When Mrs Lighty was pregnant, she definitely had a vision of herself as a bit of a hippy mum. You know, the earth mother type, with a baby permanently attached to me in the sling, going on wonderfully educational outings – to places that enrich the soul with the experience they bring to both mother and child – taking along a wonderfully nutritious homemade picnic, probably including something like homemade homous and edamame beans, to eat in a meadow somewhere while children frolicked around us.
Ok, so maybe that vision was a little bit far fetched, and I soon realised that instead I’d subscribe to the ‘do-whatever-you-need-to-do-to-get-you-through-the-day’ school of parenting, but even so, part of that vision involved cloth nappies. I’d always quite fancied the idea of them, and whilst I have friends who couldn’t think of anything worse than having to deal with a pooey nappy which not only do you get to keep but also wash in your lovely, clean washing machine, I never had a problem with this. Quite frankly, I never really thought that this mothering gig would be glamourous, so what was a few dirty nappies in my now-nine-year-old washing machine?
The trouble was, however, that I just didn’t really get them. With disposable nappies, you have a nappy…and that’s it. Job done. With cloth nappies, you have a wrap, the absorptive insert and a liner…or you have a pre-fold, or an all-in-one, a two parter, nappy nippas and boosters and terry squares and pockets…the varieties seems to be as endless as the abbreviations used on the real nappy Facebook groups, and left poor Mrs Lighty feeling a little bamboozled (not to be confused with Tots Bots’ cloth nappy of the same name, of course).
We were quite lucky, however, in that we didn’t have to have a massive outlay in order to find out if we could figure out what these cloth nappies were all about, as our neighbour kindly gave us some Flips and Bum Genius nappies that she’d used on her daughter. I can clearly remember, however, having a tutorial with our neighbour on how to use them when I was about 8 months pregnant, and thinking “I’m not too sure I’ve got the hang of this…”. Then once Baby Lighty arrived, and I didn’t know if I was coming or going, and I hadn’t got round to buying a nappy bin, things weren’t looking good for the cloth nappies…
I did, however, buy a couple of Bambino Mio nappies in the Aldi Baby Event, mostly because I was swayed by the super cute prints, and I eventually got round to having another tutorial with my neighbour as well as buying a nappy bin, and so I tentatively took my first steps into cloth bumming when Baby Lighty was about 4 months old.
Our small stash, including the Bambino Mio swim nappies. Yes one is a girl’s one; I bought it whilst pregnant and we didn’t know if Baby Lighty was a boy or a girl!!
At the same time as purchasing my Bambino Mios, I also spent a fair bit of money on an all in one Cheeky Wipes kit. This was about 11 months ago, and despite me having said above that this wasn’t the cheapest thing in the world to buy, it sat untouched and unloved in Baby Lighty’s bedroom in the cardboard box it was delivered in for months. Why? Because once again, I just didn’t get them. I’m like this with many a thing in my life, I must admit: don’t particularly understand it? No worries, just procrastinate until you do!
“So what exactly is the point of writing this post?!”, I hear you cry! “Mrs Lighty, you’ve basically said that you don’t understand the cloth nappies and you don’t understand the cloth wipes, so what exactly is the point you’re trying to get to?!” Well, something changed a couple of months ago: it was after going through about 4 packs of disposable baby wipes in the space of a week. “This is ridiculous,” Mrs Lighty thought, “I am spending an absolute fortune on wipes since we started weaning!”. And that’s when I realised that I needed to just bite the bullet, get out the Cheeky Wipes that I bought months ago, and actually read the instructions. Genius! And dya know what?! They actually aren’t that difficult or that scary. They’re basically a bit like flannels that you soak in a lovely-smelling solution, and as we’re currently only using them for weaning, I chuck them in with our everyday washing every few days. Both Mr and Mrs Lighty have come to love them, and we’re saving a fair bit of money on baby wipes, that’s for sure.
And the Cheeky Wipes have also inspired me to start using my cloth nappies a bit more too; having spoken to Mr Lighty about them, we’re both on the same page that we can’t see ourselves using them when we’re out and about, but they are good for when we’re indoors, particularly now that Baby Lighty can go slightly longer stretches in a nappy before it needs changing. We’ve been using them in the house for a few weeks now, and I’m starting to find that my heart is now following my head…we’ve had no leaks, they don’t seem as bulky now that Baby Lighty himself has bulked up a bit, and I figured that if I get the fit or folding wrong, it’s not the end of the world; I’ve given myself permission to try them and make mistakes and see what works for us and what doesn’t. Possibly a life lesson, or at least a lesson about this whole motherhood thing.
My heart has followed my head so much that I’m now thinking of buying another fresh wipes box so that we can keep one upstairs for bum changes, and I’ve been using my Bambino Mio reusable swim nappies in the paddling pool too (also bought in the Aldi Baby Event!). So even though we’re probably never going to be a fully cloth family, I quite like the mix and match approach we’ve got going on. Bit like our parenting style, really. We’re doing a little bit for the environment and for our wallet, and that feels pretty good – and just right for the Lightys.
Proud to be linking up with:
I’m so glad I’m not the only one! We use cheeky wipes and I think they are amazing, but I bought quite a stash of all in one cloth nappies but really struggled with them, seemed to get wet leaks such a lot so was always changing outfits. When we started weaning, I stopped using them while the poo was changing, meaning to go back to them but haven’t yet. I think I might try again, but use them at home only like you said. All I read on cloth nappies is how amazing they are so I thought I was the only one struggling with fit and leaks. Your approach sounds perfect!
Ah I hope I’ve inspired you in that case then! Definitely give them another go, if nothing else they’re great for those times when baby poops after dinner but with only an hour to go before getting changed for their bath – saves ‘wasting’ a disposable for that short space of time. I found that now that Baby Lighty’s food isn’t completely liquid based and he himself is slightly bigger, we haven’t had any leaks. See what you think, but I definitely think it’s worth trying them again. Thank you for taking the time to read my post 🙂
Whoo hoo I love a cloth bum! I have to say the main reason I use them is because they’re so cute! We don’t use them full time, especially now Alfie is at nursery I thought it would be a big hassle having to explain them, so he is generally only cloth bummed at the weekends now (and then not always as Craig won’t change a cloth nappy so I end up on nappy duty all the time!!) I can definitely see the benefits but like you, don’t feel the need to be fully cloth. We like that we can mix and match with disposables.
Yes we like the mix and match approach too. I think you kind of make it work for you. Mr Lighty doesn’t like them as much as I do. As he put it, “one gust of wind and the liner’s out of your hand and there goes the poo!” That statement did make me laugh!! But he does quite often say “shall we put him in a cloth?” if it’s just an hour or so before bedtime when he needs his nappy changing. We both like the Cheeky Wipes, which I’m pleasantly surprised at!! xxx
Sounds like you’ve found a good balance, no harm in doing a bit of both if it works for you! I’m not that keen if I’m honest (in my head or my heart) but I kind of wish I was as I do get the benefits – I’m not too keen on the whole poo situation in general but I believe that all changes when it’s your own child! That’s what I’m hoping for anyway! xx #FartGlitter
Yea it definitely does all change when it’s your own child (probably because you have no choice, ha!!). I definitely have friends that feel the same as you, don’t worry. Once your little dot is here, you’ll realise that you pretty much do whatever gets you through the day, ha!! #FartGlitter
I bought a stash of cloth nappies when my eldest was a baby. I loved the idea but found the mix and match approach suited us best too. We used a disposable at night and when we were out and reusables during the day. Definitely worked best for us.
#BigPinkLink
That’s exactly what we’ve been doing too. I’m glad it’s not just us that have taken that approach, I’ve heard it from a lot of people. Every little helps, right?? #bigpinklink
I salute you for trying and embracing them so well. I must admit that I have looked at the cloth nappies and I’ve oohed and aahed over the super cute soft designs, and then I’ve swished off and bought yet another pack of disposables. I just don’t think I’ve got it in me to deal with so much poop! I think you’ve got the right idea though. Just do it when you can and to fit around you. Love the idea of the wipes too – hadn’t even heard of these and I go through so many it’s obscene! Thanks for linking up Mrs L xx #fartglitter
The wipes are fab!! We literally buy as many disposable wipes in a month now as we used to in a week! Would definitely recommend them xxx
Please keep trying with them. Cloth nappies are so great we love them. You can hire a kit from your local nappy library to try out a few more types. We have a great blog post on cloth nappies onthe dreamteam linky if you are interested in finding out more! #DreamTeam
I’ll definitely pop over and give it a read, thanks for the heads up! I’m not sure that we’ve got a cloth nappy library near us, but I’m definitely giving them more of a go so my stash may well increase!! #DreamTeam xxx
Ooh, they do have the cutest of prints don’t they?! I totally admire your approach, and it is absolutely the best one! I love the idea of doing bits and dabbling here and there when it suits you. That way it doesn’t seem like it’d be stressful, and you can adapt to whatever you have going on that day! I admit to having similar fantasies about baby wearing (gave up when it gave me chronic back ache!!) and cloth bum endorsing (never got passed the pampers baby dry…!!) so you did better than me! A friend of mine has used cheeky wipes from the start, and swears by them! It’s too late for me for those though, we don’t use too many wipes anymore!! Good luck with the cloth bum perseverance!!
#bigpinklink
Thank you! Yes that’s exactly it, we can adapt it to what we’re doing on that day. Ah that’s a shame that you missed the Cheeky Wipes stage, they are fab! #bigpinklink
I’ll admit I never really thought about cloth diapers. I didn’t really know a whole lot about it so I really appreciate all the information and your honesty. I’ll have to think more about it next time. Thanks for linking up with #Dreamteam!
No worries, I always try to be honest with my posts. We are definitely still learning though, I know quite a few mums that cloth bum full time! #DreamTeam