Kate decided to brave it this year (2008) and take washable nappies on holiday. Kate uses stuffable style nappies on Dylan (2 years old) and changes him about 4 times a day on average. This year Kate and her family went to a villa in the south of France on a self-catering holiday and met up there with other family members. There was a washing machine supplied so it seemed feasible to take the washable nappies. They decided however to use disposables on the outward journey. Kate describes her experience...
"At first I thought I might be making a big mistake. I took 7 nappies with us and a roll of liners which took up about the same space as a pack of disposables. I also took enough disposables for the journey and reasoned that at least I could buy some disposables if it got desperate. The journey was fine and as soon as we got to the villa I changed Dylan into his washables. At the end of each day I popped the used nappies into the machine along with some towels we had used for swimming or other laundry. The weather was fab so they dried within an hour on the line and were ready to use again. It was probably easier than being at home because there was so much washing to do anyway and washing daily actually made a lot of sense. We didn't have any scary moments and I was so glad that I didn't need to go on a shopping trip just for nappies. We also appreciated that we didn't have to share our villa with a bin bag of soiled disposable nappies. "
Obviously not all holiday locations suit washable nappies but self catering with washing facilities seemed like the perfect opportunity to leave less mess behind.
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Sam’s story
Sam had her first baby Oliver in August 2006. She was using disposable nappies and didn’t think twice about it until she went to baby massage classes and saw that two other mothers were using washable nappies. Over the weeks they chatted about the nappies and how easy they were to use. After considering the chemicals on Oliver’s skin, the debate about whether disposables can cause impotence and the environmental impact of the disposables Sam decided to swap to washables. She was quite concerned about how her childminder would cope as Sam works 3 days a week but they soon worked it out. The childminder pops all the nappies into an old swimming bag with the soiled ones in separate nappy sacks and Sam sorts them out when she gets home. She says she actually prefers dealing with them all at once on work days rather than sorting out each nappy on her days off.
Oliver was about 5 months old when she started using the nappies and went straight into size 2. She tried Nature Babies stuffables and bamboo lovables with tots wraps. Initially she found the tots wraps were far too big for Oliver. He is a skinny, long chap and she found the Nature Babies classic popper wraps were a far better fit. Sam also prefers using 2-part systems rather than the stuffable nappies as she has found they last longer between changes and are less prone to leaks. Sam and Oliver haven’t looked back since converting to cloth.
When asked if she had any advice for other parents Sam said “it is much easier than you might think to manage the nappies. I am not the most organised person so if I haven’t put a wash on I use disposables for a few changes. Oliver has only had nappy rash a couple of times when he was teething badly and I really believe that Oliver’s skin has benefitted from the washables. His skin is the same tone under the nappy as the rest of him so I believe that any potential risk caused by raised temperatures in the nappy is completely eliminated.” Sam also said that she had wondered whether it would be economically viable to change to cloth so late in the day but she reckons she has saved loads of money over the months and now that her second baby is here she is really appreciating the savings she has made through using washable nappies the majority of the time. An added bonus came through claiming money back from her local council (Northamptonshire) which has helped to cover the initial outlay. Sam says “it is worth checking your local council to see what money back schemes they offer”.
Sam was worried about using washable nappies initially as she hadn’t considered continuing to use disposables some of the time but she hasn’t looked back and has even found her reluctant husband has taken it in his stride although he prefers the Velcro fastenings as they are quicker!
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Michelle's story
Michelle started using washable nappies from birth. Her mum helped to buy the entire birth to potty kit before Iris was even born. They are using the Easy Peasy bumble birth to potty nappies with Mother-ease wraps.
Michelle says “I wish I had been able to use a loan nappy service or bought some sample packs before I purchased the entire kit. I was so keen to be organised and ready to go but I didn’t get any personal one to one advice and I didn’t know any other parents at the time who were using cloth. In hindsight I would not have committed to the full set at one time as I have seen some gorgeous nappies since and cannot quite justify spending more money. On the plus side I am expecting another baby very shortly so will really benefit from birth to potty nappies as both the kids can use the same nappies. Iris is now 18 months old and we expect she will be in nappies for about another year. Iris is quite a tall, heavy baby and I soon found that the original wraps supplied cut into her legs but now that she is older and walking all the time she has thinned out a lot and we are getting a much more comfortable fit. I was worried about whether her mobility would be affected with the washable nappies but it really doesn’t seem to have held her up in any way. In fact I think she dealt with the falls from learning to walk much easier than some other kids because she had a nice soft landing every time.” Michelle says that she would always encourage new parents to consider washable nappies but to build their collection slowly and find out what suits best. Michelle’s husband is also feeling very positive about the washable nappies. He said that although there is some extra washing involved he is very happy to have saved so much money even with one child and now that the second is coming along any moment it will be even better. He finds it easy to change the nappies and doesn’t worry about the poo. They use flushable, disposable liners and have noticed that the rubbish bin doesn’t smell as much as it does when they use disposable nappies and also doesn’t fill up as quickly which is a bonus in the summer months as their council only collects household waste every two weeks.
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