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! 

This is Definitely Not a Joke

In all honesty I deleted my blog on my engagement and created this pregnancy blog in a desperate attempt to make sense of what's happening so quickly in my life. My adult life up to the past year was me bobbing along quite peacefully, not too happy, not too sad with as little drama as I could get away with. In hindsight maybe this is why I felt there was a problem. It didn't seem real, things were too perfect. I mean there was stuff that annoyed me and yearned for, I don't think that ever goes away no matter how happy you are. I didn't believe I was living, a case of "the grass is greener" probably...most definitely. But there's no time to look back on what I could have won only forward with what I have, a sealed fate of bump.

As I sit now rather uncomfortably on this computer chair, I'm looking for ways to make me not want to rip my own spine out. I'm 6 months pregnant. Alas why start a blog on pregnancy when you're so far gone? This came on all of a sudden, I've really had to sort my life out, some of it still isn't even sorted yet. I've lost people I never thought I could ever lose and have basically uprooted myself and planted somewhere with a life I can finally call my own, not bought for me or feel as though I owe anyone anything. I have created myself an entire new life complete with new job, friends, house and, of course, what will soon be a family.

So how about I update you with the past 6 months? Well the first trimester was terrible. I was basically vomiting every single day. Couple that with the mental life-changing choices I had to make it was one of my darkest times. When it came down to it I could never kill one of my own. I'm pro-choice and this was my choice, as usual the hardest path seemed to be the right one. A baby with someone you barely know seems crazy. Maybe I am. Along with the first scan picture came the announcement, came shock, came upset, came people's true colours. The people who show you kindness in your darkest moment are the ones you'll always remember. And the people who don't understand you no matter how much you try and explain yourself? Well - this is one of the many benefits if having a blog. If it can reach out to those people who have turned away from me for whatever reason (and there's a few) then that can only be a good thing.

I've just finished the second trimester in which I found out the sex of the baby. Yes, the blue background I've chosen for this blog indicates that it is, indeed, a boy. Much to the suprise of, well, everyone. Nearly everyone predicted a girl. This baby is full of suprises I'm wondering what's will be next! Currently the baby is having a game of football with my insides. I always wondered what this will feel like, and it is literally like being kicked from the inside. It hurts sometimes if it's a big kick. I have always had names in mind for what I want to call my children. The father to be has taken this naming duty upon himself thus rejecting every name I suggest. The baby is currently unnamed. I find myself asking who is actually giving birth to the baby? 

As you've probably read to the right by my picture I used to play roller derby. This is something else I associate with my old life. I've had mixed reactions to the pregnancy, some of my team mates have offered help and others (mainly the ones who were involved with my personal life) have been somewhat unsupportive. I plan to come back to roller derby in January. Hopefully this won't be another ball ache to add to the accumulating list of ball aches including, splitting up with my fiancé of eight years, signing over the deeds to my house, not being eligible for benefits after applying for just about everything under the sun and seeing ex friends openly show their distaste for me on social networking sites. Drama? I now can't get away from it. 

I finish work in 3 weeks, not that there was much work to begin with. The work is so energetic that they reduced my hours to well under ten a week which is a blessing but also another ball ache given that I now have zero money and have to pay for rent, food, bills etc. Plus, of course, there's the big issue of affording the baby. I've barely bought anything new and have relied upon the good nature of friends and family to give me their unwanted items and point me it the direction of good second hand social networking groups, listings on eBay etc. 

Years I have waited for a summer like this to lounge around in the sun and top up my tan. The baby inside me is radiating so much heat that I feel like I might explode every time I step into the sun. When the weather is muggy my fingers and feet expand so much I have to my rings off and foot wear wise I'm living in flip flops. The heat also makes me really tired so trying to sort what will soon be the nursery of all my stuff is taking a lot longer than I imagined. We moved in only last month and trying to sort the place into a presentable home when you're pregnant is a lot of work, yet another ball ache. I can only do it at my own pace though.

And so this concludes my first big bumpino blog post. Now how much trouble have I caused for myself?