Real Nappy Week

Okay I know I said I was going to be blogging more but that was before my computer once again broke down. Boooo! So after no blogging for a while I decided to take over the other computer in the house for a bit whilst I had some spare time (Abel is currently sleeping).

Right now it's Real Nappy Week meaning just about every brand and online outlet of real/cloth nappies are having daily competitions which seem to be fueled by www.reusablenappyassociation.com and www.goreal.org.uk

Some of you may remember when I was pregnant I was weighing up the pros and cons of real nappies vs disposable a few months back on this blog. Nearly four months of nappy changing adventures later I have now fallen into a pretty regular routine with it which is to only use disposables when out and about and one for night time. I've done some number crunching and this, in the long run, means I'll be saving a bare minimum of £200 from birth to potty and that really is the bare minimum. This includes the energy bills, the various deals around for both disposable and washable nappies - everything.

I know some people would argue that the extra effort you have to put in to washing the nappies would surely not be worth it but I'm honestly not washing all that much. I do maybe four baby clothes and muslin loads a week. I have ten Bambooty Easy Dry all in ones which are the closest to convenience you can get in the real nappy world which last him a day. So I do the last nappy change before bed and then they all go in the wash then the dryer and are ready for morning. I'm going to have to extend my nappy stash for spring/summer when I intend to use the washing line to dry them - thus saving even more money!

I know some people would also argue that using reusable nappies is no different to using disposable in the long run for the environment and so has no real benefit. I would question this research. Proctor and Gamble are the international, big-dog, multi-million company behind Pampers and a whole range of other house hold products. Reusable nappies have really started to take off over the past few years and I'd wager that they are ploughing funds into any report that claims that disposable nappies are just as ethical and environmentally sound as real cloth nappies. Let's not forget also that for the past four years a report continues to reveal Proctor and Gamble (specifically Pampers) are in the top 50 UK least ethical brands which include research on carbon emissions, child labour, corporate corruption, environmental impact, ethical accreditation, fair and unfair trade, human rights abuse, nuclear power, political donations, rainforest timber and third world debt.

I leave you with Abel in his Bambooty:

Real Big Nappy

To cloth or not to cloth? The average baby goes through an average of 4000 nappies. The amount of pressure this puts on our landfills is tremendous given that each of those nappies take a maximum of 500 years to fully decompose. A sobering thought for any environmentally concerned mum. But it's not just the green cost to landfill which makes real nappies appealing it's the green cost to your purse too. The average disposable nappy costs between 8-10p, doing the easy maths means I'll be spending £400. A lot more than 24 real nappies worth including the cleaning. Lincolnshire Real Nappy Network scheme provide help and support by supplying mums with trial buckets of real nappies to see how you get on with them and figure out which style of nappy is right for you and your baby plus giving you a £30 cash back incentive to start off your own collection of real nappies. Find their Facebook page.

Bio degrable nappies are also on the market, the leading company being Naty who are available from most supermarkets and health and beauty stores. The Swedish brand boasts a fully bio degrable nappy costing around 13-15p a nap. "Go green without giving up performance" their website displays their proud tag line. 

Many other brands are cropping up on the bio degradable bandwagon for the green mum who ain't nobody got time for that washing and drying. One other caught my eye mainly because they give out free samples (you pay for postage and packing). Beaming Baby, a British brand at the higher end of the nappy price market at 20p a nap (not including postage and packing) and tMhat's buying in bulk. Not only are these nappies bio degrable but claim to be made with 30% less chemicals which aids baby's skin conditions such as nappy rash and eczema. They even claim to help breathing conditions like asthma. Their website sell a lot of other green baby products including gift packs, clothes, wipes and bath and skin care products. They also sell real nappies not their own brand but a good range of real nappy companies. 

The feedback I've had from friends and family when I've expressed interest in real nappies has been less than positive. Apart from one friend who has just had her first baby and started actively using the Lincolnshire Real Nappy Network scheme who can't recommend them enough. My parents although green hippy types argue that the cloth nappies simply aren't practical and will take up my valuable time. I can't help but think that possibly the styles and techniques now available on the real nappy market are much more advanced now compared to when they last used one. 

A good website I've just stumbled upon is www.GoReal.org.uk which is a complete list of brands, advice and support on real nappies. 

I guess I can only speculate on real/bio degrable/disposable nappies until I have my own nappy wearer to test them on and believe you me i'll be documenting it minus the graphic poo pics. A concern is that the small baby grows probably won't fit as the real nappies seem to be quite bulky but this also depends on how big the baby starts off at. As I peer across the screen over the big bump I'm guessing he's going to be quite heavy but we'll just have to wait and see. 

This is one of my sisters taking a selfie with the bump a few a weeks ago. I'm 28 weeks now and the kick count is at 10 every 3 minutes. I'm wondering if he's coming sooner than expected! 

If anyone has any experience or advice to offer on the nappy debate please either leave a comment or contact me. I'd like to know what you think!