Mel in a Nutshell

Nappy Review - Bubble Bubs
Tuesday, 11 March 2008

Its been a while since i did a cloth nappy related post - so for any of you that are wondering, yes, I'm still a cloth nappy nut!!!

I thought id share with you my experience with my most favorite cloth nappy. Let me start by saying that i have never found a cloth nappy that everyone loves or one that suits everyones needs or bub. But...my fave nappy would have to be Bubble Bubs!!!

Why you ask? (well, if you were bored with the whole nappy talk you would have stopped reading ages ago!). There's lots of reasons. I think Ive used at least 20-30 different varieties of cloth nappies (its what us cloth nappy nuts do) & there are different things i like or dislike about each of them. Bubblebubs are an All in One nappy (or AIO) which means that they are kinda like a disposable. There's no folding to be done & no inserts to clip on or stuff in - which for one thing makes it easy for the main victim of the average cloth nappy nut - the husband or partner, who has no idea which insert goes with what nappy, what needs a cover & what doesn't etc. Basically they consist of an inner layer of suede cloth or flannelette (with very cute designs might i add), an absorbent layer of bamboo (or hemp if you have the older variety) & an outer layer of PUL & fleece (or even cuddlefleece, minky or shag material).

Bubblebubs are the most absorbent day time nappy i have tried & the only ones i will trust to put on Jet when we are out & about because i know i will never have a problem with leaks. I prefer the regular fleece variety than the minky (or other type), partly because of the price but i also personally find they perform just a little bit better. The other reason i like them is because they are so frickin cute!!!

Babble byMel : ) at 10:14 AM 1 comments  

Labels Cloth Nappies

Twins In Cloth Custom - How Lucky Am I!
Wednesday, 21 November 2007

Back when the Great Down Under Nappy Hunt was on i entered a comp on the Twins in Cloth website, you just had to fill in a survey about cloth nappies & you went in the draw to win a custom Twins in Cloth nappy. Well...i didnt win any nappies in the GDUNH - but i did win the custom!

Being as indecisive as i am in couldn't decide what i wanted, so i gave Julie a couple of ideas about what i like & this is what she came up with (from left to right - front, back, inner):



I love it! its absolutely fantastic! Its got 3 layers of bamboo fleece sewn in the nappy & a lay in booster with another 2 layers of bamboo fleece & 1 layer of suede cloth. Its my first front snapper (well, i do have one NB fitted front snapping nappy, but thats beside the point!) & its so trim! Heres some action shots:How cute is it?!? I love it soooooooo much - THANKS JULIE!!!

If you want a fantastic nappy like this one then make sure you check out the Twins in Cloth website (current stock is here while website renovations are taking place) they have other stuff to, so go on - have a look!

Babble byMel : ) at 10:52 PM 1 comments  

Labels Action Shots, Cloth Nappies, Jet

First Paid Post Purchase
Friday, 26 October 2007

I just received the very first thing ive bought with my paid posts money!!! Its a Wild Child Dreamy Night Nappy & it is absolutely divine!

cant wait to see how it goes!!!

Babble byMel : ) at 11:11 PM 1 comments  

Labels Cloth Nappies

...cause you can never have enough
Monday, 17 September 2007

Bubblebubs that is!!! I finally got around to taking some action shots, these are probably the worst action shots ive taken but in my defence the floor was covered in toys (& just general mess) so i was trying to take them on the couch, camera in one hand while the other hand was attempting to stop jet stacking it onto the tiles (successfully im sure you'll be glad to hear).





& heres close ups of all 3 minky bubblebubs:

Babble byMel : ) at 10:40 PM 0 comments  

Labels Action Shots, Cloth Nappies, Cute Stuff, Jet

Baby Beehind Magic-All's are here!!!
Wednesday, 8 August 2007

My Baby Beehind Magic-Alls arrived - YAY!!! They are nice & compact, great for the nappy bag!

Here they are:

1 got 2 x Medium (blue & purple) & 2 x Large (orange & green). The larges wont fit Jet just yet, they are meant to fit from 11kg & he is about a hundred grams shy of 10kg.

& a pic of my babies beehind (lol - can you tell im one of those people that laughs at their own unfunny jokes!)
Good fit!
& just cause this one was cute i had to put it in...well technically it could be an action shot, you can still see a snippet of the nappy ; )

Babble byMel : ) at 12:15 PM 0 comments  

Labels Action Shots, Cloth Nappies, Jet

Bubblebubs - YAY!
Monday, 30 July 2007

I couldn't resist the sale that was on at bubblebubs recently - just had to grab a couple more since these would have to be one of my favourite nappies. Heres some pics:

I got 2 x Larges & 1 x Medium (the green one). Just cause Jet can fit into the larges now, even though they are a little big & i want to have some nappies that still fit him when hes bigger. Think I got a bit carried away since i ended up with the same crocodiles on two of them, but still! I LOVE the orange space one - cute!

Heres some action shots & no Jet isn't crawling yet, but if i put him on his hands & knees he stays there long enough for me to snap a few shots off ;)

Babble byMel : ) at 11:59 PM 0 comments  

Labels Action Shots, Cloth Nappies, Jet, Products I Love

Blueberrylicious
Tuesday, 24 July 2007

I got my Blueberry nappies today - YAY!!! (but why is rocky always home when i get fluffy mail - busted!). They were buy 2 get 1 free & postage was only $2 because their postage calculator was broken - bargain!

They are so lush. i got 3 OSFA (one size fits all) pockets, two minky & one PUL with snaps.

Heres some pics:











These are the inserts. The first pic is of it un-snapped & the second pic is snapped & ready to stuff. Great system, just one long insert that you fold into 3 & snap to the chosen size (depending on if your stuffing it into a S, M or L nappy.











Heres a pic of the range of sizes the nappy has. You just snap down the front. I have two other pockets that do this too - the BumGenious & the Haute, but these ones do it the neatest i think.

Action Shots:
Pics that show the fit:

Babble byMel : ) at 7:53 PM 0 comments  

Labels Action Shots, Cloth Nappies, Jet

Monkeys in the Mail
Tuesday, 17 July 2007

More fluffy mail from Darlings Downunder!

Theres 2 x Micro Monkey Doodlez, 1 x Baby Beehinds PUL Cover & 1 x Amber Teething Necklace.

Now for the agonising wait~

Babble byMel : ) at 10:00 PM 0 comments  

Labels Cloth Nappies, More Purchases

Heaven!!!
Sunday, 3 June 2007

Ive just been in sydney for the past two days & i think i was in heven! i was helping Tania & her hubby Dragan from Darlings Down Under out on their stand & it was sooooooo much fun!!! I got to speak to lots & lots of people about nappies for hours whilst being surrounded by lots & lots of nappies, including minky bubble bubs & berry plush just to name a few....yummy!!! Ofcourse i made just a few purchases while i was there ; )

Baby Beehinds were on special for $16 OMG!!! i bought 2 of them on saturday then spent the whole night tossing and turning freaking out that they would be sold out & that i should have bought more - i rushed in there sunday morning & bought 2...no wait....3 more....& a bright orange medium cover!


& i kept praying while i was on the stand that someone, anyone would buy this lush minky/velour bubble bub, but no one did...so i just had to give it a home!

We made a couple of non-nappy purchases as well. We got jet some kiddy sunglasses & a hat, We also got one of those shopping trolley/highchair covers & one of those trial packs from brauer that have teething, colic & fever releif homeopathic stuff in them. What else??? There was probably more but right now i cant remember!

Babble byMel : ) at 9:36 PM 0 comments  

Labels Cloth Nappies

Humble Bum Sale
Tuesday, 27 March 2007

well....i couldnt pass up a bargin could i! especially not when it was on one of my favorite fitteds!

Babble byMel : ) at 12:23 AM 0 comments  

Labels Cloth Nappies

Byena Bargains!
Thursday, 8 March 2007

My second byena experience i went a little crazy - well...if im going to buy one thing why not bid on them all??? Here is what i got:

1 x Small Bummis Whisper Pants
1 x Medium Baby Beehinds PUL Cover
1 x Large Nappy Chappies Sandman Monkeys Nappy 1 x Terracotta Green Kids Dreamytimes Pocket with Insert
1 x Lilac Gingham Green Kids Funtime 1 x Medium Retro Flowers Razzily Rhino
1 x Medium Flowers on Black Razzily Rhino

Babble byMel : ) at 7:43 PM 0 comments  

Labels Cloth Nappies

Fluffy mail from Darlings Down Under
Sunday, 4 March 2007

I couldnt help but notice the new Haute one-sized pockets that were coming out. They are in both Velcro & Snaps + they come in heaps of colours. So....i had to order 4 of them! And....while i was ordering them i figured i needed to order some more stuff to. so this is what i got:

2 x Haute Pockets with Velcro

2 x Haute Pockets with Snaps

3 x Bummis Whisper Pants - Small

1 x Bummis Tote Bag - Medium Blue

Flushable Eenee Liners for camping

2 x One-size wonder wraps

a pack of extra boosters

1 x Splash About Swim Nappy

Babble byMel : ) at 12:15 AM 0 comments  

Labels Cloth Nappies

My First Bubblebub!!!!!
Monday, 19 February 2007

So excited! A friend at the local ABA meeting i attend reccomended bubblebubs so mid feb i ordered my first one and its great! it takes a little longer to dry than my other MCN's but its so absorbant & funky! i love just putting Jet in a t-shirt with his bubblebub on - think ill have to get more of these!!! Its my first AIO - well, i do have the natures child one but I havent managed to work that one out - the moisture always seems to wick to the outside - so im totally stocked with this one!!!!!

Babble byMel : ) at 12:01 AM 0 comments  

Labels Cloth Nappies

First Pea Pod
Saturday, 10 February 2007

Early feb I conned Rocky (DH) into picking up a Pea Pod from a baby store in sydney on his way to work:
Out of all my pockets i just cant get pea pods to work for me yet, it always seems to leak, works great if i stuff it heaps and put a cover on overnight though, Jet still feels dry in the morning & the absorbers are saturated!

Babble byMel : ) at 11:58 PM 0 comments  

Labels Cloth Nappies

My First Byena Experience!
Wednesday, 31 January 2007

& my first Green Kids Pocket:

Babble byMel : ) at 11:56 PM 0 comments  

Labels Cloth Nappies

Fluffy mail from Wee Wuns
Thursday, 25 January 2007

I got my first fluffy mail from the wee wuns:

1 x Bum Genius (my first!) - the pic shows it on its smallest setting

Babble byMel : ) at 11:03 PM 0 comments  

Labels Cloth Nappies

Gift from an Angel
Monday, 25 December 2006

My stash didnt really consist of very many MCN at this stage, so we were mainly using terry & bamboo flats. I really didnt feel like MCN's were better, they even seemed inconvinient because if i used one then i had to go find a snappi for the next terry square (and god knows where those snappis get to - they are hudinis!!!).

Then one day i got a PM from a wonderful fellow clothie in my area who offered very generously to give me some of her old baby clothes, with them were also a bunch of great fitteds:




& a really funky cover:


Now i actually have enough MCN to understand just how wonderfully fabulous they are!!! We started just using flats when we ran out of fitteds and now they arent nearly as fun to use - which gets me thinking....maybe i need to add more nappies to my stash!?!

Babble byMel : ) at 10:05 PM 0 comments  

Labels Cloth Nappies

Modern Cloth Nappies
Wednesday, 20 December 2006

Gone are the days when terry squares, pins & plastic pilchers were your only options when using cloth nappies. Now there is a fantastic range of Modern Cloth Nappies (MCN) that are just as simple to use as disposables. So now its much easier to be kind to your hip pocket, your babys bum & the environment.

Facts
* Every disposable nappy ever dumped still exists today as they take centuries to break down.
* Washing/hanging out/putting away nappies for a bub in cloth full time takes 7 minutes a day - less time than it takes to go to the store and return home with a box of disposable nappies.
* In most cities there are laws against dumping faeces in the garbage, and solid waste must be disposed of in the toilet, regardless of what type of nappy you use.
* In America, in 1955,100% of babies wore Cotton Diapers, 0% wore disposables, and 7.1% of babies experienced nappy rash.
* In America, in 1991,10% of babies wore Cotton Diapers, 90% wore disposables, and 78% of babies experienced nappy rash.

Figures

* 1.375 Billion disposable nappies used annually in Australia and New Zealand.
* 3.75 Million disposable nappies dumped every single day in these 2 nations alone.
* 3 Million trees felled every year to make disposable nappies for Australia / New Zealand.
* It costs approx $3,894 to use disposable nappies full time on a child to toilet training where as it can cost $659 to cheaply nappy a bub in cloth to toilet training.
* 100 intestinal viruses leach from untreated human waste at rubbish dumps, contaminating ground water at land fill and creating risks to sanitation workers.
* 50% of total household waste will be disposable nappies, in a household with 1 baby using disposable nappies full time.
* 2 Tonnes of landfill created by each baby in disposable nappies full time.
* 3.5 Litres of water needed to make each disposable nappy.
* 1 Litre of water required to wash a cloth nappy (depending on machine, and how many nappies are washed in one load).
* 1 cup of crude oil used to make the plastic components of each disposable nappy.
* The average temperature of a boy's testicles in a disposable nappy is 1 degree hotter - possibly related to increases in infertility and testicular cancer of the last 25 years.

These facts & figures came from the Australian Nappy Network Website – http://www.modernclothnappies.org/

Different Types

Flats:
The ‘traditional’ cloth nappies. These are a square of terry towelling, flannelette, bamboo etc designed to be folded in a variety of different ways to adjust the "wet zone" and fastened by pins or snappis.

I thought I’d include a link to my two favourite folds:
o The Bat Fold – this fold is fantastic for newborns because its quite small & there’s lots of absorbent layers in the wet zone: http://www.kittykins.co.uk/advice/id/25
o The Kite Fold – I just used this one when jet grew out of the bat fold, honestly I chose this one because my brain was sleep deprived & I couldn’t figure out the instructions for the rest, its nice & simple: http://www.kittykins.co.uk/advice/id/23

Prefolds:
Similar to a Terry Flat, but made of a trimmer material and with a thicker, more absorbent central panel so there is less folding involved.

Fitted Nappies:
A shaped cloth nappy made of absorbent material, generally fastened by snaps or touch tape. These are usually the most versatile & absorbent of the MCN nappies & are great to use at night as well as during the day. Fitted nappies need a waterproof cover over the top which makes them very good at containing ‘messes’. They do take longer to put on which becomes more difficult with a wriggly baby. They can take a while to dry due to multiple layers all sewn together. Some have snap in boosters which decreases drying time but does make the washing more fiddly.

Covers:
These fit over a fitted nappy. They are made of waterproof or water resistant material, generally Fleece, PUL or Wool (called a Soaker).

Pocket Nappies:
A pocket nappy has an outer water resistant layer of PUL or heavy duty fleece & an inner layer usually made from microfleece or suede cloth (these keep bub dry but allow the liquid to pass through). These two layers form a pocket which you stuff the absorbent material into allowing you to adjust absorbency while keeping drying time to a minimum (tip: you can use pockets unstuffed as a cover if you get stuck).

All in One (AIO):
These nappies are used much the same as disposables. The absorbent material & cover are sewn together. These are great because they are simple to use & convenient (great for dads!) but they do usually take longer to dry & generally can’t be worn for long periods such as over night

Different Fabrics

Bamboo – The most absorbent fabric but takes the longest time to dry. Very soft to touch. Bamboo comes from a highly renewable source so very environmentally friendly.

Flannelette - A traditional nappy fabric, it is a densely woven and brushed cotton.

Hemp - Stronger and more absorbent than cotton , it is a porous (breathable) fabric with natural antifungal and antibacterial properties, making it ideal for use in Modern Cloth Nappies.

Microfibre – Microfibre is a trim absorbent fabric that makes great inserts for pocket nappies or AIO’s. It is quick drying but is more likely to leak under compression when full.

Terry - Soft absorbent cotton fabric covered in tiny loops.

Velour - A very soft blend fabric, generally 80% cotton, 20% polyester.

PUL (PolyUrethane Laminate) – this is fabric that has been laminated to make a moisture proof yet breathable layer.

Fleece - Hydrophobic material, with heavyweight fleece used in covers or the Outers of AIOs and lighter weight or microfleece used as liners or inners to keep moisture away from baby's skin

Wool - Used in Soakers (a Wool Cover) and Longies (a Cover with extended pant legs) it is super absorbent, and the loose knit means it evaporates moisture quickly.


Caring for your Nappies

* Cloth nappies can be washed in front or top loading washing machines.
* Nappies should be washed & dried prior to use to remove residues left behind from fabric manufacture.
* Hemp & Bamboo will take quite a few washes to reach their maximum absorbency.
* MCN are best dried in the sun which will help to remove any marks left after washing however most can be tumbled dry on low (check individual brands).
* It is best to use a liner when using any nappy rash creams as they may leave a residue on your nappies (the cheapest way to do this is to purchase microfleece from spotlight or lincraft & just cut them into the desired shape then wash them with your nappies)

Washing your Nappies & Covers

* Put your nappies into a dry nappy bucket (soiled nappies should be rinsed first).
* Empty the nappy bucket into your machine making sure that any touch tape tabs are folded over onto their laundry tabs. You can place touch tape nappies in laundry bags if you wish (they touch tape can catch on other things in the washing).
* Use only ½ strength deodorant, using too much detergent can lead to a build up of product on your nappies and can affect the nappyies absorbency and perhaps make them smelly. Do not use fabric softener as it will leave a residue on your nappies. Vinegar can be used in the rinse cycle for flats, prefolds or fitteds however do not use it on any PUL fabric as it will deteriorate it.
* It is recommended to do a rinse cycle before you wash.
* If you are using woollen covers they will need to be lanolised. You can use Lansinoh (readily avalible from any chemist, generally sold as nipple cream!). Just place a small amount in hot water until it dissolves then add cool water till its just warm & chuck in your woollens turned inside out. Leave them there for a few hours then dry them in the shade.


Links

Forums & Other Info:

http://www.nappycino.com.au/ – this is a fantastic cloth nappy forum. Got any questions? Just go here & you will get loads of answers! There are also lots of very helpful links on this site & info on sewing your own nappies & knitting your own soakers & longies.

www.ozclothnappies.org/images/mcnbrochure2007.pdf - a very informative cloth nappy brochure.

http://www.diaperpin.com/ – lots of different cloth nappy reviews

http://www.thenappynetwork.org.nz/ – another forum, this ones in New Zealand. Again, lots of helpful links & DIY info.

http://www.modernclothnappies.org/ – home of the Australian Nappy Network

Where to buy Nappies:

There are hundreds of cloth nappy brands out there & even more places you can purchase them online, Heres just a couple of the sites that I frequent way to often:

http://www.darlingsdownunder.com.au/ – my personal fave, tania who owns darlings down under is wonderful & will answer all of your questions (trust me, im the queen of question asking & she hasn’t told me to jump yet!).

http://www.babybeehinds.com.au/ – these nappies are quite popular & affordable, there more info on their site too.

http://www.bubblebubs.com.au/ – very cute, absorbent AIO nappies

http://www.buyforbaby.com.au/ – a great place to buy & sell second hand nappies

http://www.greenkids.com.au/ – one size pocket nappies that come in stacks of colours & prints

DIY

Want to make your own cloth nappies & knit your own covers, well that’s easy too!!!

There are lots of free patterns & tutorials available online to help you learn to make your own nappies & anyone can do it, trust me…if I can do it anyone can! I hadn’t really sewn before (just the odd thing at school & a couple of projects I started then tricked my mum into doing for me) & id never knittind, yet ive managed to sew quite a few pocket nappies & even knit a couple of soakers, sure they might not look as fancy with their crocked stitching & all, but they still work well!

Sewing Cloth Nappies

Ok, to start off with you’ll need some materials. Again there are quite a few places to buy materials but here’s just a couple. For single nappy cuts in lots of different fabrics go to http://www.nappiescovered.com.au/ , or if you’re after a meter or more http://www.bubbaearth.com.au/ is a great place to start.

There are lots of free patterns available both www.thenappynetwork.org.nz/diy.php & http://www.nappycino.com.au/ - have links to quite a few different patterns & tutorials as well as tips.

Knitting Soakers & Longies

There is a fantastic free site out there that teaches you to knit step by step with videos – http://www.knittinghelp.com/ – its absolutely fabulous!!!

You can find links to free patterns on http://www.nappycino.com.au/. If you have any questions pop over to their forum & ask away, the girls on there are wonderful.

There are lots of places to buy beautiful wool out there, but you can always start with any 100% wool from spotlight or lincraft.

Pricing Scenario

There are lots of pricing scenario’s out there but I thought id put my own together based on the nappies I would buy if I was starting over. Please note that I have never found a nappy that every one loves, I’m not suggesting you go out & buy all these nappies, I would always recommend buying just a few of the types you would like first rather than purchasing a whole stack then hating them (having said that if you do buy a nappy you don’t like there is a second hand market for selling them).

6 x Bamboo Baby Beehinds One size @ $25 each (mainly for nights) $150.00
9 x Baby Beehind Covers (3 each S, M, L) @ $11.50 each $103.50
10 x Small Bubblebubs AIO’s x @ 25.95 $259.50
10 x Medium Bubblebubs AIO’s x @ 27.95 $279.50
10 x Large Bubblebubs AIO’s x @ 29.95 $299.50
12 x Canningvale Flats $39.95
4 x Snappis @ $5 each $16.00
10 x Haute One Size Pocket Nappies @ $26 each $260.00
4 x Extra boosters for night @ $9 each $36.00
4 x Bummis Whisper Pants New Born size for catching explosive poos @ $10 each $40.00
1 x Little Squirt $70.00
2 x Bummis Wet Bags (1 x Small $11 & 1 x Medium $13.50) $24.50
40 terry face washers to use as wipes from best & less $40.00

Total: $1618.45

This scenario allows for at least 26 nappies fitting at all times from newborn through to toilet training which is quite generous, with this many nappies you will be able to wash every second day. You do not need this many nappies, you could easily cut out the bubblebubs and just have 10 pockets & 6 fitteds, you would definitely have to wash every day though & may occasionally need to fall back on flats.

There are a variety of nappy types including flats, fitteds, pockets & AIO’s in this scenario. It also includes cloth wipes, wetbags & a little squirt which is a great way to rinse your dirty nappies before washing.

It just goes to show that even a complete deluxe selection of nappies such as this one is still cheaper than using disposables on one child & you will be able to use the majority of your nappies on more than one child!

Babble byMel : ) at 10:15 PM 1 comments  

Labels Cloth Nappies

Where the addiction started
Tuesday, 8 August 2006

Well...I think my cloth journey began when I was somewhere around 14 weeks pregers with Jet - or poppy as we were calling him at the time (not a very masculine name I know but I was convinced he was a girl and that was only our in-utero name - because he started out the size of a poppy seed). Anyway, I convinced Rocky to go to the children’s & babies expo where I was completely overwhelmed with all of the baby stuff that one could acquire! The only stands that didn’t make me want to reach for a paper bag (for hyperventilation purposes) were the cloth nappy ones, I think there were about 3 there - pea pods among them.

I left that day with a bag full of brochures (I leave every expo with a bag full of brochures, which rocky cant stand & periodically makes me throw out), most of which I will never look at but some of them contained lots of useful info on cloth nappies. It wasn’t hard to sell Rocky on the idea, he is Dutch & sorry to any duchies out there, but as a generalisation - they are cheap! So he was all in for covering our babies bum in cloth, to save the environment - but also to save money (little did he know!!!)

A few months later I started re-searching. I chatted to some girls on an American forum throughout my pregnancy & discovered a natural section within the forum where cloth nappies were discussed, someone then gave me the link to nappycino....& then the confusion set in! There were sooooooo many different types of nappies available & my plan was to buy one system to use. The only person I knew at the time who used cloth was my cousins wife who lives in NZ. She (being a fellow cloth addict) luckily talked me out of buying one system to start of with & gave me lots of recommendations for starters through darlings down under. So, with her recommendations and some recommendations from the wonderful ladies on nappycino I built the following starting list (which I purchased one late night when rocky was 2 hrs late from coming home from the pub - somehow with my pregnancy hormones running rampant I managed to justify the purchase....well purchases!)

24 x CanningVale Flats
12 x Bamboo Flats
4 x Snappis
1 x Tots Fleece - Red Rap 1 x Bummis Polar Fleece Cover 6 x New Born Size Bummis Whisper Pants
3 x Baby E OneSize Organic Fitteds (one of them a night nappy)

1 x Natures Child Organic Cotton AIO

2 x Tots Bots Fluffles (the snappiable ones)

All I had to do now was wait for little Jet to arrive to try them all out!

Babble byMel : ) at 11:52 PM 0 comments  

Labels Cloth Nappies