Charlie Banana. Grovia. Fuzzibunz. Pea in a Pod. Handmade nappies gifted from friends. Baby Trenz. And then some random brands I can't remember.
Giraffe print. Bold red. Daisy purple. Love hearts. Soft pink. Bright blue. Purple polka dots. Tangerine. Denim. Cobalt dream. Multi colored polka dots. Badger print.
Here is where I take a deep breath and make a confession...
My name is Sarah, and I have cloth nappy anxiety.
Isn't it funny how much we prepare for something but really in the end have no idea how it's going to go...? I guess it's a very pregnancy appropriate metaphor. Cos, that's where I'm at right now. So, in classic Sarah style, in order to stress a little less about the impending due date, I figure, why not concentrate the stress into something even more unknown... How is the cloth diapering going to go?
We have a couple of newborn disposable packs for the first week, to allow us to get into the swing, and then, it's go time.
Will we have blow outs? What brand will fit our munchkin the best? Will I really find disposables "rough, unappealing and gross" after using the cloth nappies? Will the washing make me tear my hair out? Will Rob mind the cloth nappies? Will we have baby sitters refuse to use them? Will the front loader washing machine be sufficient enough for the all important rinsing process? Will the nappies be so big that little one doesn't fit any of the leggings we have bought her? If we use disposables when we travel are we cheating? Are wet bags really as leak free as people say? Have I prewashed them enough? How often should I strip them again? Is the all in one the best choice? Should I have bought more variety?
The list goes on.
Well, I guess we will know soon-ish... We shall see!
Do you cloth nappy? Or cloth diaper? Any hints or tips for this neurotic expecting Mama? I welcome any and all advice! And I hope to keep y'all updated with any progress, info, setbacks, breakthroughs we come across!
Wish us luck!
It's awesome you did your research and you have a plan and know you're stuff. It'll all work out no matter what you end up doing. She will be healthy and have a clean tushie regardless. It's so hard to not obsess over little things like this. Something you can control. I know you got this though. And I think you are brave for attempting it. It's as foreign to me as chinese those cloth diapers.
ReplyDeleteIsn't it funny how easy it is to obsess over little things to get some control? I guess maybe it's worse with first time mamas.. The whole unknown is so... Massive. Oh well, another day closer! It's her due date today. Maybe all the false labour will turn out to be a prank by her and she will turn up today like a good wee thing :p
DeleteWe do the cloth nappy thing and it works for us. We had a nappy service at the beginning and that was helpful. Once you get into a routine and have a system its sweet as, we have our changing table in the wash-house so we can just chuck the wet nappy into the bucket and soak, we have enough nappies that I only have to do a load every second day which is nice. We used flushable bamboo liners but we did end up with a blocked pipe that needed a plumbers visit (expensive!), now that Jaxon is older we know that he poos once a day and around what time so only use a liner then but even if we get it wrong its not too hard to scrape and soak - when baby is really little their poo is pretty runny anyway so you could probably get away with not using a liner anyway. We did have quite a few blow outs, and the poo is nice and yellow so had to get the light coloured clothes soaking in napisan quick.
ReplyDeleteWe do use disposables when we go out just so we don't have to cart the soiled reusables back home but you sound like you are sorted with your wet bags.
Our plunket nurse said that disposables are handy at night too cos they last longer (up to 12 hours) if your baby sleeps a good long stretch, but when Jax was brand new he was waking up a couple of times in the night anyway so it wasn't a big deal to change him when he had a feed.
Congrats on your impending motherhood! Look forward to seeing photos of your little girl :)
Hi Rina. Yeah, I think getting the routine set will be the thing. I'm hoping that the stash will be enough so that we only have to wash every 2 or 3 days as well, I guess any longer would start being a bit manky. Thank you for the tip about the liners, I will have to see what we could do about not blocking our pipes up - especially since we are in a rental! Yeah, I think my husband is keen to do disposables when we go out, I think it will be easier in the long run. We will have to see how our wee one sleeps, and whether we need the disposables for night (which would be good cos that would mean she slept well ;P). Thank you for all your advice and comments, I really appreciate it!!
DeleteSarah xo
Take a deep breath! We used disposables for the first month after each of the boys were born due to travelling and also the dreaded "tar poo". We came up with a good system and our youngest still uses cloth nappies. We are about 50/50 for use as Adam leaks through his in a couple of hours, so if we are out and about or doing a lot of travel we will use disposables. We have a wet bag in our laundry that has never leaked, and we used a Dettol rinse every now and then through the washing machine as well.
ReplyDeleteHaha thanks. Can you tell I am wound up? This new Mom thing - there is so much you can stress about haha. Thanks for the advice on the Dettol rinse, I was wondering about a disinfectant or bleach rinse every now and then, and I think Dettol is probably a safe way to go.
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