Monday's musings - Addicted to cloth nappies

When L was just a couple of months old, my friend told me she was addicted to cloth nappies. I thought she must be crazy because all my attempts at using them had ended with leakages out the side causing wet clothes and wet bed sheets.


I left it a little while and then eased my way back into using them by trialling a brand of cloth nappies my sister recommends, bumGenius. These are one-size-fits-all pocket nappies that hardly ever seem to leak. 

I only had three bumGenius nappies, but used them every day and started craving more. Paul and I talked it over and agreed it was a good investment, so I trawled TradeMe and bought quite a few. I now have enough to safely get me through two days of nappy changes. 

We've got a nice little routine going where I wash the nappies after L's first feed, hang them on the line after her second one and bring them back in at the end of the day to re-stuff and put away in her nappy stacker. 


I may need to change this a little bit with winter coming on and the days getting shorter. Maybe by washing them and hanging them out at night so they have all night and day to dry.


The nappies look cute on L. There are so  many beautiful colours that I can choose a nappy to go with L's outfit or my mood. 


She's only had one incident of nappy rash since using them, and that was more to do with starting solids than using the nappies. 

When I first started using cloth nappies, I lined them with flushable liners to make dealing with poo a bit nicer. But then Paul and I did the maths and worked out the liners were actually pretty expensive. Now I just use a tissue to scoop any solids into the toilet, and then store the nappy in a lidded bucket until wash time.


I've also bought a few muslin cloths which I run under a warm tap and wipe L's bottom with. This means I don't go through many packet wipes so that brings the cost down and also reduces the number of chemicals L is coming into contact with. 


I wash the nappies and muslins in natural washing powder (eg. Ecostore or Next Generation) for the same reason.

It's a really great feeling getting to bypass the nappy aisle of the supermarket. I highly recommend it. It's been over two months now and we haven't used a single disposable diaper. 

No more stinky rubbish bin. 

No more huge bags of nappies going to the landfill. 


It feels good and I confess, I am addicted to cloth nappies.