more nappy reviews and much more x

5 ways to use cloth nappies on a budget

When I first starting cloth-bumming, I was on maternity leave, earning much less than my normal wage and trying to save as much money as possible and I know many are also in a very similar situation. Cloth-bumming is often described as a way to save money and 'cheaper in the long run' and whilst all of these are true, I know many who have decided against cloth because of the initial cost.

If I'm honest, cloth-bumming wasn't an overnight revelation for us and it took us a good few months to build up our stash (which is still very small compared to some I've seen) and the same amount of time to have my little girl in these majority of the time. The picture below is about 80% of our stash (I have some more on the way - it's so addictive!)

 

Buy nappies preloved

A lot of my nappies have come from preloved sites including pages on facebook, and they are brilliant. This a perfect solution for if you're wanting to try as specific brand, as more often than not someone has one or two lying around which they don't use. Some of my Miosolos (bottom shelf) cost as little as £3-4 before postage which is a fraction of the cost to buy brand new which is normally around £15 depending on the site/shop.

Have a good look online for cheaper prices

Keep an eye out for offers as well. All of my new nappies have been bought on offer, as I just can't afford to pay the full price. For those in the UK, Tesco stock white Miosolos for £7 each on their website which is fab if you aren't too bothered by the print. My Totsbots were bought in an event on the makers page before Christmas, costing £8.50 each instead of the usual £16 (depending on site). I have also noticed many sites also have offers on depending on the time of year (black Friday, Christmas etc) which can usually get you a few ££'s off.

Some real nappy sites that I've seen also have their own 'preloved' sale pages where they sell off ex-display or also old prints that are no longer stocked.

Sign up to real nappy websites

Many websites give you a discount code for signing up to their website which can be anything up to 15%

Check your local supermarkets and baby shops

It seems cloth bumming is becoming more and more popular so it's also worth looking at baby events in your local supermarkets, as a lot are starting to stock real nappies lately. For example my local Morrison's in the town centre and the Waitrose in the next town all stock Miosolos. I haven't ever seen these for much less than retail price apart from one store, but it does save your postage costs from buying online.

Check with your local council for incentives

Many local councils in the UK run incentive schemes or money back schemes, which allow you to claim back some of the money from purchasing your nappies. These depend on your local council but it's definitely worth looking into. My local council give packs of two nappies or a £25 voucher if you spend £50 (including preloved nappies)

For those in the UK and looking into cloth nappies, there's LOTS of information, along with a list of local cloth nappy libraries where you can borrow and try different nappies to find what works for you on this website: http://www.goreal.org.uk/uk-cloth-nappy-library-network