The Cloth Nappy Experiment - Day 1
Day 1
Getting them on:
I think it was a little more fussy this time than it might be next time. We had to get the sizing right. And although it was lightening fast, it was still slower than usual. There were tears. Not mine. Not yet. I'm really glad we went with a velcro option and not the snaps. Even my husband, who said that he wasn't doing this (and who could blame him after all the nappies he's changed), was impressed by the velcro. It's more like a disposable. It's fast and not fiddly.
Wearing them:
The boys seemed pretty comfy in them and they weren't all that bulky (although more than a disposable) because they are expanded out as far as they will go. I put them on after their morning poo (at around 9am). The boys went down for their sleep around 9.45 and woke at 12 to head off to swimming at 12.30pm. When I put Cairo in the car he was dry. I knew he needed a change soon, but I usually wait until we get to the pool and just put their swim nappy straight on so I don't have to waste time and a nappy. When I lifted him out of the car, the poor thing was soaked! Right through his pants.
Fortunately we were going to be getting changed into swimmers anyway and it wouldn't matter if we just went home in our tops.
Note to self - Take a change of clothes when experimenting with new nappies!
Getting them off:
They came off really easily, quickly and with no more fuss than a disposable. The only bummer is that I couldn't just thow them away. I had to have a bag ready to take two large, soggy nappies home in. Fortunately today is swimming day and everything is wet or is going to be, so no big deal. It wouldn't be awsome if I was out and about, although I suppose I could just chuck them into the bottom of the pram.
Laundry:
As they're only wet I've just popped them into the machine with all of the other things that need washing. That's pretty easy. The lady at flowerchild advised me to detatch one side of the nappy before I put it in the machine. The tabs are quite simple and not too much fuss.
There's a little fiddle with the velcro tabs where you have to stick them to the little protector tabs (I'll take a photo to better explain this later). It's worth doing. I forgot, but got to it as the machine was filling. They'd already attracted a sock and a few other bits and things. I've been given the advice from another Multiple Mumma that I should use 3 pegs to hang them on the line so they don't go out of shape.
The Verdict So Far:
We will hang them on the line to dry and try again tomorrow. I'm not put off yet, and I think once I get used to the differences and quirks it will be quite nice to know that my kids have cotton pants like the ones we wear next to their skin all the time. I feel a little bit virtuous, a little bit courageous, a little bit excited, but more importantly really supported by the Multiple Mumma's in my community. I'm getting a lot of great feedback, tips and tricks that I'll share with you along the way. I'm also hoping that this blog will pave the way for other Multiple Mumma's who might want to give this a try some of the time or all of the time, but didn't really know it was possible or how to do it, or that there were different types of nappies (velcro, press studs, pull-ups) that might make things a bit easier to manage. Having said all of that, I'm still totally fine if you choose to use disposables... all the time. It's your family and you should always do whatever works best for you.
